House of Commons rises for the summer after all parties agree to early adjournment
The House of Commons rose for the summer overnight on Wednesday, after all parties agreed to end a politically intense spring sitting a few days early.
This followed MPs moving through some key Liberal bills and the Conservatives backing away from the spectre of an overnight voting marathon.
Government House Leader Mark Holland said Wednesday afternoon that with all sides seemingly ready to adjourn they were "nearing the conclusion" of the spring sitting. Discussions between political parties on Parliament Hill continued as of dinnertime, and by 8 p.m. ET a deal was reached.
Rising in the Chamber to seek unanimous consent, Holland asked that when the House adjourns at the end of Wednesday's sitting—expected before midnight—the Commons will remain closed until Monday, Sept. 18. He received no objection.
After spending a few more hours working through the outstanding agenda items, MPs wrapped up at 12:30 a.m. ET Thursday morning.
The House was scheduled to rise for a two-month hiatus as of Friday, but it's very common that all sides can come together to agree on breaking a day or two early.
That all-party desire to wrap up the sitting was evidenced following an arguably less-raucous question period than typical for this time of year, when Holland got unanimous consent for a motion prescribing how some key outstanding agenda items would be wrapped up.
Central to that motion was Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's caucus who not long ago said they were prepared to work "all summer long," agreeing to withdraw more than 200 votes opposing specific spending items within the main and supplementary estimates.
That allowed MPs to avoid a potentially hours-long vote-a-thon, and move through a few key votes and procedural traditions approving routine funding allotments for federal departments and agencies following a few hours of debate on the Conservatives' final balanced budget-focused opposition day motion.
WHAT PASSED, WHAT DIDN'T?
The government's motion also paved the way for outstanding priority legislation to be moved though the final stages of the House late Wednesday night.
This included passing Bill S-8 on immigration inadmissibility, and Bill C-42 regarding money laundering, as well as expediting a few newly-tabled pieces of legislation into the committee study stage, potentially setting up for summertime hearings.
In May, when Holland announced MPs would be holding midnight sittings nearly every night for the rest of the session in order to move the government's agenda through, he identified nine pieces of legislation that needed to pass before Parliament could adjourn.
Remarking on the early adjournment, Holland said that the Liberals managed to see 15 bills pass in the last 15 weeks. What he called the government being "extremely productive" was aided in some instances, by the government's use of time allocation to limit debate with the backing of the NDP.
While some key bills have fully cleared both chambers in recent weeks, including Bill C-22 on disability benefits and Bill C-13 regarding language protections, other pieces of legislation remain before the Senate.
This includes Bill C-47, the budget implementation legislation, and Bill C-18 regarding online news remuneration. Senators are on track to pass these government bills by the end of their scheduled sitting next week.
However, others are unlikely to make it through the Senate before it also takes a months-long break, including contentious gun control legislation Bill C-21, potentially leaving Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino's much-amended reforms in legislative limbo should the Liberals move to prorogue between now and the fall.
"Certainly we're having conversations with the Senate. Obviously the Senate is operating independently… but the conversations have been fruitful in ensuring that perhaps not everything but the vast majority of the legislation that we passed through the House, we can expect to see royal assent," Holland said.
"There's a number of things over the last two weeks, and certainly a number of things today that we'll be moving to the other chamber, and now they'll there'll be dealing with those."
Hanging in the air as MPs said their summer farewells and thanked their staff for the support through Hill 'silly season' are what opposition parties are hoping will be the announcement of a public process probing foreign interference, and persistent rumblings about a summer cabinet shuffle.
Wishing members "a wonderful summer break," House Speaker Anthony Rota sent MPs off telling them to enjoy themselves, "so that in September, we'll come back in full form."
IN DEPTH
Jagmeet Singh pulls NDP out of deal with Trudeau Liberals, takes aim at Poilievre Conservatives
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has pulled his party out of the supply-and-confidence agreement that had been helping keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberals in power.
'Not the result we wanted': Trudeau responds after surprise Conservative byelection win in Liberal stronghold
Conservative candidate Don Stewart winning the closely-watched Toronto-St. Paul's federal byelection, and delivering a stunning upset to Justin Trudeau's candidate Leslie Church in the long-time Liberal riding, has sent political shockwaves through both parties.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canadians across the country mark Remembrance Day
Canadians gathered Monday in cities and towns across the country to honour the sacrifice of men and women in uniform who gave their lives in service of the country's values and principles.
Canada cancels automatic 10-year multiple-entry visas, tightens rules
Canada has announced changes to their visitor visa policies, effectively ending the automatic issuance of 10-year multiple-entry visas, according to new rules outlined by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
Trump names Stephen Miller to be deputy chief of policy in new administration
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is naming longtime adviser Stephen Miller, an immigration hard-liner, to be the deputy chief of policy in his new administration.
Mattel says it 'deeply' regrets misprint on 'Wicked' dolls packaging that links to porn site
Toy giant Mattel says it 'deeply' regrets an error on the packaging of its 'Wicked' movie-themed dolls, which mistakenly links toy buyers to a pornographic website.
Alien-like signal from 2023 has been decoded. The next step is to figure out what it means
If Earth's astronomical observatories were to pick up a signal from outer space, it would need an all-hands-on-deck effort to decipher the extraterrestrial message. A father-daughter team of citizen scientists recently deciphered the message. Its meaning, however, remains a mystery.
Twin port shutdowns risk more damage to Canadian economy: business groups
Business groups are raising concerns about the broad effects of another round of labour disruptions in the transport sector as Canada faces shutdowns at its two biggest ports.
A team of tornado experts is heading to Fergus, Ont. after a storm ripped through the area Sunday night.
Why brain aging can vary dramatically between people
Researchers are uncovering deeper insights into how the human brain ages and what factors may be tied to healthier cognitive aging, including exercising, avoiding tobacco, speaking a second language or even playing a musical instrument.
Bleeding and in pain, a woman endured a harrowing wait for miscarriage care due to Georgia's restrictive abortion law
Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision eliminated the federal right to abortion, miscarriage management has become trickier and in some cases, deadlier.
Local Spotlight
Should Toronto tear up its bike lanes to improve traffic flow? Critics say it's not so simple
A congestion crisis, a traffic nightmare, or unrelenting gridlock -- whatever you call it, most agree that Toronto has a congestion problem. To alleviate some of the gridlock, the Ontario government has announced it plans to remove bike lanes from three major roadways.
For the second year in a row, the ‘Gift-a-Family’ campaign is hoping to make the holidays happier for children and families in need throughout Barrie.
Some of the most prolific photographers behind CTV Skywatch Pics of the Day use the medium for fun, therapy, and connection.
A young family from Codroy Valley, N.L., is happy to be on land and resting with their newborn daughter, Miley, after an overwhelming, yet exciting experience at sea.
As Connor Nijsse prepared to remove some old drywall during his garage renovation, he feared the worst.
A group of women in Chester, N.S., has been busy on the weekends making quilts – not for themselves, but for those in need.
A Vancouver artist whose streetside singing led to a chance encounter with one of the world's biggest musicians is encouraging aspiring performers to try their hand at busking.
Ten-thousand hand-knit poppies were taken from the Sanctuary Arts Centre and displayed on the fence surrounding the Dartmouth Cenotaph on Monday.
A Vancouver man is saying goodbye to his nine-to-five and embarking on a road trip from the Canadian Arctic to Antarctica.