Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland confronts an opposition filibuster on the omnibus budget bill. Conservative MPs at the Commons Finance committee delay all clause-by-clause voting until questioning her.. Cheque and pen .“Clearly, she doesn’t want to show up,” said Conservative MP Philip Lawrence (Northumberland-Peterborough South, ON). .“She has a record of ignoring our invitations.”.“Where the government is spending $490 billion — $490 billion — asking the minister of Finance to speak to Canadians for two hours, that’s two hours, that’s $8 billion a minute,” said Lawrence..“This is an embarrassment that she will not come to this committee. She has three times refused invitations of this committee. Three times. This is the finance committee.”.According to Blacklock’s Reporter, the cabinet on April 25 sent Bill C-47 the Budget Implementation Act to the committee for study..Conservative MPs complained the 430-page bill amends or introduces 51 separate Acts of Parliament..“The point is we are in a filibuster,” said Liberal MP Terry Beech (Burnaby North-Seymour, BC), parliamentary secretary for Finance..“That has prevented various witnesses from appearing at the committee.”.“This filibuster is ongoing,” said Beech..The protest follows a May 1 cabinet motion to impose closure on the Second Reading debate on Bill C-47 in the Commons..“The clock is ticking,” said New Democrat MP Daniel Blaikie (Elmwood-Transcona, MB). .“This filibuster is getting in the way.”.Conservatives yesterday talked out the clock in far-ranging speeches. MP Rick Perkins (South Shore-St. Margarets, NS) read into the record a lengthy essay from the Australian Journal of Public Administration volume 73, recalled the 1975 collapse of South Vietnam and discussed eel fishing in East River, NS..“The East River, for those of you who don’t know that, is off Exit 7 of the 103 in Lunenburg County, quite close to Chester — technically East Chester — about 12 minutes from my house,” said Perkins..“The most prized eels, glass eels, baby eels, are in the Maritimes and a bit in Maine,” said Perkins..“The price in 10 years has gone from a few hundred dollars to $5,000 a kilogram.”.“We have learned about the $5 per kilogram eel here,” interjected Liberal MP Peter Fonseca (Mississauga East-Cooksville, ON), Finance committee chair..“Oh, five thousand dollars per kilogram of eel? Oh, my goodness. Okay, so listen, all I can tell you is we will not be seeing eel here for any of our lunches or dinners because we are very fiscally responsible at this committee.”
