(Ottawa) In its first 100 days in office, the Trudeau government pledged to introduce no less than six bills, to organize a summit to revive the cultural sector severely affected by the pandemic, to appoint a new ” federal defender ”of the right to housing and to finalize the federal LGBTQ2 action plan promised for years.
According to their electoral platform, the Liberals plan to reintroduce four bills that died on the order paper when Parliament was dissolved and for which the process, in some very laborious cases, will likely have to be started again.
Those on the ban on conversion therapy (C-6) and reform of the Broadcasting Act (C-10) went to the Senate in June, after months of blocking by the Conservatives. Those on the abolition of mandatory minimum sentences (C-22) and the modernization of the Official Languages Act (C-32) remained at first reading, that is, the simple tabling of the bill.
We also plan to present two new bills related to web giants: one that would require digital platforms to share a portion of their revenues with Canadian news media, like Australia, and another aimed at tackling “toxic” content online and which would hold social media platforms accountable for the content they host.
The Minister of Canadian Heritage, Steven Guilbeault, argued in an interview with The Canadian Press that the government was “about to introduce” the bill on hate online, which has been the subject of consultations with 150 organizations, before leaving for the summer. The summer period allowed for further consultations, this time with Canadians.
“I think we are in a good position to move forward quickly on this,” he said.
Behind the scenes, we admit that the liberal legislative menu is ambitious, especially since the fall risks being loaded with the priorities announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in connection with the vaccination against COVID-19 and the negotiation of child care agreements with the remaining provinces. And there is the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) to prepare.
The count for the first 100 days will begin when the new government ministers are sworn in in October. Parliamentary work, the Prime Minister said, will resume in the fall. The date has not yet been specified.
The government parliamentary leader, Pablo Rodriguez, refused to grant an interview on the advancement of legislative priorities in a minority context. But a government source said the government will count on the support of other parties to “move quickly” on the first 100 day promises and priorities set by Mr. Trudeau.
The leader of the Bloc Québécois, Yves-François Blanchet, suggested this week that a motion be adopted in the House of Commons to take up the many bills in progress of the 43e legislature where the deputies had left them, in order to avoid having to go through the whole legislative process again, sometimes long and laborious.
Thereupon, the government source specifies that Mr. Blanchet must have unanimity to lead such a battle, while wishing him good luck.