House of Commons adjourns for the summer after voting to keep hybrid sittings
House of Commons adjourns for the summer after voting to keep hybrid sittings
House of Commons adjourns for the summer after voting to keep hybrid sittings
Members of Parliament wrapped up their work in the House of Commons for the season and departed for their ridings on Thursday afternoon after Liberal, NDP and Green MPs voted to continue with hybrid sittings through 2023.
"I hope that everyone's able to spend time with their families and recharge, spend time with their constituents and the people that they love... And we come back rested and recharged to work with one another in the fall," said Government House Leader Mark Holland at adjournment time.
"You'll be glad to know that I have been cleaning out my very messy desk, and I'm sure the pages will be glad to hear that as well," said Conservative House Leader John Brassard, going on to thank all of the House of Commons staff and all others who keep the business of Parliament ticking along, for their work.
While wishing each other well, the adjournment of the spring sitting comes after weeks of heightened tensions in the House of Commons, prompted by ongoing calls from the opposition parties for the federal government to do more in response to record-high inflation, as well as passport office and airport delays.
Coming amid newly-emerging accusations of political interference in an RCMP investigation and plans for a return of “freedom convoy” protesters to the capital this summer, the months-long hiatus will provide all sides some time and space away from the House of Commons, though the hottest political files are set to continue to play out.
When MPs do return to Ottawa in mid-September, they will be once again doing it under a hybrid structure after a motion from the Liberal government passed 177 to 144 on Thursday. This will allow MPs to continue to participate virtually, from their homes or constituency offices, in House debates and committee meetings, until June 2023. The House has also set up an application that lets MPs vote remotely from anywhere in Canada, which will be continued under this model.
The motion had been the subject of debate in Ottawa since it was presented earlier this week, coming amid what appears to be an improving public health situation and despite concerns about accountability and the impact on parliamentary interpreters.
In defending the move, Holland has said that while many Canadian workplaces are in the process of readjusting to in-person work, he thinks it' is important to continue the hybrid model for MPs to allow those who are sick or have to be away from the House for another reason, to still participate.
Prior to the pandemic-era sitting structure coming into effect, MPs did find workarounds to have their votes counted through procedural measures like pairing, but did not have the ability to participate in debate without being present in the Chamber.
The Conservatives were strongly against continuing the hybrid sitting model, questioning why the government has decided to pre-emptively continue with it—citing fears of a potential new wave of COVID-19 infections or a new variant—instead of waiting to see what the pandemic situation is like come September, when the fall sitting kicks off.
Brassard has called the proposal "unjustified and unnecessary," and warned about the knock-on affects of continuing with a system—which recently crashed due to a connectivity issue— that was not intended to be a permanent element of parliamentary business.
The Bloc Quebecois also voted against keeping the virtual sittings, after members of that caucus pointed out the precariousness of relying on online tools to facilitate participation in Parliament following this week's "internet service" outage.
Now, the Liberals will be asking the Procedure and House Affairs Committee to study the utilization of the hybrid model and voting app to see what worked, or didn't, in the context of potentially maintaining it long term. However, there's no timeline attached to this study.
If the MPs on this committee come forward in less time, or if the pandemic seems to be over within the next year, Holland said the House of Commons isn't bound to upholding hybrid provisions for the full year. However, now that this motion has passed, another motion would have to come and pass to supersede it.
In the meantime, Holland pledged that with the exception of health circumstances, ministers will be present to answer questions in the House, in-person.
Since the end of April, MPs have been burning the midnight oil, regularly holding late-night sittings in an effort to move through more of the government's legislative agenda over the last few months.
In the last few weeks, the Liberals have managed to pass a handful of their priority bills into the Senate, which is scheduled to sit into next week to continue studying and passing legislation before also adjourning for the summer. So far in this Parliament, the Liberals have passed 13 piece of government legislation, with potentially a few more bills set to join that list before senators wrap up their work.
Still, several key bills will be left to pick back up on in September, including firearm legislation, the contentious online streaming bill, and a national cybersecurity bill.
