Federal End-of-Session Policy Update

During this past sitting, the government attempted to pass priority bills, reinvigorate its agenda via the Budget and highlight important announcements. However, progress on the government’s legislative priorities were at times bogged down by increased questions on a possible early election, scrutiny on Prime Minister Trudeau’s leadership, and suspicions of foreign interference by as of yet unnamed Members of Parliament. Despite these distractions, both Chambers worked hard to pass a flurry of legislation as the session wound down.

This note summarizes what was passed and what remains on the order paper and summarizes three legislative areas that Sussex has been closely tracking.

Summary of the Session

Passed Legislation

During this session, the Government managed to pass ten bills through the parliamentary process to Royal Assent.

The most notable is Bill C-69, Budget Implementation Act, 2024 No.1, which consists of notable measures from the 2024 Budget, such as those for housing affordability; the implementation of the Clean Technology Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit (ITC) and Clean Hydrogen ITC; the launch of the Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program; and improvements to the Impact Assessment process.

A second notable piece of legislation is Bill C-59, Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2023, which includes the implementation of the Clean Technology ITC and the Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage ITC; amends the Competition Act to limit “greenwashing” claims by corporations; removes the GST on new rental home construction; and creates the stand-alone Canada Water Agency, amongst other items.

Please see the Appendix for greater details on the suite of ITCs, the changes to the Impact Assessment Act and the new limits to corporate “greenwashing” that are now passed into law.

This session also saw the passage of major government bills, such as:

• C-29, National Council for Reconciliation Act
• C-34, National Security Review of Investment Modernization Act
• C-35, Canada Early Learning and Child Care Act
• C-50, Canadian Sustainable Jobs Act
• C-57 Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, 2023
• C-58, An Act to amend the Canada Labour Code and the Canada Industrial Relations Board Regulations, 2012
• C-62, An Act to amend An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying), No. 2
• C-70, Countering Foreign Interference Act

Parliamentary Debates

As expected, this past sitting of the House of Commons was dominated by debates on housing affordability and the cost-of-living crisis. Several other key issues and events also managed to animate political conversations.

Foreign Interference

The issue of foreign interference continues to persist in the minds of Parliamentarians, as a recent National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians’ (NSICOP) report has found that there have been several Members of Parliament who were “semi-witting or witting” participants in foreign states interference efforts.

Amongst opposition leaders, only NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and Green Party Leader Elizabeth May have read the NSICOP report, with Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet awaiting clearance and CPC Leader Pierre Poilievre declining to read the report due to the security provisions attached.

The passage of C-70 Countering Foreign Interference will not conclude the discussion on this critical issue, because the legislation only partly addresses Canada’s vulnerabilities and because new revelations will continue to leak.

Pharmacare and the Status of the NDP-Liberal Agreement

This session saw the release of the Liberal’s Pharmacare plan, which was a prominent provision of their Supply and Confidence Agreement with the NDP. While the NDP put significant pressure on the Liberals to come out with a full Pharmacare plan, the Liberals introduced a much smaller measure that would provide pharmacare coverage for birth control and diabetes medication and supplies. Despite this plan not meeting the NDP’s requirement for a universal pharmacare plan, it appears that this has not caused a significant rift in the agreement, as the NDP continues to vote with the Liberals on key bills. However, there will be significant pressure to build up pharmacare as an election year (and an NDP-Liberal showdown in a Halifax by-election) approaches.

Impending Election Monitoring

The next election is currently scheduled for October 20, 2025. However, many predict that the election could be coming as soon as Spring 2025. The key question is whether Justin Trudeau stays which could provoke an earlier election or if he decides to step down, then the Liberals will need time to nominate a new leader which would push the election to the fall or even beyond.

The Liberal Government trails the Conservatives by almost 20% in most polls. While the cost of living and housing certainly weigh on public support, new polling shows that the Prime Minister’s personal negatives are dragging down the Liberal Party. With a new Leader, public support for the Liberals would go up immediately by 14%, according to this poll. Thus, there will be considerable pressure on Mr. Trudeau to step down during the summer break.

On Monday, July 24th, that pressure intensified as the Conservatives eked out a by-election win in a riding that had been a Liberal fortress for decades. The Liberals won Toronto-St. Paul’s by 23% in the previous election (2021) and by 33% in the election before that (2019), so it was a major upset to see the Conservatives win by 1.6%. This will add to the pressure on Justin Trudeau to step down, a decision he will have to make in the days or weeks ahead.

Political Lookahead

Legislation in Progress

While the government was able to get a number of bills over the line last week there are still a few notable government bills that remain on the Order Paper the Liberals will be attempting to get through the Parliamentary process when the House returns in the fall. This includes:

• C-20, Public Complaints and Review Commissioner Act
• C-26, An Act respecting cyber security, amending the Telecommunications Act and making consequential amendments to other Acts
• C-27, Digital Charter Implementation Act, 2022
• C-40, Miscarriage of Justice Review Commission Act (David and Joyce Milgaard's Law)
• C-49, An Act to amend the Canada—Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic Accord Implementation Act and the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts
• C-61, First Nations Clean Water Act
• C-63, Online Harms Act
• C-64, Pharmacare Act
• C-71, An Act to amend the Citizenship Act (2024)

What to Expect this Summer

While the House of Commons and Senate have adjourned, the Government of Canada will be holding several consultations in order to get Canadians and stakeholder feedback on prospective policies. This includes consultations on:

• Adoption of Global Technical Regulations 13 and 20 for Zero Emission Vehicles Safety (Electric Battery and Hydrogen)
• Engagement on Intentions Paper for a Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage Framework in Canada’s offshore areas.
• The regulations and framework for the Canada Disability Benefit
• A Competition Bureau study on competitiveness in the Airline Industry
• A consultation on possible tariffs on Chinese Electric Vehicle Imports by Finance Canada starting on July 2

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Beyond that, politicians of all stripes will spend the summer in their ridings, meeting with constituents and working the barbeque circuit. It’s a well-earned break ahead of what will be a busy and likely tumultuous fall session ahead of the election year 2025.  At Sussex, we will continue to monitor legislative activity and will bring to your attention important developments.

Adding another element to this summer recess will be the fervent speculation around Prime Minister Trudeau’s longevity in the job and whether he will remain to lead the Liberals through the next election. Stay tuned.

Full Appendix List Here