I have noticed a rather dangerous pattern emerging, with legislation proposed by Her Majesty's Government for Canada.
Let's take a look at some of the titles of Acts passed during the 38th Parliament, when the Government was formed by the Liberal Party of Canada, under the leadership of The Right Honourable Paul Martin P.C., the 21st Prime Minister:
Contrast these examples, do the titles of Acts proposed by the Government of the Conservative Party of Canada, during the current session of Parliament, under the leadership of The Right Honourable Stephen Harper P.C., M.P. (Calgary Southwest), the Prime Minister:
There were a lot of other titles that I didn't add here, but I invite members to visit this link to view the rest of the Government's current House of Commons bills during the current session. Comparing the two lists, it seems apparent that the Conservatives are breaking the tradition of using non-partisan, descriptive titles for Acts, instead favouring uber-partisan soundbite-style snippets of rhetoric.
This is making a mockery of the parliamentary process; the ideas can be partisan, of course, but the laws themselves should be as apolitical as possible in legislative form. I mean, come on--the Cracking Down on Crooked Consultants Act? Really?
Consider the contrast here. The Liberals' most recent budget bill was entitled the Budget Implementation Act, 2005; the Conservatives' most recent budget, the Jobs and Economics Growth Act, the only Government to break the convention for budget nomenclature. It's inappropriate, and I hope that senators and members of the House of Commons start to amend the short titles of bills to be more non-partisan.
Let's take a look at some of the titles of Acts passed during the 38th Parliament, when the Government was formed by the Liberal Party of Canada, under the leadership of The Right Honourable Paul Martin P.C., the 21st Prime Minister:
- Bill C-4, the International Interests in Mobile Equipment (Aircraft Equipment) Act
- Bill C-5, the Canada Education Savings Act
- Bill C-6, the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Act
- Bill C-9, the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec Act
- Bill C-14, the Ticho Land Claims and Self-Government Act
- Bill C-20, the First Nations Fiscal and Statistical Management Act
- Bill C-21, the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act
- Bill C-22, the Department of Social Development Act
- Bill C-23, the Department of Human Resources and Skills Development Act
- Bill C-25, the Remote Sensing Space Systems Act
- Bill C-26, the Canada Border Services Agency Act
Contrast these examples, do the titles of Acts proposed by the Government of the Conservative Party of Canada, during the current session of Parliament, under the leadership of The Right Honourable Stephen Harper P.C., M.P. (Calgary Southwest), the Prime Minister:
- Bill C-4, Sebastien's Law (Protecting the Public from Violent Young Offenders)
- Bill C-5, the Keeping Canadians Safe (International Transfer of Offenders) Act
- Bill C-9, the Jobs and Economic Growth Act
- Bill C-13, the Fairness for Military Families (Employment Insurance) Act
- Bill C-14, the Fairness at the Pumps Act
- Bill C-17, the Combating Terrorism Act
- Bill C-21, the Standing Up for Victims of White Collar Crime Act
- Bill C-29, the Safeguarding Canadians' Personal Information Act
- Bill C-35, the Cracking Down on Crooked Consultants Act
There were a lot of other titles that I didn't add here, but I invite members to visit this link to view the rest of the Government's current House of Commons bills during the current session. Comparing the two lists, it seems apparent that the Conservatives are breaking the tradition of using non-partisan, descriptive titles for Acts, instead favouring uber-partisan soundbite-style snippets of rhetoric.
This is making a mockery of the parliamentary process; the ideas can be partisan, of course, but the laws themselves should be as apolitical as possible in legislative form. I mean, come on--the Cracking Down on Crooked Consultants Act? Really?
Consider the contrast here. The Liberals' most recent budget bill was entitled the Budget Implementation Act, 2005; the Conservatives' most recent budget, the Jobs and Economics Growth Act, the only Government to break the convention for budget nomenclature. It's inappropriate, and I hope that senators and members of the House of Commons start to amend the short titles of bills to be more non-partisan.
