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 … 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—from the dental and rental benefit bill, to the GST tax credit boost—other 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’ 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’s 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’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 ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½
NEW Health data collected from Indigenous Peoples in Canada has a dark history. One Indigenous company is turning that around
Software company Mustimuhw Information, which develops medical records systems built on a foundation of Indigenous traditions and values, is allowing health providers to capture data informed by cultural practices.
Hezbollah handed out pagers hours before blasts, even after checks: Reuters
Lebanon's Hezbollah was still handing its members new Gold Apollo branded pagers hours before thousands blew up this week, two security sources said, indicating the group was confident the devices were safe despite an ongoing sweep of electronic kit to identify threats.
Cognitive decline reduced by MIND diet, especially for women and Black people, study finds
Following the MIND diet for 10 years produced a small but significant decrease in the risk of developing thinking, concentration and memory problems, a new study found.
The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.
An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.
Federal firearm buyback program has cost $67M, still not collecting guns after 4 years
The federal firearm buyback program has cost taxpayers nearly $67.2 million since it was announced in 2020, but it still hasn't collected a single gun.
No, these viral purple apples don't exist in Saskatchewan
If something looks too good to be true, it might be. That's the message from Saskatchewan horticulturists after customers have come into their stores hoping to buy purple apple trees this month.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has lost 205 firearms since 2020, including machine-guns
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has lost 205 firearms since 2020, including more than 120 handguns and at least five fully automatic weapons like machine-guns.
Influencer couple denies leaving kids alone on cruise
For most people, dinner on a cruise ship is a time to relax. But when influencer couple Abby and Matt Howard decided to kick back with a dinner à deux, they ended up kicking up a storm.
Local Spotlight
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.
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.
A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.
David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.
Edmontonians can count themselves lucky to ever see one tiger salamander, let alone the thousands one local woman says recently descended on her childhood home.
A daytrip to the backcountry turned into a frightening experience for a Vancouver couple this weekend.