A small number of MPs will resume sitting in the House of Commons Tuesday to consider the federal government’s $82 billion pandemic aid package despite Conservatives that are already pushing back on the deal over what they say is a power-grab by the Liberal government.
A small number of MPs will resume sitting in the House of Commons on Tuesday to consider the federal government’s $82 billion pandemic aid package, though Conservatives are already pushing back on the deal over what they say is a power-grab by the Liberal government.
The bill — An Act Respecting Certain Measures in Response to COVID-19 — will be introduced to the House on Tuesday by Finance Minister Bill Morneau. The bill would give the Liberal government the the ability to tax, spend and borrow without seeking the approval of MPs until December 2021.
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer said in a statement Monday evening that while his party stands ready to go as far as supporting the enactment of the Emergencies Act — legislation giving Ottawa powers to do just about anything deemed necessary to cope with the pandemic — the Conservatives will not allow the Liberals unfettered control of the public purse.
“Over the last week, we have negotiated for the return of Parliament expecting to enact the emergency measures the prime minister announced last week,” Sheer said. “We remain willing to enact those measures if the government proposes them tomorrow.”
“But we will not give the government unlimited power to raise taxes without a parliamentary vote,” he added. “We will authorize whatever spending measures are justified to respond to the situation, but we will not sign a blank cheque.”
However, Government House Leader Pablo Rodriguez later announced the Liberals would make changes to the proposed legislation.
“We consulted with the opposition and will bring changes to the draft legislation,” he wrote on Twitter. “We will always work collaboratively and respect the fundamental role of Parliament.”
Tomorrow, we’ll seek to pass the emergency response to the #COVID19. We consulted with the opposition and will bring changes to the draft legislation. We will always work collaboratively and respect the fundamental role of Parliament. #cdnpoli
The House of Commons is set to reconvene Tuesday with just over 30 MPs from all parties attending. The number of MPs from each party was agreed by House leaders beforehand as a way to keep people safe while maintaining party ratios in the Commons.
But as the details of the bill began to emerge, at least two Conservative caucus members, Sen. Linda Frum and MP Cathy McLeod, pledged to flout the risk of travelling and come to Ottawa to vote it down.
“I will hop on a plane immediately to vote against if this is true,” said McLeod. “Completely unacceptable and not my understanding of agreement.”
According to Conservative sources, the party supports the coronavirus bill generally but is concerned about a lack of oversight on spending regardless how long the lack of oversight persists.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said he wants to keep the return of Parliament focused on helping Canadians in need.
“We need to drop what we don’t agree on and focus on what we were sent here to