These seats to be filled on May 30
According to the Canada Gazette, the House of Commons – now with a Conservative majority government in place – will resume sitting on Monday May 30. Presumably there will be a Speech from the Throne (which will outline the Harper government’s agenda) and a federal budget will come shortly thereafter (given the one presented on March 22 died when the House dissolved for the election). And CBC News reports that, “Auditor General Sheila Fraser’s much-anticipated report into the G8/G20 summits (is expected to) be tabled in the House of Commons on June 7.”
Council of Canadians critiques of the March 22 budget can be read at http://canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=7091, http://canadians.org/energyblog/?p=475, http://canadians.org/waterblog/?p=161, and http://canadians.org/activistblog/?p=500.
You will also remember that, “The auditor general’s 2011 spring report became an issue during the federal election campaign in the lead-up to the leaders debates after a leaked draft report alleged the Conservative government lavished millions of G8 spending on a prominent cabinet member’s riding and misled Parliament.” The Council of Canadians demanded that spending report be released during the election, http://canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=7465.
The day after the federal election, Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow wrote, “While it is true that the remarkable surge in support for the NDP means a more dependable progressive voice in the House of Commons than we have had for years, it is equally true that the most socially and economically right-wing government perhaps in Canadian history has just won a substantial majority in the House and – along with their control of the Senate – is now free to implement its agenda even if every member of every other party votes against it. …What is needed now is a coming together of progressive forces in civil society and the labour movement as never before in our country’s history. Social and trade justice groups, First Nations people, labour unions, women, environmentalists, faith-based organizations, the cultural community, farmers, public health care coalitions, front line public sector workers, and many others must come together to protect and promote the values that the majority of Canadians hold dear. And we must work with, and demand the active representation of, the opposition forces in the House of Commons. …(Our task now is) to work hard over the next four years to protect the laws, rights and services that generations of Canadians have fought for from being dismantled; fight the corporate-friendly, anti-environmental, security obsessed agenda that will come at us; and prepare the way for the kind of government in four years that does in fact, express the will of the people – one with an agenda of justice and respect, of care for the earth, of the more equitable sharing of our incredible bounty.”
More soon.
