Happy Wednesday everyone!
We’ve got the vote on an Opposition Motion that was covered last time as well as some movement on C-3 and C-12 this week!
Opposition Motions
Cost of Deficits
Melissa Lantsman (Conservative, Ontario, Thornhill)
Last time we covered a Motion from Melissa about deficits. A vote was held on this Motion and it failed with 163 voting in favour and 173 voting against.
| Party | For | Against | Paired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | 0 | 166 | 1 |
| Conservative | 142 | 0 | 1 |
| Bloc Quebecois | 21 | 0 | 0 |
| NDP | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Green | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Private Members’ Motions
M-14 – Ahmed Hussen (Liberal, Ontario, York South—Weston—Etobicoke)
Ahmed has a Motion around Canada’s international assistance programs and how beneficial they are to our country.
That, in the opinion of the House, the government should strengthen the accountability, effectiveness, and mutual benefits of Canada’s international development assistance by:
- implementing new policies to ensure that Canadian international assistance programming integrates opportunities for reciprocal economic benefit, including through the participation of Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises, innovators, and workers;
- establishing a dedicated Economic Partnerships Window to support projects that align poverty reduction abroad with economic security at home, and that utilize Canadian economic strengths such as clean energy, agriculture, digital technology, and education; and
- requiring the Minister of International Development to report to Parliament annually on the extent of Canadian participation in international assistance projects, the measurable benefits for partner countries, and the economic opportunities created for Canadians.
So Ahmed wants to change how we handle international assistance projects to try and get some benefit for Canada out of them.
Bill Updates
C-12 – the Strengthening Canada’s Immigration System and Borders Act
C-12 passed its Second Reading “on division”. This means that not everyone agrees with it but they’re willing to let it pass without needing a vote. It’s now been sent to the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security (SECU).
C-3 – An Act to amend the Citizenship Act (2025)
C-3 came back from the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration (CIMM) with a few big changes.
First there’s some conditions to applying for citizenship now. These conditions apply to anyone between the age of 18 and 55. People in this age range now need to have adequate knowledge of English or French and have adequate knowledge of Canada and the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship. Anyone 18 or over must also pass the same security assessment immigrants and refugees have to pass. (This assessment is basically to check if they’re involved in terrorist activities or are ineligible due to a past history of violent crimes.) CIMM also changes the requirement for a parent’s time spent in Canada from 3 years to 3 out of the 5 years prior to birth. So if your parent spent 3 years in Canada as a child then moved to another country you won’t qualify for Canadian citizenship. In the case of adoption it’s 3 out of the 5 years before the date of adoption.
CIMM then wants to give the government the ability to create regulations around how long someone has to physically be in Canada (so the 3 years could be changed later), how that time is calculated, and what documents are required to show that you meet the requirements.
CIMM also wants the government to publish annual reports on how many people gain citizenship through this Act, as well as a report on how many people had the security assessment waived and the reasons for waiving it.
11 Motions were proposed to amend the changes the CIMM made to C-3. Numbers 1 and 5 were rejected due to being submitted too late in the process. The remaining Motions are:
Motion 2 – Jenny Kwan (NDP, British Columbia, Vancouver East)
Jenny wants to change C-3 back to applying to anyone whose parents spent 3 years in Canada at any point before their birth.
Motion 3 – Joanne Thompson (Liberal Minister of Fisheries, Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John’s East)
Joanne also wants to remove the requirement that the 3 years in Canada be within 5 years of birth.
Motion 4 – Jenny Kwan (NDP, British Columbia, Vancouver East)
Jenny wants to remove the new requirements for people between 18 and 55, as well as the security check.
Motion 6 – Jenny Kwan (NDP, British Columbia, Vancouver East)
Same as Motion 2, but applying to adoptions instead of birth.
Motion 7 – Joanne Thompson (Liberal Minister of Fisheries, Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John’s East)
Same as Motion 6.
Motion 8 – Jenny Kwan (NDP, British Columbia, Vancouver East)
Same as Motion 4 but applying to adoptions. No additional requirements for people between 18 and 55.
Motion 9 – Jenny Kwan (NDP, British Columbia, Vancouver East)
Jenny wants to remove the new reporting requirements on how many people annually get citizenship from C-3.
Motion 10 – Jenny Kwan (NDP, British Columbia, Vancouver East)
Jenny wants to remove the part that gives the government the ability to create regulations around how long a parent needs to have been in the country.
Motion 11 – Jenny Kwan (NDP, British Columbia, Vancouver East)
Finally Jenny wants to remove the requirement that the government publish reports around how many people have had security assessments waived.
All of these changes have been grouped together for a single vote, which has not happened yet.
Discover more from Commons Sense
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.