>As a result, it is highly unlikely that the bill will be studied in committee – let alone approved into law – this year.
>[…]
>Unlike during most of the previous minority Parliament, when the government struck a co-operation deal with the NDP, the Liberals do not currently have a formal ally among the opposition parties. As a result, they are outnumbered and do not have the ability to shut down debate on bills to move them along through the legislative process.
>The House is scheduled to rise on Dec. 12 and won’t resume until Jan. 26.
>On Friday, MPs debated C-15, the budget bill, for a ninth day. It can only be put to a second-reading vote to send it to committee once the debate has “collapsed,” meaning no further MPs rise to speak.
>Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer said in an interview Friday that there is a genuinely long list of MPs from his party who want to speak on the budget bill and raise concerns about the size of the deficit and other matters.
>He also said he’s open to negotiating an end to the debate with the government in exchange for items such as having certain ministers appear for questioning at committees, but no deal has been reached.
!ping Can
jinhuiliuzhao on
> Neither the NDP nor the lone Green Party MP have party standing, meaning they do not have seats in committee. Both of those parties helped the Liberals in the House to gain approval for the main budget motion – the NDP by abstaining in part, while Green Party MP Elizabeth May voted with the Liberals – but that support is not available at the committee level.
If I’m reading this correctly, MPs with non-official party status are not allowed in committees? Given that’s basically the only avenue of practical influence for opposition MPs, I think it’s pretty egregious that they are not allowed to sit (even though I don’t agree with NDP/Green politics)
As some have said before, perhaps Parliament should either recognize everyone officially or just not recognize any parties at all. This ‘certain number of seats to be an official party’ rule is a bit silly…
2 Comments
>The Liberal government’s [budget bill](https://archive.fo/o/umIZZ/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-government-tables-budget-bill-exceeding-600-pages-after-surviving/) is stuck in the opening round of debate with just one week to go before an increasingly acrimonious minority Parliament breaks for the holidays.
>As a result, it is highly unlikely that the bill will be studied in committee – let alone approved into law – this year.
>[…]
>Unlike during most of the previous minority Parliament, when the government struck a co-operation deal with the NDP, the Liberals do not currently have a formal ally among the opposition parties. As a result, they are outnumbered and do not have the ability to shut down debate on bills to move them along through the legislative process.
>This is particularly challenging for the government in committees, where only the Liberals, the Conservatives and the Bloc Québécois have standing.
>The House is scheduled to rise on Dec. 12 and won’t resume until Jan. 26.
>On Friday, MPs debated C-15, the budget bill, for a ninth day. It can only be put to a second-reading vote to send it to committee once the debate has “collapsed,” meaning no further MPs rise to speak.
>Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer said in an interview Friday that there is a genuinely long list of MPs from his party who want to speak on the budget bill and raise concerns about the size of the deficit and other matters.
>He also said he’s open to negotiating an end to the debate with the government in exchange for items such as having certain ministers appear for questioning at committees, but no deal has been reached.
!ping Can
> Neither the NDP nor the lone Green Party MP have party standing, meaning they do not have seats in committee. Both of those parties helped the Liberals in the House to gain approval for the main budget motion – the NDP by abstaining in part, while Green Party MP Elizabeth May voted with the Liberals – but that support is not available at the committee level.
If I’m reading this correctly, MPs with non-official party status are not allowed in committees? Given that’s basically the only avenue of practical influence for opposition MPs, I think it’s pretty egregious that they are not allowed to sit (even though I don’t agree with NDP/Green politics)
As some have said before, perhaps Parliament should either recognize everyone officially or just not recognize any parties at all. This ‘certain number of seats to be an official party’ rule is a bit silly…