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Parliament to resume June 2 to elect Speaker
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CTV.ca News Staff
Date: Mon. May. 16 2011 9:20 PM ET
Canada's post-election political lull will soon come to an end, as Parliament resumes sitting on Thursday, June 2, Government House Leader John Baird confirmed.
Baird said in a press conference on Monday that the House of Commons will first elect a Speaker, and return the following day for the throne speech.
The Conservatives, with their newfound majority, are expected to quickly introduce a number of big-ticket pieces of legislation, including their omnibus crime bill and a plan to kill the long-gun registry.
But it is the economy, which the party campaigned on heavily during the election, that will be on the forefront, Baird said.
"Our majority Conservative government will focus this first session entirely on the priorities of Canadians," he said. "We will make good on the promises we made during the election campaign. The minister of finance will reintroduce our budget and the next phase of Canada's economic action plan can finally begin to be implemented."
Baird did not say when the budget would be introduced, saying that would be left for the finance minister to announce.
"We've always been clear, we'd reintroduce the same budget if given a majority government, but obviously there may be a little bit of tweaking with the passing of time that is required," he told CTV's Power Play. "We ran on this budget, we think it's a good budget."
Baird also deferred on saying when the crime bills would be introduced.
But he did say "the long-gun registry is wasteful . . . and I think that you will see the government follow through on our commitment (to scrap it.)"
In a statement announcing the return of Parliament, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said "the economy remains our Government's top priority and we will move quickly to implement the Next Phase of Canada's Economic Action Plan."
He added, "Canada is emerging from the global recession as one of the top-performing advanced economies in the world, but the recovery remains fragile and Canadians continue to worry about their jobs and economic future."
The prime minister also went on to suggest the government's forward-looking plan.
"Our strong, stable, national Government will implement our low-tax plan for jobs and growth – one that strengthens the financial security of Canadian workers, seniors and families and lays the foundation for our long-term economic prosperity," he said.
Governor General David Johnston's speech to the Senate will lay out the agenda of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's first majority government, and set the stage for the Conservatives to table their budget plan the following week.
Now that Harper's Conservatives control a majority of the seats in the House of Commons, and would therefore have little trouble passing their budget, their new fiscal plan is expected to closely mirror the one that died when the election writ dropped in late March.
Other immediate priorities for Canada's next federal government include the appointment of a new cabinet. Although there is widespread speculation that Harper will retain some of his senior ministers in the same roles they held before the election, at least 6 portfolios, including foreign affairs and the treasury board, have seen their ministers depart due to retirement or electoral defeat.
Members of Parliament will also have to elect a new Speaker of the House to replace the now-retired Peter Milliken.
Harper's Conservatives emerged from the May 2 vote having won 167 seats in the House. The New Democrats formed the official opposition with 102 seats, while the Liberals saw their presence diminished to just 34 MPs. The Bloc Quebecois' dismal four seats meant the separatists have lost official party status, while the Greens considered leader Elizabeth May's singular win to be a victory for the party.
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It is about time - as a grandparent I have watched our kids (who were allowed to fail although I do remember some nagging on our part) learn, I have watched our children now micro-manage their children. A big part of it is the fact that there are predators out there and an extreme reluctance on the parents part to alllow freedom that might result in the children becoming victims.
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