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Canadian Parliament Ends Current Session; Chretien Sets Return Date of Jan.12

All pending bills die on order paper but could later be re-introduced by Paul Martin

Ottawa, November 12, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien ended the current session of parliament at 4 p.m. Wednesday. The official date for the resumption of legislative activities has been set for Jan. 12. The Globe and Mail reports that this date indicates "that Mr. Chrétien will step down before then" but that the date could still be changed by incoming Prime Minister Paul Martin.

The earliest date that Chretien could handover power to Martin would be after Chretien returns from a commonwealth summit in mid-December reports the Globe.

Anticipating today's move in Parliament Focus on the Family's Family Facts News reported yesterday, "When Parliament prorogues, all the bills left unpassed by the Commons and the Senate automatically die, although MPs do have the power to revive pending legislation when the next session begins. The catch is that it is unclear which bills a Martin government will wish to see brought back. Bills that die in the Senate cannot be revived."

Among the pending bills that will now have died on the order paper are the following life and family related bills:

1. Bill C-13, The deeply flawed Reproductive Technologies Bill which passed in the House of Commons and was under consideration by the Senate.
2. Bill C-250, Svend Robinson's Private Member's Bill to add sexual orientation to Canada's hate crime law. Also was at the Senate stage
3. Bill C-22, regarding toughening up Canada's child pornography laws
4. Bill C-22, which reforms to the divorce and child custody laws
5. Bill C-38, which decriminalization of possession of small amounts of marijuana
6. Bill C-23 to create a national sex-offender registry

As well, the Globe reports that the bill to create an independent ethics commissioner to oversee parliamentary conflict-of-interest rules and the bill creating federal riding boundary changes to add seven new seats to the House of Commons, have also both died on the order paper.

REAL Women of Canada issued a press release today expressing satisfaction that 'Canada has escaped one of the dopiest pieces of legislation ever with the killing of Bill C-38 (decriminalization of marijuana), as a result of the Prorogation of Parliament."

The Canadian women's organization lists several serious flaws in the bill and concludes "It was naïve, superficial and dangerous. It would have created more problems and dangers to society than are already experienced by present marijuana use."

See the Globe report
http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20031112.wparl1112/BNStory/Natio...
See the Family Facts Report
http://www.fotf.ca/familyfacts/tfn/2003/111003.html

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