OTTAWA – Liberal Senator Pierrette Ringuette (New Brunswick) has written to all Members of the House of Commons asking for them to separate Bill C-9, the Budget Implementation Act, into its constituent parts, allowing for more thorough scrutiny by Parliamentarians.
“These measures have been grouped together in an attempt to secure swift passage through Parliament, a move that will make it next to impossible for all Members of House of Commons and Senators to provide meaningful study and consideration, as well as undermine the legislative responsibility that your constituents have entrusted in you,” writes Senator Ringuette.
Bill C-9 contains amendments to such diverse legislation as the Canada Post Corporation Act, the Pension Benefits Standards Act, the Export Development Act, the Payment Card Networks Act, and the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada Act while giving ‘carte-blanche’ to the Cabinet to decide on the reorganization and divestiture of all or any part of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited.
“As matters now stand, this omnibus Bill, of almost 900 pages, in 24 Parts, with more than 2200 sections would be subject of one debate at Second Reading, another at Third Reading in each House, plus scrutiny by only one Committee of each House. That could not conceivably do justice to the numerous, far reaching and fundamental changes proposed,” writes Senator Ringuette.
A copy of the full text of the letter is below.
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For additional information:
Michael Gendron
Office of the Honourable Senator Pierrette Ringuette
(613) 943-2248
May 13, 2010
Dear Colleague,
I am writing to you today as a member of the Senate Standing Committee on National Finance, to express my concerns regarding Bill C-9, An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on March 4, 2010 and other measures.
As you are no doubt aware, Bill C-9 is an omnibus Bill containing a number of measures that have little relation to the Budget. These measures have been grouped together in an attempt to secure swift passage through Parliament, a move that will make it next to impossible for all Members of House of Commons and Senators to provide meaningful study and consideration, as well as undermine the legislative responsibility that your constituents have entrusted in you.
To be clear, I have no interest in engaging in political gamesmanship with respect to this Bill, however, the use of the Budget to pass ancillary measures without sufficient Parliamentary oversight is a dangerous precedent. This situation can and should be easily avoided by simply dividing the Bill into its constituent elements, allowing us to study each measure with the appropriate thoroughness necessary, while giving priority to the specific budgetary policy of the Government.
Specifically, it is difficult to argue that Part 15 of the Budget, amending the Canada Post Corporation Act, properly belongs in a so-called Budget Implementation bill. The amendments in question have been the subject of stand-alone legislation (Bill C-14 during the Second Session of the 39th Parliament, as well as C-44 during the Second Session of the 40th Parliament), where the government showed very little urgency in bringing them to debate.
This is but one example, Bill C-9 also includes amendments to such diverse legislation as the Pension Benefits Standards Act, the Export Development Act, the Payment Card Networks Act, the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada Act and most importantly, gives carte-blanche to the Cabinet to decide on the reorganization and divestiture of all or any part of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited.
Each of these amendments represents a significant change to current legislation, and requires proper scrutiny by Parliamentarians at their appropriate Committees.
As matters now stand, this omnibus Bill, of almost 900 pages, in 24 Parts, with more than 2200 sections would be subject of one debate at Second Reading, another at Third Reading in each House, plus scrutiny by only one Committee of each House. That could not conceivably do justice to the numerous, far reaching and fundamental changes proposed.
Therefore, I would like to ask you, as well as all Parliamentarians to put aside partisan concerns and agree to separate Bill C-9 into its constituent elements.
In doing so, I would like to call attention to the fact that as of today, Bill C-9 remains before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance, where Members of Parliament have had almost a month to review this legislation. The Bill has yet to be referred to the Senate, where our own Standing Committee on National Finance would be charged with a similar review of the Bill. By making this respectful appeal, I would like to avoid the unnecessary, but almost inevitable politicization of the process required for passing such massive legislation with the setting of arbitrary deadlines before Parliament recesses for the summer.
I appreciate your consideration of this important matter, and would be pleased to speak with you personally to answer any questions or concerns you might have.
Regards,
Senator Pierrette Ringuette
New Brunswick