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Despite the go-ahead from House Speaker Andrew Scheer to proceedwith hundreds of proposed amendments to the government's omnibusbudget bill, the opposition continued to hammer the ConservativesMonday over their refusal to break up the legislation. Scheer said Monday the NDP, Liberals and independent MPs have theright to present their more than 800 proposed changes to Bill C-38. However, he said he will limit the number of votes on proposedchanges to the budget implementation bill -- with a possibility ofup to as many as 169 votes. "There are few precedents to guide the Speaker in dealing with thistype of situation," Scheer told the House as he explained hisdecision. "In my selection of motions, in their grouping and in theorganization of the votes, I have made every effort to respect boththe wishes of the House and my responsibility to organize theconsideration of report stage motions in a fair and balancedmanner." Green Party leader Elizabeth May had argued the bill itself, whichis more than 400 pages long and changes more than 70 laws,contravened Parliamentary procedures. However, Scheer ruled BillC-38 falls within House of Commons regulations. Despite the partial victory, NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair accused thegovernment of trying to hide cuts to vital departments andservices, from food inspection to border security to EmploymentInsurance. "The list goes on and on," Mulcair said. "The Conservatives can'teven tell Parliament the details of their own proposals, or howmuch they will cost. If the Conservatives are so proud of all thesecuts, why are they hiding them? Why are they ramming them through?If they're so good, why not study them?" Government House Leader Peter Van Loan skirted the questionentirely, instead hailing his government's record on the economyand job creation. "Our government has been focused on the economy, on job creationand doing that in the short term and the long term," Van Loan saidin response to Mulcair's question. "As a result of our EconomicAction Plan consistently opposed by the NDP, we've delivered forCanadians over 760,000 net new jobs so far." The 400-page Budget Implementation Act amends roughly 70 pieces oflegislation ranging from rules around approvals for majorenvironmental projects to landmark changes to Employment Insuranceand Old Age Security. The proposed changes were introduced in the Conservatives' Marchbudget, with many broadly aimed at protecting the economy, but notspecifically related to the budget. Among the more contentious elements of the bill is the SharedServices Canada Act, which outlines the powers of a new federaldepartment, and legislation which would specify powers for Canadianand U.S. police working across the border. The Conservatives maintain the opposition parties are moreinterested in stalling, and if possible halting the billaltogether, rather than working with the Conservatives to make itbetter. The government has so far refused to accept any changes to thebill, which was studied in committee, and has refused to split theomnibus legislation into separate bills. Because the Conservatives have a majority in Commons, the bill isexpected to eventually pass. The NDP has warned that the proposed changes amount to votes ofconfidence for the Conservatives. As a result the Tories will needto ensure they have enough MPs in the House to win each and everyvote, or the government could face possible collapse. Earlier Monday, Liberal House leader Marc Garneau called C-38 a"kitchen sink" bill and said the legislation "goes way too far." The Liberals want portions of the bill that pertain to EI, OAS,fisheries regulations and environmental legislation removed fromthe bill and introduced as separate legislation. "This bill carries with it serious consequences, and as aneffective opposition, we are using all the tools at our disposal toshed light on these abuses," Garneau said. After Scheer delivered his ruling, CTV News Channel's MercedesStephenson, reporting from Ottawa, said after reviewing all theproposed amendments, Scheer ruled that between 57 and 169 amendmentvotes will be permitted on Bill C-38. "The Speaker's office seems to expect that it's more likely we'llsee the higher number, 169 votes, and that's what he came to afterlooking through all these amendments and deciding essentially whichwere duplications, which he was going to reject, and which wouldproceed untouched," Stephenson said. Because MPs can churn through about seven votes per hour, it'sestimated that it will take between 10 and 23 hours of continuousvoting for MPs to get through the order paper, Stephenson said. May has proposed 320 amendments to the bill, which introduces newlaws and even creates a new government agency. The New Democratsand Liberals have each put forward amendments to delete more than500 clauses in the bill and Bloc MPs have submitted 22. Because many of the amendments overlap, the total number ofproposed changes that could have come before Parliament was 871. "The number of my amendments is a direct result, a natural outcomeof Stephen Harper choosing to stick 70 bills into one," May toldCTV News Channel on Monday. She added: "The scope of changes in one piece of legislation isappalling, illegitimate and anti-democratic and to attempt to usethe democratic process to fix those changes, to make themacceptable, takes a minimum of 320 amendments." Officially considered an independent MP in Parliament, May has theability to propose rewrites to portions of the bill. New Democratand Liberal MPs, by contrast, can only propose deletions. As aresult the Liberals have been working with May on hundreds ofproposed changes. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as China Straight Staircases , China Commercial Fire Rated Doors, and more. For more , please visit Custom Timber Doors today!
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