Now that the House and Senate have adjourned for the summer, CTVNews.ca breaks down what key pieces of legislation passed in the final days of the spring session, and what key government bills will be left to deal with in the fall.
What does Bill C-21 propose to do? From a handgun 'freeze' to 'red' and 'yellow' flag laws, CTVNews.ca explores the federal government's proposed firearm legislation.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh's recent encounter with protesters at an Ontario election campaign stop, where he was verbally harassed, is casting a renewed spotlight on politicians' security, with Singh telling CTV News that he's witnessing a level of anger he hasn't seen before.
Six candidates are on the ballot to become the Conservative Party's next leader. In holding rallies, doing media interviews, and participating in debates, each contender has been releasing details of their policy platforms. Here's a snapshot of where the candidates stand on the economy, housing, climate, defence and social issues.
The federal Liberals and New Democrats have finalized an agreement that, if maintained, would keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government in power until June 2025, in exchange for progress on longstanding NDP priorities. Trudeau announced Tuesday morning that the confidence-and-supply agreement has been brokered, and is effective immediately.
'After a weeks-long survey of just about everyone I've met ... the overall judgment on Justin Trudeau is one of being a political write-off,' writes Don Martin in an opinion column for CTVNews.ca. 'He’s too woke, too precious, preachy in tone, exceedingly smug, lacking in leadership, fading in celebrity, slow to act, short-sighted in vision and generally getting more irritating with every breathlessly whispered public pronouncement,' Martin writes.
It's time for the whiners to win and the government to reopen the skies, a return to those glory times of flying when the biggest complaints were expensive parking, a middle seat and stale pretzels, commentator Don Martin writes in an exclusive opinion column for CTVNews.ca.
In an exclusive opinion column for CTVNews.ca, Don Martin says Doug Ford coasted to majority re-election victory in Ontario by sticking to the middle of the road: 'Not too progressive. Not too conservative.'
There's a lesson for Canada's political leaders in the short life and quick death of Jason Kenney as premier of Alberta, writes Don Martin in an exclusive opinion column for CTVNews.ca.
It's becoming a make-or-break week for two Conservative premiers as their futures pivot on a pair of defining moments, writes Don Martin in an exclusive opinion column for CTVNews.ca.
The Conservative Party of Canada's leadership election organizing committee says it has disqualified candidate Patrick Brown from the race. Election committee chair Ian Brodie says in a statement the party became aware of 'serious allegations of wrongdoing' by Brown's campaign that appear to violate financing rules in the Canada Elections Act.
An emergency resolution before the Assembly of First Nations annual meeting to reaffirm the suspension of National Chief RoseAnne Archibald has failed in Vancouver.
Two young emergency room doctors, raised and trained in Montreal, are leaving their jobs after only two years to move back to Toronto – and they say the Quebec health-care model and Bill 96 are to blame.
The Crown is seeking to revoke bail for Tamara Lich, a leader of the 'Freedom Convoy,' after she appeared alongside a fellow organizer in an alleged breach of her conditions.
A man charged Tuesday with seven counts of murder after firing off more than 70 rounds at an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago legally bought five weapons, including the high-powered rifle used in the shooting, despite authorities being called to his home twice in 2019 for threats of violence and suicide, police said.
The Bank of Canada's strategy of rapidly increasing its key interest rate in an effort to tackle skyrocketing inflation will likely trigger a recession, says a new study released Tuesday from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
Canada became the first country to ratify Finland and Sweden's accession protocols to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Tuesday.
The Canadian soldier who recently led a protest march to Ottawa is now facing a court martial for having spoken out against the federal government's COVID-19 vaccine requirements while wearing his uniform.
The Crown is seeking to revoke bail for Tamara Lich, a leader of the 'Freedom Convoy,' after she appeared alongside a fellow organizer in an alleged breach of her conditions.
Two Saanich, B.C., police officers remain in hospital Tuesday, including one in intensive care, a week after six officers were injured and two suspects were killed in a brazen bank robbery and gunfight near Victoria.
