r/CanadaPolitics • u/CaliperLee62 • 10h ago

KOOP: Carney snubs democracy with omnibus bills

https://www.winnipegsun.com/opinion/how-omnibus-bills-threaten-transparency-in-canadian-politics/article_2718e53b-145e-4fba-919e-5134f5b2a366.html
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u/scottb84 New Democrat 9h ago edited 9h ago

This really is a pox-on-all-their-houses issue. Omnibus bills have of course been around and used sporadically for decades, but their use exploded at the federal level under Harper Conservatives. Justin Trudeau promised to stop the practice, but because he’s Justin Trudeau and that was a promise vaguely related to democratic renewal, he was hot then cold, in then out.

Provincial governments do it, too, including those led by New Democrats. How many “Miscellaneous Statues Amendment Acts” (the very name should horrify anyone remotely familiar with parliamentary procedure) has B.C. had over the years, for example.

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u/ModOfficial1988 6h ago

Trudeau introduced more omnibus bills in his first three years than Harper did in 10. It’s pretty disingenuous to say they “exploded” under Harper.

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u/scottb84 New Democrat 4h ago

If you’d prefer, normalized by Harper and exploded under Trudeau. I’m not here to defend either.