Canada losing parliamentary process, bills now pass without voting thanks to "one weird trick"
"When the Omnibus Budget Implementation Act was first tabled November 18th, reporters asked me if I would vote against it. They were baffled when I said, “I will vote 'no' if I am allowed to vote.” They were nonplussed. How could MPs NOT be allowed to vote on a major confidence measure – a 600+ page bill? As I suspected, we were not allowed to vote. C-15 breezed through Thursday afternoon “on division.” The whole thing took less than five minutes" - Elizabeth May, Good Sunday Morning newsletter, March1 2026
A big chance to the way Canadian Parliament operates is happening, with little public knowledge. With the support of whipped votes from the Conservatives and Bloc, and the NDP lacking official party status, Carney is able to push bills through "on division", without any of the normal study, debate, or chance for MPs to vote in Parliament. This is possible when no party with official status challenges it. In the past five MPs from any party could force a vote, but this was changed in 2020. Even less power for individual MPs.
Not even Harper who also messed with Parliamentary procedures was able to do this.
Is it justified as a wartimes measure, given the unprecedented threat from our former ally, the United States? The thing is, the Wartimes Measures Act is defined as temporary and defined by strict parameters. This is just becoming the new normal, without debate.
More info here #Canada