House of Commons adjourns for the year, ending fall sitting early
The House of Commons has adjourned for the year, after MPs unanimously agreed to wrap up the fall sitting a few days early.
While MPs were scheduled to stick around until Friday, after a jam-packed political fall, all sides agreed to finish off their work in the Chamber on Wednesday.
"It's been a tumultuous few years, and this House has seen a lot and had to grapple with a lot of challenges 鈥 I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas break, a very happy new year," said Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer during a round of year-end remarks from each party that brought the sitting to a close.
It's not uncommon for MPs to unanimously agree to wrap up their work in Ottawa a few days ahead of the holidays, depending on the status of key government bills, as well as how much tension there is between the parties.
Across Parliament Hill MPs from all parties seemed energized about the early adjournment after five weeks of consecutive sittings. The all-party agreement to bring their fall sitting to a close was met with cheers across the chamber.
"I think that we've had a very productive parliamentary session," Government House Leader Mark Holland told reporters on his way in to a Liberal caucus meeting on Wednesday morning. Reflecting on the fall sitting in the House, Holland also offered his thanks to the staff who ensure the Hill functions and the security officials who are responsible for keeping parliamentarians safe.
This week's legislative agenda took somewhat of a backseat after the death of Liberal MP and former minister Jim Carr on Monday. Following question period on Wednesday afternoon, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered remarks as part of a tribute to the late politician.
"Jim embodied that unique set of characteristics that distinguish people from the Prairies, his clear headedness, his pragmatism, his decency. Our government will forever be better for it," Trudeau said as a photo of Carr sat next to a vase of white flowers placed on what had been his desk in the chamber.
WHERE DO KEY BILLS STAND?
While the Liberals managed to pass most of the legislation they made a priority at the outset of the fall sitting鈥攆rom the dental and rental benefit bill, to the GST tax credit boost鈥攐ther bills they wanted to see advance have been mired in political controversy and wrangling over amendments.
For example, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino's gun control legislation Bill C-21 is held up at a House committee and faces further scrutiny over a contentious amendment to considerably expand the number of firearms that would be prohibited. MPs are still set to decide on Thursday how to proceed.
On Wednesday afternoon, Mendicino held a press conference backed by a handful of Liberal MPs signalling an effort to take the temperature down around the debate.
"We are very much inviting and embracing of a responsible and civilized debate about how we make sure that we draw the line in the right place," the minister said. "And so we will continue to take the time that is necessary to make whatever fine tuning to the language of the amendment, to make sure that we get it right."
Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez's online streaming legislation Bill C-11 remains before the Senate and is likely destined to be bounced back to the House in the new year given the degree of changes the upper chamber has made.
The last bill to clear the final legislative hurdle in the House was Bill C-18, the online news remuneration legislation. It's now off to the Senate where it's unlikely to get far until 2023. The Liberals also tabled two new bills on Wednesday, one seeking to amend the Indian Act to provide new entitlements to registration, and the other to establish the Employment Insurance Board of Appeal.
While MPs are getting out of Ottawa a bit early, the Senate is scheduled to sit until Dec. 22. However, in anticipation of moving through business, the upper chamber will be convening earlier than usual on Thursday.
Among the key bills they are set to pass before adjourning for the holidays is Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland's fall economic update implementation legislation, Bill C-32.
LEADERS GIVE SITTING-END SPEECHES
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre kicked off his day with an end-of-sitting speech to his caucus, where he capped off his first stretch of parliamentary work with him at the helm of the party by delivering a laundry list of ways he thinks Trudeau and the federal Liberals are failing and how Conservatives could do better.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh gave his own pre-holiday remarks on Parliament Hill Wednesday afternoon follow his caucus鈥 meeting.
"So every day of this session, New Democrats have been fighting to deliver help for you and your families," Singh said. "We fought and delivered victories for people, and we're going to keep on doing that in the new year."
Asked about the state of the Liberal-NDP supply-and-confidence deal heading into 2023, Trudeau said both parties are "ambitious" in "trying to get things done for Canadians" amid a tough time.
The prime minister addressed Liberal loyalists at the party鈥檚 Christmas confab on Wednesday evening, taking direct aim at his Conservative opponent. "When he says that Canada is broken, that's where we draw the line," Trudeau said to applause.
MPs are not scheduled to be back in the nation's capital until Jan. 30.
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鈥檚 three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party鈥檚 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鈥檛 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
Canada will cut its permanent immigration levels by at least 20 per cent
Canada will lower the number of permanent immigrants it allows into the country by at least 20 per cent from its previous target of 500,000, 愛污传媒 confirmed Wednesday.
The president and CEO of New Brunswick-based Covered Bridge Potato Chips is taking an 'extended leave of absence' after being charged with domestic violence this past weekend.
A memorial is growing outside a Walmart in Halifax after a 19-year-old employee was found dead inside an oven in the store Saturday night.
Trudeau says Liberals 'strong and united' despite caucus dissent
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the Liberal party is 'strong and united,' despite efforts from within his caucus to oust him as leader.
'Canadians can breathe a sigh of relief': Bank of Canada governor on interest rate cut
The Bank of Canada made a sizable cut to its key lending rate Wednesday from 4.25 per cent to 3.75 per cent as the global economy continues to expand. The half percentage point cut is the fourth rate cut in a row by the central bank as inflation dropped from 2.7 per cent in June to 1.6 per cent in September.
A search has started at Prairie Green Landfill for the remains of two victims of a serial killer.
He is a familiar face to residents of a neighbourhood just west of Roncesvalles Avenue.
Canada's discount airline is suspending operations to and from Saskatoon.
A new report suggests that Canadians' exposure to a radioactive gas is increasing, putting millions of people at a higher risk of developing lung cancer.
Local Spotlight
He is a familiar face to residents of a neighbourhood just west of Roncesvalles Avenue.
A meteor lit up our region's sky last night 鈥 with a large fireball shooting across the horizon over Lake Erie at around 7:00 p.m.
Residents of Ottawa's Rideauview neighbourhood say an aggressive wild turkey has become a problem.
A man who lost his life while trying to rescue people from floodwaters, and a 13-year-old boy who saved his family from a dog attack, are among the Nova Scotians who received a medal for bravery Tuesday.
A newly minted Winnipegger is hoping a world record attempt will help bring awareness for the need for more pump track facilities in the city.
A Springfield, Ont. man is being hailed a 'hero' after running into his burning home to save his two infant children.
Hortense Anglin was the oldest graduate to make her way across the platform at York University's Fall Convocation ceremony this week. At the age of 87, she graduated with an Honours degree in Religious Studies.
Looking for a scare with good intentions this Halloween season? The ghosts and ghouls of Eganville, Ont. invite families to tour the Haunted Walk at Lekbor Manor.
The image of a sleepy Saskatchewan small town with 'not a lot going on' is a well-known anecdote. However, one Saskatchewan company is hoping to change that 鈥 and allow communities both on and off the beaten path to share their stories and advertise what they have to offer.