Dominic LeBlanc asks committee to consider Liberal reforms

Dominic LeBlanc will appear before the Commons procedure and House affairs committee this morningto promote the Liberal vision of how Parliament could work better.

The government House leader said in question period Tuesday that he had written to the chair and asked to appear to "share our ideas."

"With the help of our colleagues and the support of members of the House, we will be able to make Parliament more effective and achieve a better work-life balance," he said in French.

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LeBlanc is expected tomake a short statement and take questions from MPs in an effort to garner support for the priorities outlined in his mandate letter from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, including:

• Strengthening parliamentary committees' ability to work independently to scrutinize legislation, including providing more resources for research and advice and removing parliamentary secretaries as voting members.
• Reforming question period, to ensure all ministers and the prime minister are "held to greater account."
• Making Parliament more "family-friendly."

The Liberal campaign platform proposeda distinct prime minister's question period, perhaps similar towhatthe British parliament does once a week.

Other question period reforms proposemore power for the Speaker to sanction misbehaviour andmore time for eachquestionand answer. Liberals also talkedabout using online technologies to make question period more relevant.

Some legislatures, including Ontario's Queen's Park, have moved their daily question periods to latemorning to make it easier for lawmakers to schedule important business and finish their work days at a reasonable hour.

Early skepticism

The Liberals have made good on their commitment to elect Commons committee chairs.

Veteran Liberal MP Larry Bagnellwas elected by secret ballot at the House affairs committee's first meeting in December, and other committees are expected to follow suit once they form and begin to meet.

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But it's unclear how many non-Liberalchairs may result from these elections, if Liberal MPs have a majority on each committee. Previously, committees likepublic accounts and ethics havehad an opposition MP as chair.

New DemocratDavid Christopherson, whose objections atprocedure and House affairs committee meetingsslowed things down in December, continued to draw out the pace of committee business Tuesday.

He spoke at length andrepeatedly challengedthe Liberals including LeBlanc's parliamentarysecretary, who was deliberatingbut not votingas MPs worked their way through a list of routine motions to establish how committee business will run.

He also introduced a motion of his own, which, if passed, would significantly limit acommittee's ability tomeet in camera (in secret).

Under the previous Conservative government, committees were criticized for moving to meet in camera too frequently to conductbusinesssome felt should have been public.

The vote on Christopherson'smotion could be held during Thursday's meeting.

Deadline Friday for other committees

Overall, committee work is barely underway, with only two startingto sit.

Theprocedure and House affairs committee istasked with reporting back to the Commons within 10 sitting days of a new Parliament to establish the other standing committees. That deadline looms Friday.

Thewhips from each of the three parties with enough MPs to be recognized in Parliament the Liberals, the Conservatives and the New Democrats are nowworking out which of their MPs will receive what committee assignments, in rough proportion to the number of seats they hold in the Commons.

The vote to engage the whipsonly passed at the House affairs committee Tuesday, so time is short.

In the meantime, LeBlanc had to seek special permission from the Commons to form other priority committees.

The special joint House and Senatecommittee urgently studying the assisted dying issue just started hearing witnessesthis week.

Bloc QubcoisMPs hadblockedits formation, finally giving way on the last daybefore the holiday break.

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LeBlanc'sattemptto establish the Commons finance committee in December wasnot successful.

It's now unclear whether its memberswill have enoughtime to hear witnesses and make recommendations about the federal budget thatdependson how long Finance Minister Bill Morneau waits to set the date.

International Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland said Monday she wantedthe international trade committeeto study Canada's participation in the 12-country Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. That worktoo cannot begin until the committee has members and elects a chair.

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