PARLIAMENTARY REPORT
CANADA
SUMMER RECESS AND DISSOLUTION OF PARLIAMENT
Summer recess and Dissolution
After a busy spring in Parliament, the House of Commons adjourned on 19 June 2015 and the Senate adjourned on 30 June. On 2 August, Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Stephen Harper MP asked Governor General His Excellency the Rt. Hon. David Johnston to dissolve Parliament and call an election for 19 October. The 78-day election campaign is the longest since 1926, when 74 days elapsed between dissolution and the election.
Legislation
Before Parliament adjourned for the summer, 27 bills received Royal Assent. Among these was Bill C-51, the Anti- Terrorism Act 2015, which had been the subject of much debate.
Parliament also passed C-586, the Reform Act 2014, which was introduced by Conservative member Hon. Michael Chong MP. This Private Member’s Bill gives the MPs in a party caucus the power to launch a leadership review, as well as a greater say on expelling and readmitting members of the caucus. Before the Senate adjourned, it passed Bill C-377, an Act to amend the Income Tax Act (requirements for labour organizations). A controversial Private Member’s Bill introduced by Conservative Russ Hiebert MP, it requires trade unions to disclose financial information, including statements of disbursements
related to lobbying, collective bargaining and legal activities, as well as to employees receiving compensation over C$100,000.
The Bill was passed by the House of Commons in 2012 and amended and passed in the Senate in 2013 before it died on the Order Paper. It was re-introduced in the Senate that same year. At debate on Third Reading, opposition Liberal senators mounted a filibuster against the Bill.
On 26 June, the Speaker of the Senate, Hon. Leo Housakos ruled against a Conservative motion to cut off debate. In an unusual development, his ruling was appealed and overturned. In the House of Commons, the Speaker’s rulings are not subject to appeal, but the Rules of the Senate allow Senators to appeal a Speaker’s ruling. The Senate went on to pass Bill C-377 and it received Royal Assent.
Committee Reports In June 2015, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs (PROC) tabled two reports related to the conduct of MPs. The House concurred in both reports. One proposed the development of a code of conduct on preventing and addressing sexual harassment between MPs. It sets out a process for dealing with complaints.
PROC’s other report dealt with the Conflict of Interest Code for MPs, which forms part
220 | The Parliamentarian | 2015: Issue Three
of the Standing Orders. Among other things.
PROC recommended that the threshold for disclosing gifts be lowered from C$500 to C$200 and that the same threshold apply to disclosing travel sponsored by third parties.
Other House of Commons Committees tabled reports on interprovincial trade barriers, the Canadian feature film industry, terrorist financing, North American relations and defence, the effects of electromagnetic radiation on health, the forest sector and transition services for ill or injured veterans. Before the Senate
adjourned, its Committees tabled reports on matters such as border security, digital currency, Canada’s relations with Southeast Asia, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and bilingualism among Canadian youth.
Auditor General’s Report on Senators’ Expenses On 9 June 2015, the Auditor General of Canada, Michael Ferguson, released the much- anticipated results of an audit of Senators’ expenses. He examined all the expenses of 116 Senators and former Senators and found that “the oversight, accountability, and transparency of Senators’ expenses was quite simply not adequate.”
In particular, he flagged 30 Senators and former Senators for having made inappropriate claims and recommended that nine of these cases be referred
to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) for investigation. In his report, The Auditor General also recommended creating an independent oversight body to oversee Senators’ expenses.
Senate Reform
The Supreme Court of Canada having ruled that establishing term limits for Senators or changing the way in which Senators are chosen requires the approval of seven of the 10 provinces representing at least 50% of the population, on 25 July Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced a moratorium on Senate appointments. He said that this would force the provinces to come up with a plan to reform the Senate. Aa at 27 July, there were 22 vacancies in the 105- seat Senate.
Changes in the Senate On June 18, Senator Don Meredith was expelled from the Conservative caucus following allegations in the media that he had a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old girl.
With the dissolution of the 41st Parliament, the
suspensions of Senators Pamela Wallin, Mike Duffy and Patrick Brazeau were lifted. In November 2013, they were suspended for the remainder of the session for claiming inappropriate expenses.
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