The House of Commons will adjourn for the winter break on Thursday, ending a fall sitting in which the Liberal government tabled numerous bills but saw many of them stall before final passage.MPs had been scheduled to sit until Friday, but agreed to rise a day early. The House leaves 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. 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 addressed discussions about potentially lowering the threshold for the NDP to retain official party status, noting such a change “is 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 also remains before the House, proposing new measures for the Canada Border Services Agency and changes to refugee and asylum procedures.Bill C-16, the Protecting Victims Act, has prompted a strong response from the Official Opposition. In a statement issued December 11, Conservative Deputy Leader Melissa Lantsman said Canadians are “understandably scared” after “a decade of catch-and-release Liberal bail, repealing mandatory minimums, and other hug-a-thug laws,” citing increases in human trafficking, sexual assault and violent crime since 2015. Lantsman said Conservatives support the bill’s provisions on banning deepfake intimate images, mandatory reporting for child sexual abuse material and making the murder of an intimate partner automatically first-degree. She added that an aggravating factor for sextortion is “a step in the right direction.” However, she said the bill “egregiously continues the Liberals’ soft-on-crime agenda” by allowing judges to ignore mandatory minimum sentences for serious offences. “Parliament set mandatory minimums for these heinous crimes for a reason,” she said, adding that Conservatives “will never vote for lighter sentences for serious offenders” and urging the government to split the measure so other parts of the bill can move forward.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.MacKinnon also addressed reports of VIA Rail passengers stranded during a winter incident. “I’m worried about that,” he said. “VIA Rail has had incidents like this in the past, and we have directed that they get much better at issues that may arise on a line. We understand, as a public transporter, there are going to be issues. It’s a Canadian winter, and things happen. However, when these things do happen, the response is critical, and we want VIA Rail to continue to improve.”With the House rising Thursday, the government ends the fall session with far more bills introduced than passed, leaving a lengthy legislative agenda waiting for MPs when they return in late January..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 addressed discussions about potentially lowering the threshold for the NDP to retain official party status, noting such a change “is 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 also remains before the House, proposing new measures for the Canada Border Services Agency and changes to refugee and asylum procedures.Bill C-16, the Protecting Victims Act, has prompted a strong response from the Official Opposition. In a statement issued December 11, Conservative Deputy Leader Melissa Lantsman said Canadians are “understandably scared” after “a decade of catch-and-release Liberal bail, repealing mandatory minimums, and other hug-a-thug laws,” citing increases in human trafficking, sexual assault and violent crime since 2015.Lantsman said Conservatives support the bill’s provisions on banning deepfake intimate images, mandatory reporting for child sexual abuse material and making the murder of an intimate partner automatically first-degree.She added that an aggravating factor for sextortion is “a step in the right direction.” However, she said the bill “egregiously continues the Liberals’ soft-on-crime agenda” by allowing judges to ignore mandatory minimum sentences for serious offences.“Parliament set mandatory minimums for these heinous crimes for a reason,” she said, adding that Conservatives “will never vote for lighter sentences for serious offenders” and urging the government to split the measure so other parts of the bill can move forward..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.MacKinnon also addressed reports of VIA Rail passengers stranded during a winter incident. “I’m worried about that,” he said. “VIA Rail has had incidents like this in the past, and we have directed that they get much better at issues that may arise on a line. We understand, as a public transporter, there are going to be issues. It’s a Canadian winter, and things happen. However, when these things do happen, the response is critical, and we want VIA Rail to continue to improve.”With the House rising Thursday, the government ends the fall session with far more bills introduced than passed, leaving a lengthy legislative agenda waiting for MPs when they return in late January.
