Don't know if any of you have been following up on the Canadian domestic political scene here, but since I go to work and have pretty much nothing to do the entire day, I read a lot of news and nothing's been more popular than what's happening in Ottawa with the parties in the House of Commons duking it out over Bill C-38 which would redefine marriage in Canada to two people instead of a man and a woman. As well, Bill C-48 proposes to add an extra $4.6 billion dollars to the federal budget which was passed a few weeks ago. Bill C-38 has a high likelyhood of becoming law. Bill C-48...a little more tenuous:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl...BNStory/Front/ Quote:
Liberals likely to get House sitting into the summer
By ALLISON DUNFIELD
Thursday, June 23, 2005 Updated at 3:29 PM EDT
Globe and Mail Update
MPs will soon find out whether their summer break will begin Thursday at midnight, or whether they'll have to sit fanning themselves in their House of Commons seats a few weeks longer in the Ottawa heat.
And, aided by the Bloc Québécois and New Democrats, the minority Liberals will likely succeed in extending sitting.
The Bloc and the Liberals have made a deal, which will ensure the vote passes.
The Bloc has agreed to support the Liberals because it now has received assurances from them regarding its demands that the bill to legalize same-sex marriage will be dealt with if the sitting is extended.
"It is worthwhile extending the sitting to offer justice to our fellow citizens and put an end to this issue (same-sex marriage) that is divisive," said Bloc MP Michel Gauthier.
"It is our duty: We will extend."
On Thursday morning, they voted 195-97 for ending the debate on whether to extend the sitting.
Later in the day, MPs will vote on the actual motion to extend the sitting of Parliament into the summer.
The vote is set for 8 p.m. EDT.
The Liberals want to prolong the sitting of the House of Commons because they want to push the same-sex marriage bill, C-38, and the budget bill, C-48, through the Commons. Only one final vote remains on C-48.
However, the Tories and the Bloc are opposed to C-48 because it adds $4.6-billion in social spending demands as part of a deal the Liberals made with the NDP.
The Liberals say they are committed to remaining in Ottawa until legislation on both the budget and same-sex marriage goes through.
House Leader Tony Valeri met privately with his counterparts in the other parties earlier this week and provided them with a draft agenda that would have MPs sit for an extra three weeks to ensure the bills are passed.
This session of Parliament was supposed to break for the summer at midnight.
Although the vote to extend the session is likely to pass, several Liberal MPs who are opposed to same-sex marriage may vote against it in protest of bill C-38.
At least one, Roger Gallaway, a back-bench member of the government, has said outright he would not vote for the extension while others with similar views will be absent from the House.
As well, the Conservatives are against the vote.
They have threatened to try to bring down the government next week when a vote on the budget bill will likely come. All Tory MPs have been ordered to be in the Commons for that vote.
During Question Period Thursday, the Tories accused the Liberals of deliberately slowing down the budget bill and the part of it which will include the extra spending on social programs wanted by the NDP.
The Tories said by slowing down the passage of the budget bill, it means Atlantic Canadians are missing out on money that could be flowing as a result of an Atlantic Accord agreement earlier this year.
Finance Minister Ralph Goodale said the Opposition is holding up the budget bill.
"The fact of the matter, Mr. Speaker, is this... this opposition has had a hot on on-again off-again approach toward the budgetary policy of this country. Sometimes they're for it, sometimes they abstain. Sometimes they vote against it. It's no wonder Canadians are confused, Mr. Speaker. They had the chance to pass this legislation weeks ago. They declined to do so."
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What are people's opinions? Should they sit until those two bills get passed? The majority of Canadians seem to think so. And what do you make of the Conservatives resisting the extension? Personally I find the whole thing really pathetic. The Bloc Quebecois, for god's sake, a SEPARATIST party, is doing more for the nation than the Conservatives, who constantly whine on about the Liberals not doing anything in office. So here they are, and the Liberals actually are going to do stuff. Now the Conservatives oppose it. Just weeks ago, they were so keen on blaming the Liberals for not doing anything. What a bunch of hypocrites. It's not that the Liberals are great, because we know they're not, but that because you're terrible! Have some dignity and guts for god's sake. Not to mention that they keep on talking that there needs to be more debate on the same-sex marriage issue. What do you think Parliament being doing for the last four years!? And what's a summer going to do? Change people's minds? No, the Conservatives just want it postponed so that they can use it for election propaganda. Our fundamental human rights deserve BETTER than that.
