Don Newman

November 25, 2021

During our recent federal campaign, we were told the election that was held September 20th would be the most important in Canada since 1945. That was the election at the end of the Second World War meant to plot the future course of Canada in a new era of peace. The 2021 election was to chart the course for Canada after the COVID-pandemic abated.

But when the election returned another minority Liberal government with the seats for each party distributed essentially as they had been in the previous Parliament, the urgency of rebuilding Canada seemed to wane. Cabinet was sworn in on October 26th, more than a month after the election date. And Parliament resumed on November 22nd, two months after the election.

Added to the sense of ennui is the Speech from the Throne that opened Parliament. The most interesting thing about it was the person who read it: The new Governor General, Mary Simon, Canada’s first Indigenous GG, who delivered the speech in English, French and Inuktitut.

But the speech itself was the warmed up left-overs of the Liberal election campaign. No dramatic new idea to build a post-pandemic economy. Instead defeating COVID, the speech emphasized green house gas reduction, $10-a-day child care, building more houses and defending French in Quebec. All took pride of place, just as they had before the election.

Most of those proposals will have to be implemented after the new year. Because of the two-month gap between the election and the resumption of Parliament, there were only four weeks of sitting days in the House before MPs leave for Christmas. The Liberals want to pass into law four bills before the break begins on December 16, after which the House will not resume until the end of January.

Those bills would create 10 days of sick leave for people working in federally regulated industries. Restructured COVID-benefits will reduce or end support for most people, but provide additional support for people in the tourism and hospitality industries. Another bill will make it a crime to harass or threaten health care workers. A fourth bill will ban conversion therapy.

In addition to those bills, the government says it plans to produce a fall economic update before the House rises. All in all, an ambitious timetable with now just three weeks left of sitting time.

The Liberals have already cleared one hurdle. The Bloc Québécois has signalled that it will support a vote accepting the throne speech. In a minority House, the Liberals need the support of at least one other party to pass legislation and motions. If the throne speech were rejected, we might have been pitched back into another election.

In announcing his support, Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet was far from enthusiastic. He said his party would support the throne speech because, like apple pie, it was so innocuous that there was nothing in it worth opposing.

That statement had more than a ring of truth to it. Hopefully, week two of this new Parliament will not be as innocuous.

Contributing Writer and columnist Don Newman, an Officer of the Order of Canada and a Lifetime Member of the Parliamentary Press Gallery, is Executive Vice President of Rubicon Strategy based in Ottawa.