Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland responds to a question from the opposition during Question Period, in Ottawa on September 16, 2024.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
The federal Liberal government, weakened by the breakup of its supply-and-confidence agreement with the New Democrats, is preparing to collaborate with other parties in order to get dozens of bills through Parliament before the next election.
There are 32 bills at varying stages of progress in Parliament, including the government’s mammoth online harms bill, which also establishes new criminal penalties for hate crimes and propaganda. Among the others are bills ensuring First Nations have reliable access to clean drinking water; restoring citizenship to so-called “lost Canadians”; and speeding up the review of wrongful convictions.
Many are still at early stages, and some experts doubt there will be enough time for all of them to gain royal assent before the next election, which could come earlier than the scheduled date next fall now that the minority government is without the formal support of the New Democrats.
The government has yet to introduce other bills it has promised, including one setting standards for care homes for the elderly and people with disabilities.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh ended his party’s agreement to support the Liberals in confidence votes earlier this month but has yet to say whether he is prepared to vote to bring down the government and trigger an election. The Bloc Québécois has signalled it will attempt to extract concessions from the government for its support.
Mark Kennedy, communications director for Government House Leader Karina Gould, said the Liberals will work with other parties but accused the Conservatives of preparing to use delay tactics to hamper what he described as a “busy legislative agenda.”
“We will continue to reach out to all parties to collaborate in the House. We expect the Conservatives to obstruct the business of the House and to play partisan games,” he said in an e-mail.
The Conservatives, in addition to voting against government bills, have been using a variety of tactics to slow their passage, including filibustering and calling repeated points of order.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has said he will table a non-confidence motion as soon as possible, and his party has attempted to press Mr. Singh to support such a vote to bring down the government.
“While we will examine and debate each bill before making a decision, we will continue to vigorously oppose radical NDP-Liberal policies that cause massive price increases, double rent and mortgage costs, and unleash crime and drugs in our communities,” Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer said in a statement. “Our priorities remain focused on legislation that will axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget, and stop the crime” – the “tax” being the federal carbon pricing plan.
The end of the Liberals’ agreement with the NDP also gives increased bargaining power to the Bloc. At a Monday news conference in Parliament, Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet said he was “not certain that this session will last a very long time.”
The parties are “playing chicken,” and “eventually one will hit another one.”
He said the Bloc would have to carefully measure the consequences of its votes: “If it is good for Quebec, we’ll be in favour of it. If it’s bad for Quebec, we will be against it.”
Mr. Blanchet wants the Liberals to support a private member’s bill sponsored by one of his MPs that would increase pension payments for seniors aged 65 to 74.
Ms. Gould said that is an important issue and that she is open to discussions with all parties.
The Bloc’s justice critic, Rhéal Fortin, said in an interview that his party supports Bill C-63, the online harms bill, but wants Liberal backing for changes abolishing the religious defence for hate speech. He also wants the Liberals to amend Bill C-63 to bring in age verification measures to prevent children under 18 from watching pornography online.
Jonathan Malloy, a political science professor at Carleton University and the author of The Paradox of Parliament, said the end of the supply-and-confidence agreement has upended the dynamics in Parliament.
“Everything is completely unpredictable at this point, with the NDP withdrawing its support, but now the Bloc being fairly overt and saying they’re happy to bargain,” he said.
The NDP is still expected to lend its support to a number of government bills. For example, the pharmacare bill, which establishes funding for diabetes drugs and birth control as a first step toward a universal drug plan, is an NDP priority and was a key NDP demand in exchange for its support.
The bill has passed in the Commons and is set for further scrutiny by the Senate science committee after senators return this week.
The NDP has also backed a government bill allowing Canadians born abroad to pass on citizenship to their children born outside Canada. Bill C-71, which is still at an early stage, would also restore citizenship to people who lost their Canadian citizenship – known as “lost Canadians.”
The New Democrats are also expected to back a government bill modernizing voting and electoral rules. It would add two days to advanced voting and permit people to register online for a mail-in ballot. The bill also contains measures to combat foreign interference and bolster election integrity, including banning political donations through money orders and prepaid gift cards and cryptocurrencies.
The NDP is also expected to lend its support to a bill to ensure that First Nations have reliable access to safe drinking water, which has not yet moved beyond its Commons committee stage.
Another bill still in the Commons is C-27, aimed at regulating artificial intelligence and mitigating its potential harms. A bill making Canada’s big airports publish pollution plans is still at a very early stage; it would also allow the government to set standards for how long passengers should wait for security screening or for their bag to arrive at a carousel.
Bill C-40, designed to speed up the consideration of wrongful convictions, is making steady progress and is now in the Senate. David and Joyce Milgaard’s Law is a priority for the Justice Department. It is named for David Milgaard, from Winnipeg, who was wrongfully convicted of the rape and murder of Gail Miller in 1970. Twenty-seven years later, after his case was taken on by Innocence Canada, he was exonerated.