It’s that time again – the pre-holiday parliamentary time crunch. This is when the government tries to accomplish all it possibly can before the six-week holiday break. This time around, the heat appears to be turned up even higher than normal.
The House of Commons adopted a motion to allow the government to extend sittings as the governing Liberals and the opposition Conservatives spar over Parliament’s most valuable resource – time. Of course, it’s always in the interest of the government to implement its agenda and usually in the interest of the Official Opposition to slow it down. That principle is even more salient now as the government tries to quickly respond to the economic downtown and cost of living increases. That response will have less of a political impact if it is delayed.
As the Official Opposition continues to drag its feet even on House business that it supports, the government will have to make tough choices on legislative priorities and on procedural tactics.
Fall legislative priorities
Just 15 sitting days are left before Parliament is set to recess for the winter break. This means the government is on a tight schedule to pass key legislation in the coming days, as it endeavours to nimbly respond to ever changing circumstances. Any bills that aren’t passed before Christmas will sit idle until parliamentary debate resumes in late January.
Cost of living and recession mitigation is top of mind for decision makers. Bill C-32, which seeks to implement various high priority measures from the Fall Economic Statement, including six separate cost of living initiatives and several commitments that remain from the spring budget, is expected to pass ahead of the holidays.
Other priorities on the legislative agenda include environmental commitments (Bill S-5); longstanding policy objectives on reconciliation (Bill C-29); supply chain solutions for the port and rail system (Bill C-33) and digital issues (Bills C-27, C-11 and C-18), some of which have been bouncing around Parliament for years under different names.
With Parliament set to debate Bill C-27 today, Bill C-29 on Tuesday and Wednesday, and Bill C-26 on Thursday, Bill C-11 is the only bill that could become law without further debate in the House of Commons.
Early extended sittings
This government is no stranger to using procedural motions in support of its agenda, including extended sittings. This year sittings, however, were extended much earlier than usual and for a longer duration – all the way to the summer adjournment. For context, the last time the government moved an extended sittings motion was last spring, when the House was facing its pre-summer time crunch.
While the Liberals haven’t actually used their new extended sittings tool since the motion was passed, the motion itself suggests the government is facing a stronger opposition or feeling the pressure to respond quickly to policy priorities. The motion allowing extended sittings is ready as a snare that can be immediately tripped if Conservative and Liberal house leaders aren’t able to hash things out. It’s a “break glass in case of emergency” measure to get bills passed quickly while providing room for fulsome debate. It’s also a negotiating tactic with both political and personal ramifications. Let’s face it, nobody wants to sit in the House of Commons until midnight.
Early extended sitting may foreshadow a continued escalation of procedural tactics by both sides as old rivals Trudeau and Poilievre duke it out in the House. As seasoned vets, the Official Opposition have many tricks up their sleeve to slow down government legislation, but don’t underestimate the Liberals. After all, the government still has time allocation and closure motions at their disposal.
