Senate rises for summer without passing broadcasting, conversion therapy bills
The Senate adjourned for its summer break at midnight on Tuesday, without passing two pieces of priority government legislation: a bill to stamp out the harmful practice of LGBTQ2S+ conversion therapy, and a contentious broadcast regulation update.
Despite both bills being passed by the majority of MPs and the federal Liberals pushing for the legislation to be rapidly considered, senators said the bills merit a more fulsome study in the fall.
There had been some hope that an agreement across Senate leadership would allow for summer meetings so that both the conversion therapy legislation Bill C-6, and Broadcasting Act changes in Bill C-10 could be studied by Senate committees.
However, as of midnight when senators rose or logged off from their hybrid sitting until late September: "No agreement has been reached for summer committee meetings at this time," according to Chloe Fedio, a spokesperson for Government Representative in the Senate, Sen. Marc Gold.
That means both bills are set to languish in the upper chamber, and makes their fate subject to a much-speculated late summer or early fall election call.
Any bills left in either the House or Senate will die if they have not passed when a Parliament is dissolved. They would have to be re-tabled and work their way through all legislative stages again before becoming law.
Even if committee studies were completed this summer, the entire Senate would then need to be recalled to vote on the bills. If any amendments were made, the bills would have to go back to the House, potentially kicking off a back-and-forth between the two chambers.
Bills C-6 and C-10 were among the four priority bills the Liberals passed into the Senate with the support of the Bloc Quebecois and New Democrats at the eleventh hour of the House of Commons sitting last week.
Following an extension of the Senate's sitting calendar by two days, Bill C-12, which will put into law Canada's greenhouse gas emissions targets, passed its third and final reading on Tuesday afternoon, and Bill C-30, which implements the 2021 budget commitments, including pandemic aid extensions, followed suit Tuesday night.
Both had received a "pre-study" in which senators were able to assess the legislative proposals in general, in advance. Some senators raised concerns the federal government was asking them to "rubber stamp" wide-spanning bills in a short timeframe.
MAJOR HESITATION OVER C-10
Bill C-10 passed into committee on Tuesday afternoon, putting it in the hands of the senators who make up the Senate Transport and Communications Committee to decide how to proceed.
Senators have been signalling for some time that they want to dive deeply into the contentious broadcasting bill to be able to propose amendments of their own, and rejected calls from Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault to fast-track it, setting up the expectation that it could stall out over the summer.
During debate, Senators spoke about how "imperative" it is for the Senate to hear from those who this bill will impact directly and assess for themselves the effects of the proposed legislation, with some support for the idea of sitting over the summer to accelerate that process.
However, committee chair and Conservative Sen. Michael MacDonald told CTVNews.ca on Tuesday that at this point, the earliest that the committee may try to resume study of Bill C-10 would be the week before the House is scheduled to resume in September, if an election isn't called.
"We inquired a few weeks ago, about the potential of holding some sort of an earlier study, and we weren't given the green light. So as of now, we don't have the green light," he said.
While MacDonald said as chair he will follow the will of the committee when it comes to the study, he personally has strong concerns about the freedom of expression implications of the bill. "This thing has to be stripped back and looked at," he said.
The legislation tabled by Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault is aimed at web giants and regulating Canadian content, but became embroiled in questions over free speech and the regulation of users' content, further fuelled by a series of opaque amendments that were made last-minute.
"The substance of Bill C-10 has raised many important and high-level questions, including whether and how the internet should be regulated and whether this really is the best way to do that… There is much of substance for our Senate committee to examine," said Independent Senators Group Sen. Donna Dasko during debate on Monday.
Dasko went on to add that further questions have been raised as a result of the extensive procedural wrangling surrounding this bill in the House.
"Senators, 30 meetings and over four months at committee stage might be unheard of, but I stand here today to say that this legislation still needs further study," she said.
