At 3:20 a.m. (that’s early this morning) and after much debate, an emergency bill to keep Canadians safe from the coronavirus was passed in the House of Commons.
It was a revised bill after Conservative MPs pounced on Liberal additions to the bill that would have given the Liberal government unlimited power to tax and form policy without getting approval from parliament until December 2021.
Eastern Ontario Conservative MP Scott Reid tweeted this at 3:37 a.m. today: “The vast power-grab of Bill C-13, in its original form, has been pared back, while reasonable aid efforts are retained—and Parliamentary sovereignty is preserved. (2/3)”
Conservative MP Pierre Pollievre (2:43 a.m.): “Great news. Power grab defeated. Gov can’t raise taxes w/out Parliament. Emergency spending power capped at 6 month, not 2 years & can be taken away. Opposition-controlled Finance Com’tee will start COVID-19 hearings & can force Parliament back on 48hrs notice if gov abuses power.”
Pollievre (11:41 p.m.): “REMINDER: Conservatives were ready to pass the aid package early this AM. The gov turned the aid bill into a power grab and threw the day into turmoil. We asked them to remove the power grab. They have not gotten back to us. As of 11:39pm, we haven’t seen a new bill.”
