BACK TO TABLE OF CONTENTS

THE END OF THE CHRÉTIEN REGIME

Now that the sun has set on the controversial regime of Prime Minister Chrétien, it is important to assess what will happen to the bills put forward by him and his eager assistant, Justice Minister Martin Cauchon. Cauchon, by the way, is also experiencing the trauma of power slipping from his hands, as it is certain that the Prime Minister-in-Waiting, Paul Martin, will find no place for him in his cabinet.

The list of bills that Messrs. Chrétien and Cauchon have put forward would, if passed, have dramatically changed Canada. These bills constituted the legacy and will of these two men, not that of the Canadian people. Examples are the bill to decriminalize marijuana (Bill C-38); the bill on Assisted Human Reproduction (C-13), which would have permitted embryo cell research and some types of cloning; and the private member's Bill C-250 of self-described homosexual NDP MP, Svend Robinson, which provides protection for sexual orientation in the hate propaganda section of the Criminal Code. This latter bill was treated by Justice Minister Cauchon as if it were a government bill. (See Reality, September/October, 2003, p.1.) Also included in the list of Chrétien's bills are Bill C-20, which provided disturbingly insubstantial amendments to the child pornography law, and Bill C-22 which amended the Divorce Act and which amendments would effectively have excluded the non-custodial father from close involvement with his children, while the custodial parent (usually the mother) would have control over access to the children.

What Happens to Bills when Parliament is Prorogued?

Mr. Chrétien has now prorogued Parliament. During the time that Parliament is prorogued, the Prime Minister and his cabinet remain in office, and the MPs retain their full rights and privileges. The new Liberal leader, Paul Martin, elected at the November 16th Liberal Leadership Convention, is expected to announce his new cabinet by December 10, 2003.

Unfortunately, under recently amended House of Commons Rules of Procedure, bills before the House of Commons at the time of prorogation can be brought back to life if the government wishes to do so. Consequently, prorogation does not mean bills are completely dead, because, in theory, they can be revived when the House of Commons resumes sitting. Any revival of bills puts them at the same stage they had reached prior to prorogation. Also, in order for bills to be revived, they have to be exactly the same wording as they were at the time of prorogation.

The huge question, then, is: will Mr. Martin want to continue Mr. Chrétien's legacy by reviving these exact same bills? Probably not, as Mr. Martin will certainly want to put his own stamp on Parliament before it dissolves before the 2004 election. That is, Mr. Martin will want to make clear that his term as Prime Minister is not just a continuation of Mr. Chrétien's. Mr. Martin will want to establish the fact that a new government has taken office, worthy of being elected to power on its own merits.

Mr. Martin will probably accomplish this by opening Parliament in late January or early February with a Speech from the Throne in which he will lay out his agenda. Even if they do include some of the issues put forward by Mr. Chrétien, Mr. Martin's bills will likely differ substantially. For example, the Assisted Human Reproductive Technology bill may be broken into two separate bills in order to accommodate the controversial embryo research provision in one bill, and the other less controversial provisions in another, such as those prohibiting the sale of ovum and sperm, and the monitoring of fertility clinics, etc. in another second bill. What will Mr. Martin do about the issue of marijuana? The Divorce Act amendment? Who can say? Probably these matters will not be raised at all by Mr. Martin, because they are controversial and divisive in his own caucus. He may prefer to deal with them, if at all, after the 2004 election.

Bill C-250 (amendment to hate propaganda provision in the Criminal Code)

Mr. Robinson's Private Member's Bill C-250 (hate propaganda amendment to the Criminal Code) is in a category all its own. The bill was given special treatment and care by Justice Minister, Martin Cauchon, when it was before the House of Commons. The bill had all the advantages and special privileges granted to private member's bills, under the newly enacted Standing Order 86.1, which permits private member's bills to be revived at the same stage they had reached at the end of the previous session. This occurred after the House of Commons prorogued in June and sat again in September 2003. On the other hand, the bill was coddled, protected and pushed forward by Mr. Cauchon, as if it were a government bill. This resulted in Mr. Robinson not only being allowed to filibuster his bill out of the Justice Committee, without amendments, but the Liberal MPs being ordered by Mr. Cauchon to vote for the bill. (40 Liberals resisted his pressure to do so.) (See Reality, September/October, 2003, p.1.)

On September 24, 2003, after the third and final vote on Bill C-250 in the House of Commons (September 17, 2003), it was sent to the Senate. However, because of the tireless and intelligent efforts of Senator Anne Cools, the bill has not moved forward into Committee there. She was joined in the last few weeks of this marathon by Senators Gerry St. Germain (Alliance), Langley-Pemberton-Whistler, and Conservative Senators, David Tkachuk and Leonard Gustafson (both Saskatchewan) and Tommy Banks (Liberal), Edmonton, Alta., all of whom spoke against the bill. Time finally ran out with the prorogation of Parliament, and the bill never did reach the Committee for review.

What Will Happen to Bill C-250 Now?

There is no provision in the Rules of Procedure in the Senate to revive a bill before the Senate at the time of prorogation. If a bill is not passed at prorogation, it simply dies. However, one of the senators can introduce the same bill into the Senate as a brand new bill when the Senate sits again, and it then must proceed through the entire Senate process of second reading, committee hearings and third and final reading. After that, it has to be sent back to the House of Commons for approval, where it has to start the process all over again: second reading, committee reviews and third and final debate, etc. Not an easy feat.

We may not be finished with Bill C-250, however.

Further information on Bill C-250 will be included in the next issue of Reality.

BACK TO TABLE OF CONTENTS