Busy summer gives way to busy fall House of Commons sitting
· Toronto Sun
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OTTAWA — As negotiations, trade wars and meetings eclipsed suntans and patio lounging this summer, the House of Commons has a full slate of work as it reconvenes for the fall session.
A number of high-profile bills were left on the order paper when Parliament rose for the summer nearly three months ago, setting the stage for what promises to be a busy fall session.
What was left
Among the most noteworthy leftovers was Bill C-22 , Canada’s Lawful Access bill , which would give Canadian law enforcement agencies expanded abilities to gather data and conduct digital surveillance during criminal investigations.
The bill would compel telecom companies to hand subscriber data over to police, and ensure electronic service providers retain user metadata for a year.
Tabled in March and passing second reading in April, the bill languished in committee and didn’t re-enter the House for third reading until June 18.
Despite hopes the bill would receive royal assent by the summer break, the bill was only able to pass first reading in the Senate before the Red Chamber rose for the summer.
The Senate’s first sitting day of the fall session takes place next Monday.
Another key government bill that took the summer off was Bill C-34 , the Digital Safety Act , which most notably would establish minimum ages to hold social media accounts, and require platforms to verify ages.
The bill would also work to block children from harmful content, require service providers to make child sexual abuse material and non-consensual intimate images inaccessible, and compel AI chatbot operators to label synthetic content.
The bill would also create the Digital Safety Commission of Canada, a new regulatory body to monitor and enforce the new rules.
C-34 was tabled in early June and has yet to receive second reading.
And despite a new federal budget somewhere in the offing, the government is still working to pass Bill C-31 (Budget Implementation Act, 2025, No. 2), the act meant to implement measures contained within the 2025 federal budget — including automated delivery of federal tax credits to low-income Canadians who don’t file tax returns, greater audit and compliance powers for the Canada Revenue Agency, and the creation of the Defence Investment Agency — a standalone entity tasked with defence procurement.
That bill only got to second reading in the House, but was referred to committee prior to the summer break.
What’s to come
On Friday, Government House Leader Steve MacKinnon hinted the fall session would involve “significant” economic legislation, falling in line with a summer full of promises of nation-building projects, and measures meant to weather the U.S. trade war.
Framing the upcoming session as “crucial,” Prime Minister Mark Carney highlighted a number of key priorities in his address to his caucus on Friday.
Billed as his government’s flagship legislation, the Building Canada Strong Act will build on the government’s push for “projects of national interest” by streamlining approvals and procurement under a “one project, one review, one year” mandate.
Promised changes to the Canada Labour Code are also expected to trigger pushback from unions and labour groups.
As well, a new budget is expected to drop sometime before the end of the year.
Previously announced by the PM, promised extensions to the fuel excise tax cut will also have to pass muster in Parliament.