House of Commons Rises for the Summer

By: Laura Steiner

The House of Commons has ended its session for the summer.  June 22, Members of Parliament (MP’s) sat for a final session.  Prime Minister Justin Trudeau released a statement on what his government his achieved.

The Trudeau administration will reach the halfway point of its mandate this fall.  So far, they’ve passed 23 pieces of legislation.  These included legislation that would legalize marijuana, (April), new defence policy, and a new policy.  Canada has also welcomed the approval of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), a free trade deal with European Union (E.U.)

“Budget 2017 prepares Canadians for the changing economy and secures Canada’s place as a hub of innovation,” Trudeau said.  Morneau’s budget set aside $950 million for the formation of “superclusters” designed to take Canadian tech ideas to the market.  It introduced a tax on Uber, hiked takes on alcohol and cigarettes, and cancelled the popular Public transit tax credit.  The deficit will be $28 billion this year.

“Earlier this week, Minister Goodale tabled legislation to create a new National Security and Intelligence Review Agency and introduce changes to Bill C-51.”  The federal Liberals ran on changing the controversial legislation introduced by the former Harper government.

The legislation Goodale proposes is known as bill C-59, and will create The National Security and Intelligence Review Agency.  The proposed new agency will serve as civilian oversight to CSIS (Canadian Security Intelligence Service), the RCMP, and the Communications Security Establishment (CSE).   The Trudeau government hopes this will “strengthen security and better protect Canadians’ rights.”

“We still plenty of work to do, but as we get ready to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Confederation, I am confident that Canada’s best days lie ahead,” Trudeau said.  Parliament resumes September 18, 2017.