Most Liberal government bills unlikely to pass before House of Commons summer break

Globe and Mail

4 hours ago

Most of the minority Liberal government's legislative agenda is unlikely to pass before the House of Commons breaks for summer on Friday, as bills on affordability and border security face strong criticism over privacy-related elements.
Prime Minister Mark Carney clearly prioritized Bill C-5, which pledges to eliminate federal barriers to interprovincial trade and sets up a system to fast-track major infrastructure projects, saying the legislation must be approved before summer.
That is expected to happen based on current schedules, though the bill is also generating strong criticism that it grants the government excessive powers. Critics also say the bill weakens requirements related to Indigenous consultation and environmental protection. The Official Opposition Conservatives supported procedural moves to speed up C-5's approval.
On Tuesday, the House adopted two other bills, C-6 and C-7, that approve federal spending through what is known as the estimates process. On those spending bills, the Conservatives voted against while Bloc Québécois, NDP and Green Party MPs voted with the Liberals.
What federal Bill C-5, the One Canadian Economy Act, is all about
However, no other government bill appears to be on track to become law before summer, barring any last-minute deals among the parties.
Bloc House Leader Christine Normandin confirmed this in a statement to The Globe and Mail.
The list of bills that are unlikely to pass before summer includes C-2, the Strong Borders Act, which includes new border-security measures but is facing criticism over elements that would allow new powers for police to obtain information without a warrant.
There are also privacy concerns related to Bill C-4, the Making Life More Affordable for Canadians Act, introduced by Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne. The minister promoted the bill as being focused on affordability as it includes campaign promises to cut income taxes, remove the GST on new homes priced at up to $1-million for first-time homebuyers, and eliminate the federal fuel charge.
The tax changes can proceed even though the bill is not yet law because the measures were supported in an earlier vote by MPs.
Mr. Champagne is facing criticism over the fact that the bill includes a fourth element unrelated to affordability that would shield federal political parties from provincial privacy laws.
Several senators are expressing concern with that aspect of the bill and questioned why it wasn't introduced separately.
During an appearance before the Senate Tuesday evening to defend the bill, Mr. Champagne said the privacy elements are about creating a common standard across the country and informing the courts about the federal government's intentions.
Last year, B.C.'s Supreme Court ruled against the federal Liberal, New Democratic and Conservative parties, saying they are subject to the investigative powers of provincial privacy commissioners.
The three national parties were challenging the legality of an investigation by the B.C. Privacy Commissioner. The matter is currently before the B.C. Court of Appeal.
'We need to provide predictability. We need to tell the courts the intent of the House. This time, it's not only the intent of one party, but it's the unanimous support of all members of Parliament,' Mr. Champagne said, in reference to last week's 335-0 vote in favour of the bill at second reading, which sent it to committee for further study.
Conservatives raise privacy concerns over powers in government's border security bill
Senator Paula Simons said the effect of C-4's privacy element is to create a lower standard for privacy protection than is currently in place under some provincial laws.
'I'm not surprised that all parties agreed. This is a question of foxes in the henhouse, because it is in the interests of those parties to be able to exploit that voter information,' she said.
Senator Pamela Wallin said political parties are involved in 'a bit of an arms race' when it comes to how to profile Canadian voters.
'We can understand, of course, why you would all vote for this, but it doesn't necessarily improve – in fact, I think it distorts – democratic participation when you protect the political parties and allow them to micro-target and use that data in such a specific way," she said.
Bill C-4 has been referred to the House of Commons finance committee for further study, but no meetings are scheduled to take place this week before the House is set to rise on Friday.
The other House of Commons government bills introduced in the current Parliament are Bill C-3, which reintroduced legislation to grant citizenship to 'Lost Canadians' who were born abroad to foreign-born Canadians, and C-8, introduced Wednesday, related to cybersecurity. Neither bill has advanced beyond the initial stages.
In addition, the government introduced S-2 in the Senate, which is similar to Bill C-38 from the previous Parliament, which was not adopted. The bill aims to address concerns related to registration under the Indian Act. It has not advanced beyond second reading in the Senate.
On C-5, the bill concerning interprovincial trade and infrastructure projects, Conservative MP and intergovernmental affairs critic Philip Lawrence said Wednesday the legislation should have gone further.
'We believe, directionally, it's the right idea,' he said, pointing to support for building more projects and reducing barriers to interprovincial trade. 'But we certainly would have wanted to see a lot more.'
Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet, who opposes C-5 as an intrusion into provincial jurisdiction, said Wednesday that the debate around the bill won't be going away.
'If they think shutting down debate on C-5 puts a lid on it, that will prove that there are people in this government who don't understand Parliament,' he said.
Marie-Justine Torres, a spokesperson for Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon, said in an e-mail that the government bills are based on the mandate the Liberals received in the recent election.
'We are firmly committed to delivering on this mandate and will continue moving forward in the House in the fall sitting,' she said.