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PM Shuts Down Parliament
Chretien likely to hand over reins sooner to Martin

Bill Curry
CanWest News Service

Thursday » November 13 » 2003

OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Jean Chretien officially shut down Parliament on Wednesday, saddling his successor Paul Martin
with a host of unfinished bills associated with the Chretien "legacy."

Among the most significant bills to die with the prorogation of the second session of the 37th Parliament is Bill C-34,
creating an independent ethics commissioner; Bill C-38, decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana; and
Bill C-49, which moves up the creation of seven new ridings to April 1, 2004.

The next sitting day of the House of Commons is set for Jan. 12, but the date could be changed at any time by the prime
minister. Chretien continued to dance around the subject of his retirement date however, stating he will meet with
Martin on Tuesday to discuss transition.

Insiders say Chretien's choice of Jan. 12 -- two weeks before the first scheduled sitting day of 2004 according to the
parliamentary calendar -- is a sign he intends to retire before then.

On the first day back, the prime minister is required to present a speech from the throne for the new session.
Presenting such a speech would be a controversial move for Chretien if he intended to remain prime minister until
February as previously stated.

Chretien downplayed the fact several bills he had promised to pass in last September's throne speech will now die,
pointing out the Commons can revive them when the new session begins.

"They are not in limbo. They are postponed until January," he said. "All the parties voted for all those bills in the
House of Commons, so I presume that they will pass them."

Martin spokesperson Scott Reid said the announcement means the Martin team will begin preparing a throne speech in the
event Chretien retires before Jan. 12.

"We'll have to wait for the fog to clear on Tuesday," he said, in reference to the transition meeting.

Reid would not commit Martin to passing all legislation that died Wednesday. While he stated Martin will not bring back
C-7, the First Nations Governance Act, in its current form, Reid declined comment on any other bills.

"I'm not going to do the dance of the seven veils. We will have to evaluate this. We just learned the House is going to
be prorogued, so we will have to find out on Tuesday what precisely the implications are of that," he said. "And then
we will make decisions from there."

Canadian Alliance House leader John Reynolds criticized Martin and Chretien for wiping away the remaining four weeks of
this year's parliamentary calendar, stating that it "shows the basic chaos" of the Liberal government.

"It's a long time to not be sitting," Reynolds said.

"The Canadian public does not think their members of Parliament deserve a Christmas break from November until January.
We know Mr. Martin's going to be prime minister. We've known it for a long time. He knows who his cabinet is going to
be. Why do they need three months?"

Chief electoral officer Jean-Pierre Kingsley issued an unusual statement Wednesday, stating he "would like to reiterate
the fact that, as mandated by law, Elections Canada must be ready at all times to conduct a general election or
referendum.

"Elections Canada is ready to conduct a general election under the 301-seat scenario and continues to prepare for a
general election under the 308-seat scenario for April 1, 2004."

The statement quells speculation Elections Canada would not have enough time to prepare for an April election if
Parliament does not pass the boundaries bill until early in the new year.

Other major bills that died Wednesday in the House of Commons include C-20, the child pornography bill; C-22, which
updates the Divorce Act; C-26, a sweeping bill dealing with transportation issues; C-54, a bill extending the
equalization deal with the provinces for one year beyond its expiry date of March 31, 2004; and C-56, a bill which
changes the Patent Act to allow developing countries to receive cheaper generic drugs.

Government House leader Don Boudria said Wednesday he was "disappointed" several bills remain unfinished.

Among them are C-10B, the cruelty to animals bill; C-13, the assisted human reproduction bill banning human cloning; C-
17, an anti-terrorism bill; C-23, which creates a federal registry of sex offenders; C-46, a bill relating to capital
market fraud and C-49, the electoral boundaries bill.

However Boudria described the most recent session as a highly productive one, listing the highlights as being the
ratification of the Kyoto Protocol and the passing of legislation on political finance reform, species at risk and
pesticides.

PM'S UNFINISHED BUSINESS

List of some bills that died on the order paper:

- C-7 First Nations Governance Act

- C-10B An Act to amend the Criminal Code (cruelty to animals)

- C-13 Assisted Human Reproduction Act

- C-19 An Act to provide for real property taxation powers of first nations, to create a First Nations Tax Commission,
First Nations Financial Management Board, First Nations Finance Authority and First Nations Statistical Institute and
to make consequential amendments to other Acts

- C-20 An Act to amend the Criminal Code (protection of children and other vulnerable persons) and the Canada Evidence
Act

- C-34 An Act to amend the Parliament of Canada Act (Ethics Commissioner and Senate Ethics Officer)

- C-38 An Act to amend the Contraventions Act and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act

- C-51 An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act and the Income Tax Act

Ran with fact box "PM's Unfinished Business" which has been appended to the story.; See related stories PM prepares
farewell/C7; Spring vote likely/C7.

SOURCE: The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon)
http://www.canada.com/saskatoon/starphoenix/story.asp?id=8182442D-566F-4307-A885-DAC0B2440880

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PM Shuts Down Parliament
Chretien likely to hand over reins sooner to Martin