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<\/a><\/p>\nBills in a legislature are called omnibus bills when they contain unrelated pieces of legislation. Tacking on such unrelated clauses to a bill are common in the US Congress, but lest we forget, the US Congress differs from Canada’s parliament in two very important respects: First, there is no party discipline and second, the executive is independently elected and has veto power.<\/p>\n
These checks and balances are absent from Canada’s parliament. This is why the Harper government’s inclination to use omnibus bills as a matter of routine\u00a0is so troubling. Particularly insidious are omnibus budget bills. For instance, the latest budget bill<\/a>, which included provisions about creating a Parliament Hill police force, dealt with suspected terrorists’ passports, and the records of the defunct Long Gun Registry.<\/p>\n While not illegal, this practice should be considered exceptional, used only in the rarest of cases. I hope that the next government will recognize this and refrain from the practice of putting expediency ahead of the basic principles of parliamentary democracy.<\/p>\n Here is another one of the Harper government’s unforgivable sins: the abuse of omnibus bills. Bills in a legislature are called omnibus bills when they contain unrelated pieces of legislation. Tacking on such unrelated clauses to a bill are common in the US Congress, but lest we forget, the US Congress differs from Canada’s parliament … Continue reading Monster omnibus bills<\/span> ![\"1](\"https:\/\/cats.vttoth.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-postratings\/images\/cats\/rating_on.gif\" "\\"1")
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