39th Canadian Parliament
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Image:Canada 2006 Federal Election seats.png
The 39th Canadian Parliament was elected on January 23, 2006, in the 39th federal election. The longest it could run, barring war or national emergency, is five years (to February 13, 2011). Historically, however, Canadian Parliaments such as the current one with minority governments have rarely lasted more than two years. Parliament was called into session on Monday, April 3, 2006, at which point Liberal Peter Milliken was re-elected as Speaker; this was followed by the Speech from the Throne the next day. The Conservative Party government presented its first budget on May 2nd, 2006.
The government is led by the Conservative Party, with Stephen Harper as Prime Minister. The Official Opposition is the Liberal Party. On January 23, Liberal leader Paul Martin announced his intention to resign, but did not indicate when, other than saying he would not lead the party into the next election. On February 1, the Liberal Party Caucus chose Bill Graham as parliamentary leader, meaning he will serve as Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons. Martin announced that he would resign at the time of the next Liberal Party leadership convention, to be held December 2-3, and the executive of the Liberal Party plans to appoint Bill Graham as the Interim Leader (meaning he would lead the party into a campaign in the event of the sudden collapse of Harper's government before a new Liberal leader was elected). On February 6, David Emerson, elected as the Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for Vancouver Kingsway, crossed the floor to join Harper's cabinet as Minister of International Trade. On March 18, 2006, Martin resigned the leadership of the Liberal Party, and Graham became Liberal interim-leader in addition to his duties as opposition leader.
Some political observers had questioned whether Martin would have led the Liberals into an election had the Harper minority fell in the first few months of the 39th Parliament.[1]. In 1979, Pierre Trudeau's Liberals lost to Joe Clark's Progressive Conservatives who only won a minority on May 22 of that year. The Clark minority was defeated less than seven months after on a confidence vote over the budget, which was much earlier than most observers had expected the government to fall. Trudeau had announced his resignation as leader of the Liberals on November 21, 1979, however in light of the collapse of the government on December 13, 1979, and the Liberal Party not having chosen a successor, Trudeau was persuaded to change his mind and lead the party into the 1980 election winning a majority government. However, while Trudeau had announced his resignation, he unlike Martin, did not appoint an interim leader or withdraw from the day-to-day leadership of the party.
As of March 18, 2006 Martin officially tendered his resignation as Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. This move was widely seen as a move by Martin to stop any talk of him leading the party into the next election.
Liberal Peter Milliken was re-elected as the Speaker of the House for the 39th Parliament on April 3, 2006. The Speaker only votes in a tie so that reduces the Liberal caucus by one, enabling the Conservatives to pass legislation with the cooperation of any one of the Liberals, Bloc, or NDP.
As of October 18, 2006, party standings are:
- Conservative Party of Canada: 124
- Liberal Party of Canada: 101
- Bloc Québécois: 50
- New Democratic Party: 29
- Independent: 2 (André Arthur, Garth Turner)
By-elections were held on November 27, 2006, to fill two vacancies, electing a Liberal and Bloc Quebecois member. As the results have not yet been validated, nor the members-elect introduced to the House (and thus not eligible to vote), they are not reflected in the party standings.
Prime Minister Harper has said he will move forward with his top five priorities from the campaign. At least four of these will require legislative action: the passage of a Federal Accountability Act in response to the sponsorship scandal; combating crime by creating more police officers and setting longer mandatory sentences; lowering the Goods & Services Tax to 6% (and eventually to 5%); giving $1,200 for parents per child under the age of 6. Another issue expected to arise in the first session of parliament is the revisiting of the Civil Marriage Act which legalized same-sex marriage (See Members of the 39th Canadian Parliament and same-sex marriage for more information). Harper has said that he will address this issue in the fall, by means of a simple motion to the House as to whether or not the matter should be revisited. If such a motion were to pass, his government would introduce legislation to change the legal definition of marriage to two people of the opposite sex, while creating civil unions for same-sex couples; should the motion be defeated, the government will take no further action.
Contents |
[edit] Major bills and motions
Important business of the 39th Parliament includes the following bills and motions. Note that not all of these bills have yet become law. Motions (excepting those which pass bills) have no effect in law.
- C-2 - The Federal Accountability Act
- C-9 - A bill to set minimum penalties for offences involving firearms
- C-13 - The 2006 Canadian federal budget
- C-16 - A bill to set fixed election dates
- C-22 - A bill to raise the age of consent from 14 to 16
- S-4 - A Senate bill to limit Senators' tenure to 8 year terms.
- A motion in the House to recognise the Quebecois as a nation within Canada.
Complete lists of bills:
- House of Commons Government Bills (C-2 to C-200) [2]
- House of Commons Private Members' Bills (C-201 to C-1000) [3]
- Senate Government Bills (S-2 to S-200) [4]
- Senate Private Members' Public Bills (S-201 to S-1000) [5]
- Senate Private Members' Private Bills (S-1001 to S-2000) [6]
[edit] Members
[edit] Legend
- Bold text denotes cabinet ministers (two cabinet members, Senator Michael Fortier and Senator Marjory LeBreton are not members of the House of Commons)
- Italic text denotes leaders
| Conservative | |
| Liberal | |
| Bloc Québécois | |
| New Democrat | |
| Independent |
[edit] Newfoundland and Labrador
[edit] Nova Scotia
[edit] Prince Edward Island
| Name | Party | Electoral district | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lawrence MacAulay | Liberal | Cardigan | |
| Shawn Murphy | Liberal | Charlottetown | |
| Joe McGuire | Liberal | Egmont | |
| Wayne Easter | Liberal | Malpeque |
[edit] New Brunswick
[edit] Quebec
[edit] Ontario
- ↑c Elected as a Conservative.
- ↑d Member since swearing-in date of by-election.
- ↑e Party leader until December 2, 2006.
- ↑f Cabinet minister until November 27, 2006.
- ↑g Cabinet minister since November 27, 2006.