OTTAWA -- The House of Commons is being recalled on Wednesday to study, debate, and likely pass the federal government’s promised suite of measures aimed at helping students during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Government House Leader Pablo Rodriguez has written to the House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota requesting the formal House recall on behalf of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“Canadians continue to live through an unprecedented situation that requires additional swift action,” he wrote, in the letter requesting the urgent recall of MPs.
The new bill—set to be the third piece of emergency legislation since the pandemic began— is titled “An Act respecting Canada emergency student benefits.” Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough is the sponsor of the bill.
A fraction of MPs proportional to each party’s standings are already set to meet in-person in West Block on Wednesday, as part of the special all-party committee on COVID-19. They will dissolve into a formal convening of the House to pass this legislation afterwards.
It’s largely a technicality but it changes the rules and structure as the House of Commons needs to be in session to pass legislation -- it couldn’t be done through the committee alone.
Last week a majority of parties had agreed to suspend the session until May 25 and hold future sessions through the special committee, through a mix of in-person and virtual meetings. The first virtual meeting is scheduled for Tuesday.
Trudeau said earlier Monday that talks were continuing with the opposition parties about advancing legislation to pass these new student-centric measures.
On April 22, Trudeau announced that students and recent graduates who have seen their education and job prospects hampered by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic will soon be able to claim a new Canada Emergency Student Benefit, as part of a $9-billion package of new measures aimed at helping young people.
“We’re working with the other parties on legislation to get this help flowing,” he said Monday.
As part of the agreed-to terms for these special hearings, the government committed to presenting any future pieces of emergency legislation days in advance under embargo to opposition parties.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, outgoing Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer said that his caucus has received the draft legislation and is reviewing it, but flagged that he has some concerns with the programs as proposed. That includes whether they offer enough of an incentive for students to work this summer and whether there are enough options to pair young people with jobs relevant to their skills or studies.
The House of Commons administration estimates that each day’s in-person sitting requires a minimum of approximately 55 staff to support MPs in areas including translation, procedural and security services.
This also means that while the Senate had agreed to extend its adjournment until June 2, the upper chamber will have to be recalled to pass the new bill.
