Prime
Minister Harper has said he will move forward with his top five priorities from
the campaign. At least four of these will require legislative action: the
passage of a Federal Accountability Act in response to the sponsorship
scandal; combating crime by creating more police officers and
setting longer mandatory sentences; lowering the Goods &
Services Tax to 6% (and eventually to 5%); giving $1,200 for parents per
child under the age of 6.
[[[On
December 6, 2006, another issue many expected to arise in the first session of
parliament did, in fact, come to the fore, when the government introduced a
motion calling "on the government to introduce legislation to restore
the traditional definition of marriage without affecting civil unions and while
respecting existing same-sex marriages." [2] The next day, the
House defeated the motion by a vote of 175 to 123, with six cabinet ministers
voting against it, and Harper declared the issue settled.[3] (See Members of
the 39th Canadian Parliament and same-sex marriage for more information.)
Bill
C-2, the Federal Accountability Act (officially "An Act providing for
conflict of interest rules, restrictions on election financing and
measures respecting administrative transparency, oversight and accountability"),
received royal assent in the Senate on December 12, 2006, and is now becoming
law. The act plans to reduce the opportunity to exert influence with
money by banning corporate, union, and large personal political donations;
create a five-year lobbying ban on former ministers, their aides, and senior
public servants; provide protection for whistleblowers; and enhancing the power
for the Auditor General to follow the money spent by the government.
A successful motion in the House to extend Canada's mission in Afghanistan by two years, until early 2009. The motion was supported by the Conservatives and 30 Liberal MPs, allowing it to narrowly pass 149-145 on May 17, 2006.
A
successful motion in the House to recognise the Quebecois as a nation within
Canada. The motion was put forth by the Prime Minister in reaction to an
announced motion by Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe that would
recognise Quebec as a nation, but did not contain the words “in Canada” .
The motion easily passed 266 to 16, with all party leaders voting in favour,
including Duceppe.
Bill
C-16, titled "An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act", is a bill to
set fixed election dates. Elections will be held on the third Monday in
October in the fourth calendar year following polling day for the last general
election. The next general election under this act would be held on
October 19, 2009. Parliament could still be dissolved by a motion of
non-confidence. The provinces of British Columbia, Ontario, and Newfoundland
and Labrador have already implemented fixed election dates for their own
provincial elections. Bill C-16 passed in the House on November 6, 2006 and the
Senate on March 28, 2007. The House began discussing the amendments made in the
Senate on April 21, 2007. The house voted down the amendments on April 24,
2007. [4] On May 1, 2007, the Senate chose not to insist on its amendment. The
bill received royal assent on May 3. [5]
A failed government motion (159 opposed to 124 in favour) to renew certain sunsetted provisions of the Anti-terrorism Act, first passed by the Liberals after 9/11 that suspended some civil liberties in order to combat terrorism.[6]
Minimum
penalties for offences involving firearms
Bill
C-9, titled "An Act to amend the Criminal Code (conditional sentence
of imprisonment)", is a bill to set minimum penalties for offences
involving firearms. {?} Under this act, persons convicted of a
serious personal injury offence or a terrorism offence with a term of
imprisonment of ten years or more would not be eligible for a conditional
sentence. Bill C-9 passed in the House on November 3, 2006 and is now
awaiting 3rd reading in the Senate.
Bill
S-4, titled An Act to amend the Constitution Act, 1867 (Senate tenure) is a
Senate bill to limit new Senators' tenure to eight-year terms. Currently,
senators can stay in office until they reach the age of 75. The bill
was first introduced by the government in the Senate on May 30, 2006. After
several months of debates, and consideration of the subject-matter by a special
committee, the bill was read a second time on February 20, 2007. At the same
time, it was referred to the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and
Constitutional Affairs for consideration. It has been suggested that the
Liberal Senate will modify the bill to extend the terms to twelve years
so that a prime minister would not control the entire Senate after two
parliaments.
A motion passed by the opposition parties (161 for to 115 against) on February 5, 2007 to reaffirm Canada's commitment to the Kyoto Protocol. The motion may not have any legal effect, but it is related to Bill C-288 would require the government to work towards meeting its Kyoto targets – global climate change obligations under the Kyoto Protocol. It has been read a second time in the Senate and is now being considered by the Standing Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources.