By Andrew Thomson | UPDATED 3:17pmET
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will deliver a fiscal and economic update on Tuesday, Dec. 14, she confirmed to the House of Commons during today's question period.
Meanwhile, the Standing Committee on Finance will convene by next Monday to examine the latest pandemic support bill if it passes second reading this afternoon, after the House adopted a motion from Government House Leader Mark Holland.
Freeland would also appear and answer committee questions for at least two hours.
The motion also called for the formation of other standing committees before the Christmas break begins.
It's the third of six scheduled days to debate the speech from the throne. Last night the House of Commons defeated a Bloc Québécois subamendment focused on health transfers and additional financial support to seniors.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is not scheduled at question period (2:15pm ET / 11:15am PT).
The government's latest conversion therapy bill will proceed directly to the Senate after the House of Commons agreed yesterday to a Conservative motion that fast-tracks the legislation through all stages.
The House of Commons has unanimously adopted a Conservative motion to pass the conversion therapy bill (C-4) through all stages and send to the Senate without debate or committee meetings. #cdnpoli
— Andrew Thomson (@thomsonian) December 1, 2021
The House of Commons has unanimously adopted a motion by Conservative MP Rob Moore to pass C-4, the government’s bill to ban conversion therapy in Canada, through all stages without amendment.#cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/BO4GeJUCR2
— CPAC (@CPAC_TV) December 1, 2021
Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole had hinted that such a motion was coming:
“We’re going to move, using all parliamentary measures available, to actually accelerate the passage of this bill,” Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole told reporters today following caucus when asked re: C-4, the government’s new bill to ban conversion therapy in Canada.#cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/0HN1I45v2A
— CPAC (@CPAC_TV) December 1, 2021
Watch reaction on Parliament Hill: ministers David Lametti (justice), Pascale St-Onge (sport), Seamus O'Regan (labour), and Randy Boissonnault (tourism); Liberal MP Rob Oliphant; Conservative House leader Gérard Deltell; government House leader Mark Holland; and NDP MPs Randall Garrison and Blake Desjarlais.
C-4 and previous bills have sought to amend the Criminal Code to block the widely discredited practice of attempting to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity using psychological or spiritual interventions.
The most recent bill would make the proposed ban on conversion therapy applicable to adults along with children.
The prohibition would include:
- causing a person to undergo conversion therapy against the person’s will;
- doing anything for the purpose of removing a child from Canada with the intention that the child undergo conversion therapy outside Canada;
- advertising an offer to provide conversion therapy;
- receiving a financial or other material benefit from the provision of conversion therapy.
Courts would also be able to authorize the destruction or disposal of advertisements for conversion therapy.
The first attempt to pass conversion therapy legislation ended when the Liberal government prorogued Parliament in 2020; the second bill died in the Senate when Parliament dissolved ahead of this year’s election.