CONSERVATIVES DENY SUMMER STUDY ON C-6
After sitting late into the night on Monday, the Senate passed Bill C-6 from second reading into the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee where it will be studied before advancing any further.
Late Tuesday night, Sen. Gold unsuccessfully sought unanimous consent to allow the committee to study the bill during the summer.
"I think it is a shame, because conversion therapy is an abhorrent practice, and it needs to be banned now," he said in a statement.
According to Justice Minister David Lametti, who is responsible for the bill, Conservative Senators denied the request despite members of that caucus expressing a desire for a study so they could suggest potential amendments.
, Lametti said he was "disappointed" by the Conservatives in the Senate. "Canadians believe conversion therapy should be banned. Conservatives apparently disagree," he said.
While the government pushed the argument that LGBTQ2S+ folks should not be subjected one day longer to efforts to change a person's sexual orientation to heterosexual or gender identity to cisgender, the bill and its aims have faced roadblocks before, including from the government.
Speaking against the bill on Monday, and suggesting it go to committee to examine how the "issues" with the bill can be resolved, Conservative Sen. Don Plett sought to revive the main argument against the bill espoused by numerous Conservative MPs. That is, that the definition of conversion therapy within Bill C-6 casts too wide of a net and may criminalize "conversations" about gender or sexual identity.
However, as Progressive Senate Group Sen. Jane Cordy noted during her remarks in support of Bill C-6 on Monday, the legislation explicitly states that the definition of conversion therapy within the bill "does not include a practice, treatment or service that relates to the exploration and development of an integrated personal identity without favouring any particular sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression."
Facing questions about the fate of these bills with just hours left in the Senate's sitting on Tuesday, the minister whose portfolio includes Senate engagement, Dominic LeBlanc told reporters that the Liberals "recognize the obligation of the Senate to do its job." He blamed the last-minute passage of these key bills in the House of Commons on Conservative obstruction and decried the idea that Conservatives in the Senate would "frustrate the clear will of the majority of elected representative in the House of Commons and certainly the Liberal government."
Asked about the prospect of the conversion therapy bill not passing at the hands of his Senators earlier on Tuesday, Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole — who was in the minority of Conservative MPs who supported Bill C-6 — said the federal minority government's legislative mismanagement and decision not to heed Tory amendments was to blame, not obstruction from his caucus.
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
'We have a responsibility:' Trudeau urges global leaders to support pact for future
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is telling world leaders to either bury their heads in the sand or put differences aside for the sake of future generations.
An Edmonton man says he was in the wrong place at the wrong time when he was injured by members of the Edmonton Police Service last year.
Air Canada union head says she'll resign if pilots reject deal
The head of the Air Canada pilots union says she'll step down if members opt not to approve a tentative deal with the airline, raising the stakes as aviators mull whether to accept hefty salary gains or drive an even harder bargain.
GM workers at CAMI auto plant ratify collective agreement, Unifor says
Unifor says workers at General Motors' CAMI assembly plant and battery facility in southwestern Ontario have ratified a new collective agreement.
BREAKING
The brother of a 27-year-old man who was fatally shot in Scarborough over the weekend has been arrested and charged in connection with his death, say police.
John Mulaney and Olivia Munn have second child, a daughter named Mei
Comedian John Mulaney and actor Olivia Munn now have a second child, a daughter named Mei June Mulaney.
Kate, the Princess of Wales, makes first public appearance after cancer treatment
Kate, the Princess of Wales, made her first public appearance Sunday since she announced she had completed chemotherapy and would return to some public duties.
2 suspended from U.S. college swim team after report of slur scratched onto student's body
At least two students at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania have been suspended from the swim team after a report that a racial slur was scratched onto a student's body, officials said.
How does your health measure up? Criticism of long-time tool used to track progress
Body mass index, a long-time tool used to measure a person's health, may soon be out the door as some health professionals push for a system they say is more accurate.
Local Spotlight
Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.
Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.
An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.
They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.
A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.
Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.
The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.
It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.