The Prime Minister has asked the Governor General to prorogue Parliament and recall it Sept. 23
The prorogation brings an end to proceedings before Parliament. There was a hybrid sitting in the House of Commons planned for next week as well as many committee meetings, which are all now cancelled.
Some of the effects of prorogation include:
- Any government bill that has not received Royal Assent being terminated
- The government not needing to respond to any outstanding Order Paper questions
- Matters of privilege and the terms of any privilege motion being nullified
- There are other items that discontinue as well as similar affects in the Senate.
I was in Ottawa on Aug. 12 and questioned Finance Minister Bill Morneau about Canada losing our AAA credit rating from Fitch Ratings earlier this summer.
Little did I know that I would be the last member of Parliament to question Morneau before his resignation as Finance Minister and MP.
I focused on two reasons Fitch Ratings cited for our downgrade.
- First, was Canada's lack of an economic recovery plan, and I questioned when the government would be releasing a plan.
- Second, was due to Canadian interprovincial trade barriers and the government putting all work on hold to remove barriers.
As we work on economic recovery, now is the time to embrace made-in-Canada products and services. Unfortunately, we did not hear clear answers to either question.
It has become more evident than ever how important parliamentary standing committees are in a minority government with Parliament not sitting fully since March.
Many revelations have come out through committee studies and questions, such as improper government planning for the pandemic and its related programs, the WE Charity scandal and other agreements or contracts, and more.
Unfortunately, with the prorogation of Parliament, all committees cease to exist.
Since the beginning of this pandemic, the Industry, Science and Technology Standing Committee that I sit on has conducted studies on fraud and the Investment Canada Act.
We looked at whether Canada has strict enough laws against foreign state-owned enterprises purchasing Canadian companies.
We’ve focused on the effects of the pandemic on institutions, workers and businesses. Recently, our Conservative team put motions forth to question the Privacy Commissioner about the COVID-19 mobile app and Amazon about reports of anti-competitive behaviour.
We were slated to hear from more businesses bringing forth their perspectives and suggestions, but as mentioned, these are all now cancelled.
Tourism is important to our economy in the Okanagan. It was one of the first to be affected by COVID-19 and I’m hearing it will continue to have serious ongoing challenges.
It’s disappointing that the Industry committee scheduled only one short meeting to hear from the tourism sector, which contributes $100 billion to the economy and employs 1.8 million people in Canada.
I made a statement to this effect before I questioned witnesses. I believe it is important that the committee hear from all aspects of tourism, from many stakeholders — whether individual businesses, local associations, or national groups, and from all regions so that a comprehensive report with recommendations can be given to the federal government.
Tourism operators and organizations can write and share your thoughts with the committee, so your voice is heard via email at: [email protected].
You can view videos of my comments about tourism and questioning about our credit downgrade on my Facebook page or website.
It has been wonderful being out in the community more lately connecting (safely) with residents and businesses. Please be sure to reach out if you need assistance or have thoughts you’d like to share: 250-470-5075, [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Castanet. You can read the original article here.