Most recent entries for May 2012
As the battle over the Canadian Pacific back-to-work bill looms over the parliamentary horizon, according to the Projected Order of Business, the House will kick off what will likely be the longest uninterrupted sitting day of the year on a distinctly anticlimactic note: third reading of the pooled registered pensions bill.
But as the saying goes, don't mistake the map - or, in this case, the POB - for the territory. Objects -- or obstructionist procedural tactics -- may indeed be closer than they appear.
But as the saying goes, don't mistake the map - or, in this case, the POB - for the territory. Objects -- or obstructionist procedural tactics -- may indeed be closer than they appear.
Hit the jump for the full post.
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Mobile-friendly auto-updating text feed available here or hit the jump for the full CoveritLive experience.
Both the Finance committee and C-38 subcommittee will kick off independent, but ultimately complementary reviews of the omnibudget bill this afternoon, with overlapping super-sized sessions set to run from 3:30 to 8:30 pm, and 6:30 to 10pm, respectively.
On the witness list at the main committee: senior officials from virtually every department that will be affected by the legislation, as well as the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, Canadians for Tax Fairness, the Grain Growers of Canada, Imagine Canada and the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada and blogger Vivian Krause, who has written extensively about alleged foreign funding of Canadian environmental charities.
The subcommittee, meanwhile, will hear from Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, the Canadian Nuclear Association, the Federation of Ontario Cottagers' Association, the Ontario Commercial Fisheries' Association, the Canadian Construction Association, the Mining Association of Canada and the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities.
Given the conflicting schedules, it is, alas, impossible for one liveblogger to cover both meetings at the same time. Instead, I'm going to try to keep track of both rooms through the ParlVu livestreams, which should allow me to monitor interesting and/or noteworthy events in both rooms. That's the plan, anyway. We'll see how it works.
Check back at 6:30 pm for full coverage!
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Move over, copyright reform bill -- due to the ongoing CP Rail Strike, you're about to be bumped from the House agenda -- not permanently, but for the next few days, at least, in order to clear the decks for what the government likely hopes will be the swift, and relatively procedural antic-free passage of that back-to-work bill that Labour Minister Lisa Raitt promised to bring forward this week if the parties had failed to reach an agreement by Monday.
To ensure that outcome, however, the government must first pass the preemptive time allocation motion that the government laid out last week, which, as previewed in Orders of the Day, would impose a hard deadline: once second reading has begun, MPs will have just 3.5 hours to consider the bill at all stages. Under the Standing Orders, notice is required to invoke closure on that debate -- on the motion, that is, not the bill itself -- which means that the government won't be able to bring down the hammer until Tuesday.
Once that happens, however, the House can move straight to the legislation, which, barring unforeseen delays, will likely be signed, sealed and delivered to the Senate before midnight, and law by the end of the week.
To ensure that outcome, however, the government must first pass the preemptive time allocation motion that the government laid out last week, which, as previewed in Orders of the Day, would impose a hard deadline: once second reading has begun, MPs will have just 3.5 hours to consider the bill at all stages. Under the Standing Orders, notice is required to invoke closure on that debate -- on the motion, that is, not the bill itself -- which means that the government won't be able to bring down the hammer until Tuesday.
Once that happens, however, the House can move straight to the legislation, which, barring unforeseen delays, will likely be signed, sealed and delivered to the Senate before midnight, and law by the end of the week.
In any case, a quintet of ministers -- Raitt and colleagues Denis Lebel (Transport), Joe Oliver (Natural Resources), Paradis (Industry) and Ritz (Agriculture) -- have scheduled a pre-Question Period appearance in the Foyer, during which they will, presumably, provide an update on the government's back to work battle plan, although they won't be able to discuss the bill itself, as it won't be tabled in the House until later this afternoon.
Hit the jump for the full post.
Ballot Box replaces our Question of the Day. Learn more about our new interactive features for Power & Politics and how you can take part in the political conversation -- live and on-screen -- here. Ballot Box refreshes daily - the question you see above is the current question.
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As the Victoria Day parliamentary recess wraps up, there's really, truly nothing on the official Hill agenda for today -- all the better to store up the necessary physical, mental and psychic energy that will be required to survive the mounting frenzy of legislative catch-up leading up to the summer break, really.
Courtesy of the Notice Paper, we can, at least, get some idea how the government intends to proceed with the still theoretical Canadian Pacific back-to-work legislation, should its intervention be required when the House returns next week.
Although the details of the bill itself are not yet available, judging from the time line proposed in the accompanying time allocation motion (which, I should note, is technically not actually a time allocation motion, per se, but would have the same effect), a repeat of last year's NDP-led filibuster against the Canada Post back-to-work bill seems all but impossible: just three and a half hours will be allotted to debate: two hours for second reading, an hour at committee of the whole and a final half hour for third reading, followed by a 30 minute bell and a vote.
Then again, should the aforementioned opposition parties choose to dig in their collective heels, there are always means by which the business of the House can be delayed, or even preempted entirely, although in the end, Walsh's Law applies: it's just math. Ultimately, the government can win every vote, provided that it maintains the support of a majority of MPs.
