Liberals to limit debate, accuse Tories of delaying climate bill

Opposition parties decry handcuffing committee deliberations

OTTAWA — With a twoweek deadline looming before the House of Commons rises for the summer, the Liberals are hinting they may move to cut off committee debate on their net-zero emissions legislation, Bill C-12, in order to combat a Conservative attempt to talk out the clock and prevent the bill’s passage.

If it happens, the move would come just days after the Liberals and Bloc voted to curtail committee debate on Bill C-10, the legislation to regulate online platforms. The Conservatives, NDP and Green Party have all protested that this marks the first time in 20 years the House of Commons has used time allocation to handcuff committee deliberation, where expert witnesses testify on legislation and amendments are considered.

Environmental groups are growing concerned Bill C-12 won’t pass, with the David Suzuki Foundation, Centre québécois du droit de l’environnement, Climate Action Network Canada, Ecojustice, Équiterre, and West Coast Environmental Law issuing a joint letter to MPs on the committee this week urging them to get the bill through Parliament.

Party house leaders have been negotiating over the legislation, and it’s not yet clear exactly how the Liberals will proceed.

The Liberals accuse the Conservatives of deliberately “slow-walking” Bill C-12 at the committee stage, making repeated lengthy interventions so there isn’t time to pass the bill by summer. The Liberals themselves have filibustered numerous committees over the past year, talking endlessly to prevent certain votes from going forward (such as votes on compelling document disclosure on the WE Charity affair.)

All parties are anticipating the possibility of a fall election, which would mean any legislation not passed by the summer would die on the order paper — and might never be revived, depending how the election turns out.

On Wednesday, Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson published a letter to NDP leader Jagmeet Singh and Bloc Quebecois leader Yves-François Blanchet asking them to support the use of “the parliamentary tools available to ensure this bill advances to the Senate of Canada for consideration as soon as possible.”

“It should be clear to all of you at this point that the Conservative Party will use every procedural tactic at its disposal to obstruct climate accountability legislation,” Wilkinson’s letter said, noting the committee has had 12 hours of debate on amendments on Bill C-12 and is still only halfway done.

Bill C-12 would require the federal government to set national targets for reducing emissions and establishes a planning, reporting and assessment process for achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.