C-2 Incomplete and Inapplicable: Bloc

[FiveParadox]

Benoît Sauvageau, M.P., the Member for Repentigny and the Treasury Board Critic for the Bloc Québécois, Monique Guay, M.P., the Member for Rivière-du-Nord and the Deputy House Leader for the Bloc Québécois, and Carole Lavallée, the Member for Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert and the Labour Critic for the Bloc Québecois, today slammed the Government of Canada for its efforts to force Bill C-2 through the Parliament of Canada without due consideration and debate.

In particular, Mme Guay brought up the fact that the Library of Parliament has found that, on average, quite complex pieces of legislation take two hundred days to make it through the process, in order to accomodate enough consideration of its provisions; she questioned the wisdom of the Government in attempting to push the legislation through in the area of forty days.

M Sauvageau sounded his concerns over the lawfulness of the legislation — it has been found by Rob Walsh, the Law Clerk of the House of Commons, that some of the provisions of the legislation are not in accordance with the Constitution Acts, 1867 to 1982, and may therefore not be in order. However, the Government has not expressed any interest in changing the affected sections, or in slowing down the process to correct the issues. M Sauvageau has, furthermore, expressed a wish to see amendments to the Access to Information Act incorporated into the legislation.

These critics, for the Bloc Québécois, wish to see the Government take the summer recess to "rewrite", so to speak, the legislation, so as to make the legislation lawful, and more in keeping with a spirit of renewing the structure of government in Ottawa (and, of course, to encorporate provisions relating to the Access to Information Act).

:?: Sources
1. Click here for the Web site of the Bloc Québécois.

 

[BitWhys]

RE: C-2 Incomplete and In

Harper's been whining that C2 is being "help up" in Senate. I hope he keeps it up since every time he does its effectively a challenge for MPs to carry the Senate arguments to the Commons floor.

 

[FiveParadox]

That's odd, BitWhys.

I was under the impression that Bill C-2 is continuing to be considered by the House of Commons Legislative Committee on Bill C-2. Has the Government been suggesting that the Senate is conducting itself in an unreasonable manner? :?

 

[BitWhys]

better not take my word for it since I only listen to proceedings in the background but I'm pretty sure I heard Harper mention then Senate when he was talking about the resistance the bill is getting.

could be wrong on that.

 

[FiveParadox]

It is quite likely that the process is going to slow down once the legislation has been passed into the Senate; however, this is because the Government is making an unreasonable request in having the legislation passed within forty days. As noted above, legislation of this level of complexity would normally take somewhere in the area of two hundred days to consider thoroughly.