Senator pushing to resurrect sit-downs with House over controversial bill changes
An Independent Senator is trying to bring an out-of-use procedural tool back into style, to make sure Senate amendments to government bills get a fair hearing in the House. Sen. Diane Griffin (Prince Edward Island) is working to build support in the Upper Chamber to take a closer look at the use of conferences between […]
Feds move for four weeks of House midnight sittings, NDP says it’s ‘not very family friendly’
PARLIAMENT HILL—When MPs return to the Hill next week they will be burning the midnight oil as the government tries to push its legislative agenda through the House before the summer recess, but the New Democrats are saying the schedule is “not very family friendly.” “Thinking of the fact that we have young mothers in our caucus, and given […]
Sajjan didn’t need to burnish his brand with fiction
OTTAWA—Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan knows the danger of self-inflicted wounds. He recently maimed himself when he went against his own brand. Nothing his political opponents will try is likely to have the same impact on his political career as his own recent self-aggrandizing. When Sajjan came into politics as a decorated military veteran and hard-nosed […]
Opposition parties signal readiness to get to business in House, saving delay tactics for rule-changes motion
With the Procedure and House Affairs Committee filibuster behind them, opposition House leaders say they’re ready to back off of continued delay tactics and get back to debating legislation at least until the government’s unilateral rule changes are introduced. “Now we’re talking about legislation at this point,” Conservative House Leader Candice Bergen (Portage-Lisgar, Man.) told The […]
Ministry asks $30 per minute for data, despite Brison’s order to drop ATIP fees
The federal immigration ministry is asking up to $30 per minute to process a public request for immigration data, despite the Liberal government’s directive last year to waive extra fees for access to information requests and commitment to making government information open by default. One advocate of government transparency said the $30-per-minute proposed charge thwarts the intent […]
Liberals abruptly shut down House Affairs Committee filibuster after more than 80 hours of stalling tactics, Conservative MP Reid yells ‘that’s bullshit!’
PARLIAMENT HILL—The Liberals shut down the more than 80-hour filibuster at the Procedure and House Affairs Committee on Tuesday morning which was launched a few weeks ago in reaction to the government’s attempts to speed up a study on proposed changes to the House rules and opposition MPs reacted angrily to the move. Liberal MP Larry Bagnell (Yukon), chair […]
Chagger says time allocation to be used ‘more often’ by Liberals to pass legislative agenda
PARLIAMENT HILL—The Liberals say they will now use time allocation to get their legislative agenda moving, after earlier promising not to use the heavy-handed procedural tool to limit debate. “I have an important responsibility to ensure that there is meaningful debate, also that we are advancing that legislative agenda,” Government House Leader Bardish Chagger (Waterloo, […]
Budget bill, marijuana legalization looming, as opposition parties fuming
The Liberals might be feeling like the Burt Reynolds character in the movie Smokey and the Bandit: “We’ve got a long way to go and a short time to get there,” went the theme song to that important piece of 1970s cinema. After being away for the last two weeks, MPs are back in Ottawa […]
More than 60 per cent of Canadians support idea of prime minister’s Question Period, half are in favour of electronic voting in the House: poll
More than 60 per cent of Canadians polled are in favour of creating a prime minister’s Question Period, while 50 per cent support the idea of introducing electronic voting in the House of Commons—both of which are ideas for reforming the Standing Orders that have been put forward by the Liberal government. In a Forum […]
A history of heckling
It’s a practice everyone is familiar with, and likely, has engaged in themselves. Watching sports? You’ve probably tossed out a few barbs about the competence of the players, or referees. Attended a stand-up comedy show? If it wasn’t you, you’ve probably seen someone try to shout down the comedian onstage, telling them they weren’t funny […]
