Shortly after House of Commons proceedings began Tuesday, the chamber suspended itself while the Liberal government and Opposition parties negotiate the finer points of a bill to deliver aid to Canadians during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some MPs return to Ottawa today to deal with an emergency bill to spend billions of dollars to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. 0:00
Shortly after House of Commons proceedings began Tuesday, the chamber suspended itself while the Liberal government and opposition parties negotiate the finer points of a bill to deliver aid to Canadians during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Opposition Conservatives have said they are not willing to vote for the bill as it is currently written. The Tories have concerns about provisions in the legislation that grant unprecedented spending authority to Finance Minister Bill Morneau during this crisis, with an ill-defined role for Parliament.
Part 4 of the draft bill the government presented to the opposition ahead of today’s sitting would allow Finance Minister Bill Morneau access to “all money required to do anything, including making payments to provinces and territories.” Such broad terms are raising red flags with opposition MPs.
The negotiations between the parties are still going on and the Co