OTTAWA — The federal Conservatives have been denied their request to have the House of Commons sit this weekend to debate new COVID-19 aid legislation.
Opposition House leader Gerard Deltell said earlier Friday the provisions in the bill demand detailed and urgent scrutiny.
Bill C-2 is scheduled for debate next Monday and Tuesday.
Deltell proposed that all of Sunday be devoted to studying it as well, in what’s known as a committee of the whole.
That format gives MPs a chance to grill the government without the more restrictive timelines that characterize regular debate.
But the Conservative motion in the House of Commons did not receive the unanimous consent it needed to pass Friday.
“We want support for Canadians. This is what we are here for,” Deltell said Friday in Ottawa.
“But on the other hand, we have to do our job.”
The bill follows through on the Liberal government’s promise last month to create a more robust employment insurance system and three new temporary benefits to replace the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), which is scheduled to come to an end Saturday.
The government made one key change, ensuring that unemployed Canadians will receive $500 a week in benefits — the same as they’ve been receiving under the CERB — rather than the originally proposed $400.
The legislation, if passed, would also create a new sick leave benefit of $500 per week for two weeks for anyone who falls ill or must isolate due to the pandemic.
Both items were a must if the New Democrats were to support the Liberals’ throne speech delivered earlier this week, and on which a vote of confidence is needed.
NDP MPs have said they remain concerned with some elements of the sick leave provisions but if they are changed, they’ll back the bill.
The Conservatives would not say Friday what, if any, amendments or changes the party might be seeking.
Tory MP Eric Duncan called the bill an important piece of legislation with much at stake.
“There are billions of dollars and dozens of government programs that need to be reviewed,” he said.
“Canadians cannot afford for Parliament to get this wrong.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 25, 2020
Stephanie Levitz, The Canadian Press