Still, with the omnibudget bill about to go under marathon-style committee review, the copyright bill about to begin the final legislative leg of its journey through the Commons and, of course, the clock ticking down on the deadline for the main estimates, which must be passed by June 23rd when the supply cycle runs out, every sitting day counts.
Courtesy of the Notice Paper, we can, at least, get some idea how the government intends to proceed with the still theoretical Canadian Pacific back-to-work legislation, should its intervention be required when the House returns next week.
Although the details of the bill itself are not yet available, judging from the time line proposed in the accompanying time allocation motion (which, I should note, is technically not actually a time allocation motion, per se, but would have the same effect), a repeat of last year's NDP-led filibuster against the Canada Post back-to-work bill seems all but impossible: just three and a half hours will be allotted to debate: two hours for second reading, an hour at committee of the whole and a final half hour for third reading, followed by a 30 minute bell and a vote.
Then again, should the aforementioned opposition parties choose to dig in their collective heels, there are always means by which the business of the House can be delayed, or even preempted entirely, although in the end, Walsh's Law applies: it's just math. Ultimately, the government can win every vote, provided that it maintains the support of a majority of MPs.
Still, with the omnibudget bill about to go under marathon-style committee review, the copyright bill about to begin the final legislative leg of its journey through the Commons and, of course, the clock ticking down on the deadline for the main estimates, which must be passed by June 23rd when the supply cycle runs out, every sitting day counts.
Hit the jump for the full post.
Ballot Box replaces our Question of the Day. Learn more about our new interactive features for Power & Politics and how you can take part in the political conversation -- live and on-screen -- here. Ballot Box refreshes daily - the question you see above is the current question.
Internet Explorer 8 users please note: browser cookies must be enabled to vote in Ballot Box. Consult your browser's privacy settings.
Former Liberal MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj is back in Ottawa, although not, at least as yet, as a duly, if
belatedly, elected Member of Parliament, although that does seem to be
his ultimate goal.
Wrzesnewskyj will make himself available to the media at Liberal Party headquarters at 1 p.m. ET, where he will provide an update on the court challenge that culminated -- at least so far -- in last week's decision by an Ontario judge to declare the results of the 2011 election in Etobicoke Centre null and void.
Hit the jump for more and for the full Scribble Live experience. Mobile users, just click here.
Wrzesnewskyj will make himself available to the media at Liberal Party headquarters at 1 p.m. ET, where he will provide an update on the court challenge that culminated -- at least so far -- in last week's decision by an Ontario judge to declare the results of the 2011 election in Etobicoke Centre null and void.
Hit the jump for more and for the full Scribble Live experience. Mobile users, just click here.
After days of playing coy on how it plans to reform the employment insurance system, the government, it appears, is finally ready to share the details with Canadians.
Later this morning, Human Resources Minister Diane Finley is set to hit the stage at the National Press Theatre for an "important announcement," and although the official advisory is maddeningly vague on the topic du jour, the government has made it clear, albeit via back channel communications with media, that she will unveil at least part of the Conservative vision for a more efficient regime, thus putting to rest, at least in theory, the increasingly dire, if wildly contradictory stream of speculation, informed and otherwise, that has dominated the discussion thus far.
Then again, if the recent slow-motion reveal on Old Age Security changes is anything to go by, if the government harbours hopes of regaining control over the conversation, it already has its work cut out for it. It turns out that giving notice -- via leak or unexpected prime ministerial musings in Davos -- of one's intention to move forward on a particular file with no accompanying context on what one intends to actually do almost always results in apocalyptic worst-case-scenario-izing by an apprehensive public, which immediately seized upon and lovingly nurtured by one's political opponents.
Mobile-friendly text feed available here or hit the jump for the full CoveritLive experience.
Later this morning, Human Resources Minister Diane Finley is set to hit the stage at the National Press Theatre for an "important announcement," and although the official advisory is maddeningly vague on the topic du jour, the government has made it clear, albeit via back channel communications with media, that she will unveil at least part of the Conservative vision for a more efficient regime, thus putting to rest, at least in theory, the increasingly dire, if wildly contradictory stream of speculation, informed and otherwise, that has dominated the discussion thus far.
Then again, if the recent slow-motion reveal on Old Age Security changes is anything to go by, if the government harbours hopes of regaining control over the conversation, it already has its work cut out for it. It turns out that giving notice -- via leak or unexpected prime ministerial musings in Davos -- of one's intention to move forward on a particular file with no accompanying context on what one intends to actually do almost always results in apocalyptic worst-case-scenario-izing by an apprehensive public, which immediately seized upon and lovingly nurtured by one's political opponents.
The resulting damage, it seems, can be devilishly difficult to undo. To paraphrase Mark Twain, a leak can travel halfway around the world before the official release with backgrounder has its boots on.
In any case, both opposition parties are sending over MPs to provide on-the-spot EI reaction, with Peggy Nash holding court at the NPT on behalf of the New Democrats, and Cape Bretoner Rodger Cuzner doing the same for the Liberals.
In any case, both opposition parties are sending over MPs to provide on-the-spot EI reaction, with Peggy Nash holding court at the NPT on behalf of the New Democrats, and Cape Bretoner Rodger Cuzner doing the same for the Liberals.
Check back at 10:30 for full coverage!
