Thursday March 23, 2017
Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday March 23, 2017
Trudeau should only be in question period once a week, report says.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is being slammed for a report suggesting he only attend question period in the House of Commons once a week.
The report, called “Reforming the Standing Orders of the House of Commons,” was released earlier this month. It calls for changes to the rules of the House “in order to make Parliament more relevant to Canadians.”
The report suggests taking on the British model of question period, in which one day is dedicated to questioning the prime minister.
But the report doesn’t say whether he’d be required to attend the rest of the week.
It also recommends changing how Fridays work on Parliament Hill.
One proposed change would eliminate Friday sittings, and re-allocate the hours to other days of the week. The House of Commons could meet earlier on other days, for example.
Alternately, the report suggests making Fridays a full work day. Committees currently don’t meet on Fridays and there are only 2.5 hours available for government orders.
Fridays could be changed to look like “any other sitting day,” the report said.
However, they should still be organized so that two hours of Private Members’ Business can take place at the end of the day, so that certain MPs can leave earlier to return to their ridings. (Source: Global News)