The House of Commons could adjourn for the winter break as early as Thursday, ending a fall sitting in which the Liberal government tabled numerous bills but saw many of them stall before final passage.MPs are officially scheduled to sit until Friday, but could agree to rise sooner. If they do, the House will leave Ottawa with major government priorities, including budget, crime and border legislation, still unfinished. Parliament is set to return on January 26..Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon said Wednesday his government has “accomplished an incredible amount” during the fall sitting, pointing to budget and crime bills that have yet to become law.On Thursday, speaking to reporters on his way into a cabinet meeting, he said, “It’s been an incredibly productive session. We’ve tabled major pieces of crime legislation to deal with things like extortion, child pornography, intimate partner violence.""It’s been a massively successful introduction of crime legislation.” He added that the government’s economic plan is advancing, saying, “We’ve cut taxes for Canadians. We’ve made life more affordable. I think the country has moved a long way since the election.”.MacKinnon said he is “hopefully going to pass our border bill today, C-12,” which he described as containing “significant issues to deal with issues at the border and with immigration.”He also pushed back on the idea that the government could “grant” the NDP official party status, noting, “We don’t grant or not grant, but they want to change the law, to lower the threshold. That’s going to require unanimous consent.”Since the start of the fall session, the first full sitting under Prime Minister Mark Carney, the government has tabled Bill C-14, which would impose stricter bail rules for repeat and violent offenders, and Bill C-16, which restores mandatory minimum sentences previously struck down by the courts and introduces measures addressing hateful and controlling behaviour toward women while shielding children from online predators..A revised border bill remains before the House, proposing new measures for the Canada Border Services Agency and controversial changes to refugee and asylum procedures.Carney said Wednesday that while his government does not hold a majority, Parliament is “functioning well,” pointing to the major projects bill that passed in June. He said Canadians “rightly” expect more progress and that he wants outstanding crime legislation passed as soon as possible.Opposition parties argued the government has failed to move its own agenda forward. Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer said, “For the past few weeks and months, we’ve seen all kinds of procedural tricks and games that Liberals have played that has had the effect of holding up their own agenda..It might be that after ten years of government, they are still not very good at governing.” MacKinnon earlier accused Conservatives of blocking legislation, including Bill C-4, which would legislatively end the consumer carbon price.The Liberal budget passed in November after the government survived a confidence vote with backing from Green Party Leader Elizabeth May and abstentions from two NDP and two Conservative MPs.The budget implementation bill passed second reading on Wednesday and will move to committee in the new year..If the House rises Thursday, the government will conclude the fall session with far more bills introduced than passed, leaving a lengthy legislative to-do list when MPs return in late January.