The father of the Edmonton girl who was missing for nine days said he was getting ready to post another update on Facebook last Saturday when police knocked on his door.
A man charged Tuesday with seven counts of murder after firing off more than 70 rounds at an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago legally bought five weapons, including the high-powered rifle used in the shooting, despite authorities being called to his home twice in 2019 for threats of violence and suicide, police said.
After more than four months of ferocious fighting, Russia claimed a key victory: full control over one of the two provinces in Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland.
Hackers claim to have obtained a trove of data on 1 billion Chinese from a Shanghai police database in a leak that, if confirmed, could be one of the largest data breaches in history.
Simple advice from a friend to stay near the door may have saved Yenifer Yulisa Cardona Tomás from the deadly fate that befell 53 other migrants when they were abandoned trapped in a sweltering semi-trailer last week on the edge of San Antonio. The 20-year-old from Guatemala's capital said it was already hot on June 27 when she stepped out of the warehouse on the Texas side of the Mexico border where she had been waiting and climbed into the back of the trailer.
Canada became the first country to ratify Finland and Sweden's accession protocols to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Tuesday.
An emergency resolution before the Assembly of First Nations annual meeting to reaffirm the suspension of National Chief RoseAnne Archibald has failed in Vancouver.
The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) has released further details about what will and won’t be allowed under its revised dress code expected to be enforced starting this fall.
A Riverview, N.B., woman has written her MLA and Health Minister Dorothy Shephard in hopes of having her voice heard over wait times to see specialists.
A satellite the size of a microwave oven successfully broke free from its orbit around Earth on Monday and is headed toward the moon, the latest step in NASA's plan to land astronauts on the lunar surface again.
An enormous waterlily in London's Royal Botanic Gardens has been discovered to belong to an entirely new species, after 177 years in the gardens' herbarium.
Twitter on Tuesday challenged the Indian government in court over its recent orders to take down some content on the social media platform, media outlets reported.
Amber Heard's lawyers have asked a judge to throw out the US$10.35 million verdict against her in the defamation case filed by ex-husband Johnny Depp, arguing that the verdict was not supported by the evidence and that one of the jurors may not have been properly vetted by the court.
Movie theatres across the world were flocked with young fans dressed in suits and carrying bananas partaking in the latest TikTok trend to watch the film 'Minions: The Rise of Gru.'
The Bank of Canada's strategy of rapidly increasing its key interest rate in an effort to tackle skyrocketing inflation will likely trigger a recession, says a new study released Tuesday from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
Canada's main stock index closed down almost 200 points Tuesday as the price of crude oil plunged and losses mounted in the energy and base metal sectors.
Even though it may seem years away, saving for retirement is a top priority among 26 per cent of Canadians aged 18 to 34, a recent survey from the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan found. However, 79 per cent of respondents in that age group say saving for retirement is prohibitively expensive.
Travellers might not have any control over long lines and cancelled flights, but there are ways to minimize luggage disasters. From tracking devices for your luggage to packing light, here are some tips and tricks for your next trip through the airport.
A vampire-slaying kit once owned by a British aristocrat sparked an international bidding war before selling for six times its estimated price, according to Hansons Auctioneers.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have promoted Hayley Wickenheiser, Ryan Hardy and Darryl Metcalf to assistant general manager and hired Curtis Sanford as a goaltending coach.
Jessica Campbell broke a professional hockey barrier for women as the first female assistant coach in the American Hockey League. The 30-year-old from Rocanville, Sask., was named to the Coachella Valley Firebirds coaching staff Tuesday.
Seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton has said he supports the cause of environmentalist group Just Stop Oil, but not some of its methods after group members invaded the track during the British Grand Prix.
A Vancouver Island real estate agent has lost his bid to recover a deposit he made on a new Ford Mustang that he intended to offer as a prize in a year-long contest in 2020.
Tesla's sales from April through June fell to their lowest quarterly level since last fall as supply chain issues and pandemic restrictions in China hobbled production of its electric vehicles.
