Having taken a bit of a hiatus during and after the NDP’s leadership campaign, I’ll resume looking back at what’s happened in the House of Commons starting with the election of Thomas Mulcair. (I’ll plan to return to the previous sitting later on.) Monday, March 26 saw Mulcair’s introduction as
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Accidental Deliberations: Tuesday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your afternoon reading. – Linda McQuaig writes that Robocon is placing Canada at the forefront of dubious electoral results in the developed world. Which of course means it’s time to evaluate the Cons’ fraud merely as a matter of political damage control, rather than focusing on who’s
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: December 15, 2011
Thursday, December 15 was the final day in the House of Commons before the winter break. The Big Issue Once again, debate focused primarily on Bill C-26 to clarify the availability of self-defence under the Criminal Code. And the opposition parties started proceedings by granting unanimous consent to an effort
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: December 14, 2011
Wednesday, December 14 saw another day of debate devoted to free trade issues, this time addressing a proposed treaty with Jordan. But first… The Utterly Unprecedented, Stunning Development Which Shook The Very Foundations Of Canada’s System Of Government As Administered By Stephen Harper Helene Laverdiere asked a simple question to
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: December 13, 2011
Tuesday, December 13 served to confirm the range of concerns that hadn’t yet been taken into account in the Cons’ seat redistribution bill – even as debate came to a close and the bill was rammed through against the protests of a united opposition. The Big Issue In response to
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: December 12, 2011
Monday, December 12 saw two main topics of debate. But perhaps most striking was the introduction of the Cons’ newest tactic to dictate the terms of discussion in the House of Commons. The Big IssueMuch of the day’s discussion focused on the Cons’ copyright bill. And Paul Calandra started proceedings
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: December 8, 2011
Thursday, December 8 saw debate on four separate bills – though once again, the Harper Cons were most conspicuous by their silence on a bill they were in the process of ramming through Parliament. The Big Issue That would be the Senate patch job which was being debated at second
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: December 7, 2011
Wednesday, December 7 packed plenty of contentious debate into an extremely short day, with a time allocation motion and debate on two bills fit within an afternoon sitting. The Big Issue Once again, Peter Van Loan sought to limit debate on one of the Cons’ bills – this time their
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: December 6, 2011
Tuesday, December 6 saw a day devoted primarily to debating the Cons’ seat redistribution bill. And the result was some interesting interplay between the three official parties in the House of Commons – if no lack of contradictions as well. The Big Issue In effect, the debate on C-20 saw
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: December 5, 2011
Monday, December 5 saw the House of Commons debate the NDP’s motion on climate change. And while the Cons tried to put up a relatively brave facade on an issue where they’ve been fighting progress at any turn, they inevitably ended up showing their true colours. The Big Issue At
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: December 2, 2011
Friday, December 2 saw the final day of debate in Parliament on the Cons’ omnibus crime bill. And for at least a moment, the proceedings took a perhaps surprising turn. The Big Issue As debate wound down on C-10, Irene Mathyssen questioned why the Cons insisted on delaying the passage
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: December 1, 2011
In the midst of a week of acrimonious debate over both the substance of the Cons’ dumb-on-crime legislation and the government’s procedural maneuvers to prevent even improvements which it recognized as necessary, December 1 served as a comparative beacon of cooperation (as noted specifically by Don Davies). The Big Issue
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: November 29, 2011
Tuesday, November 29 saw debate at third reading on the Cons’ omnibus crime bill. And with even some Cons starting to recognize the desperate need for amendments, the government’s obstinate refusal to allow for any real consideration of the bill stood out all the more. The Big Issue At the
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: November 28, 2011
Monday, November 28 saw the final day of debate in the House of Commons on the Cons’ legislation to trash the single-desk Canadian Wheat Board. And not surprisingly, the result was a particularly focused set of concerns about the bill – though those were waved aside yet again. The Big
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: November 25, 2011
Friday, November 25 saw the House of Commons debate two NDP ideas: one to allow for meaningful debate and consideration of legislation in Parliament, the other to give effect to a principle the Cons are looking to punt to a committee in the apparent hope that it’ll never surface again.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: November 24, 2011
The main topic of debate in the House of Commons on Thursday, November 24 was again copyright – and once more, the Cons couldn’t be bothered to try to defend their own legislation. The Big Issue But that left plenty of time for opposition speakers to raise the level of
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: November 23, 2011
Wednesday, November 23 saw the last votes in the House of Commons on the dismantling of the single-desk Wheat Board. And to who thought there might be some suspense as to the Cons’ determination to impose their agenda without listening to anybody, it’s always great to welcome new readers. The
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: November 22, 2011
Tuesday, November 22 saw the Cons’ refusal to debate their own government bills reach absurd levels, as Con MPs spent more time arguing against a single opposition private member’s bill than they did defending some of their supposed key priorities. The Big Issue But then, one can hardly blame the
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: November 21, 2011
Monday, November 21 featured the final day of debate on the Harper Cons’ omnibus budget bill. The Big Issue Not surprisingly, the final day of debate on budget legislation gave rise to plenty of clash, with Peter Julian offering up the best summary of the contrasting positions: What the Conservatives
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: November 18, 2011
Friday, November 18 saw two pieces of legislation discussed. And the contrast couldn’t have been much more stark between an opposition effort to develop better legislation, and a government focused on nothing more than sticking to talking points regardless of whether they made the slightest sense in context. The Big
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