Fasten Your Seatbelts, Turbulence Ahead

2 minute read

The return of parliament this week will be a mix of routine, ceremony, and turbulence, as MPs return to the House of Commons amidst a debate on the return to hybrid sittings.

Everything gets underway today with the election of a Speaker. At least seven MPs have thrown their hat into the ring, including incumbent Anthony Rota. Once the Speaker is elected, the House of Commons will then adjourn and meet in the Senate on Tuesday to hear the Speech from the Throne. It will be Governor General Mary Simon’s first Throne Speech and will set the tone for the next Parliament.

Amidst the routine and ceremony is the ongoing negotiation between the government and opposition parties on the return to a hybrid parliament. The Liberals and NDP are pushing for a new virtual sitting agreement which ended upon the dissolution of parliament in August. With the Conservatives and Bloc Quebecois opposing any hybrid sittings, the government will not get the unanimous consent required to make virtual sittings a reality. The Tories and Bloc have both made a compelling case arguing that if arenas and stadiums can have 20,000 fully vaccinated people rubbing shoulders, there is no reason why 338 MPs can’t be in close proximity.

This is where things can get sticky for the Trudeau Liberals. Even without unanimous consent, the government can still enshrine a hybrid parliament by passing a motion with majority support, doable by securing backing from the NDP. The challenge is that these motions are open to amendments and would offer an opportunity for opposition parties to play procedural games and potentially delay the government’s agenda.

For the government, the question is whether virtual sittings are the hill they are prepared to die on. With such a tight window before the Christmas break, the clock is ticking down on the government’s 100-day agenda, which is arguably more important to achieve consensus on than a virtual parliament. It’s time to fasten your seatbelts; we expect turbulence ahead.

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