DIY FEDERAL LAW — Every so often, a backbench MP gets to build a law from the ground up, drafting and championing and debating and voting for it until the governor general gives it royal assent. Wednesday's Playbook was in the room for the lottery that determined the order in which MPs can present their bills or motions to the House. In an unpredictable minority situation, a tiny fraction have any chance of passing. Before the last election, six private members' bills became law. Playbook asked MATT JENEROUX and LEN WEBBER, two of those lucky few, for the scoop on how they pulled it off. — It's personal: The origin story of a typical private member's bill can be intensely personal. Jeneroux's Bill C-220 expanded bereavement leave. After he graduated from university, Jeneroux was competing for a job that required him to work on a temporary basis. His position was precarious when his grandmother fell ill, and he faced a choice. Keep working or spend time with her. "I made the decision to stay at work, competitive to the end, to try to get one of those jobs — which I got," he tells Playbook. "But I regret to this day that I didn't get the opportunity to see my grandma in her final moments." Webber's C-210 made it so every taxpayer has the chance tick a box on their annual tax form to agree to organ and tissue donation, information the feds pass along to the provinces. Webber's legislative mission started when his late wife, Heather, was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had been a frequent blood donor, but was told she'd be unable to donate her organs. "She cried. We both cried. It was a really emotional time," he explained to Playbook. He committed to doing what he could to maximize the number of people who signed up to donate their organs. He discovered that Ottawa's role would have to be muted, because registries are run by provinces. (Tory MP ZIAD ABOULTAIF tried to create one with his own bill. It didn't get very far.) But most Canadians fill out tax forms — and one additional box would ruffle nobody's feathers. — How to draft a bill: When a minister wants to craft a bill, they benefit from an array of fancy Department of Justice lawyers who are fluent in legislative legalese. PMBs are a different beast. MPs and their staff get the ball rolling on the initial text. Library of Parliament staff help whip the drafts into workable shape. Jeneroux and Webber had their bills ready to go before the lottery in 2019. They entered the draw with serious anticipation. — Winning the lotto: Everybody pays attention to the draw at the start of every session of Parliament. Jeneroux drew a promising number. Webber won it outright. Ever the Calgarian, he let out his inner cowboy — "Yahoo!" — when his name came up. — Where to find cooperation: Most casual observers see very little true collegiality in the House of Commons. The most effective cooperation happens way behind the scenes, and Webber and Jeneroux got a taste of it when their PMBs started to gain traction. — A long slog: Webber's law was years in the making. He first introduced an identical bill in 2016. Back then, he knew his odds of success would increase with the backing of his colleagues on the Commons health committee. He persuaded HESA to study organ and tissue donation to familiarize them with the material. Meanwhile, he got to work lobbying everybody in sight. He'd grab a few minutes in the chamber, in a hallway, or over a beer at a pub. By the time the bill had passed second reading, Webber knew the health committee would be on board. Jeneroux secured the support of the parliamentary secretary for labor, and then the NDP critic in the same portfolio. The other parties angled to tweak the bill's language, and ultimately changed his bill's original intent — to secure compassionate care leave for caregivers — into more time for bereavement. "It becomes a bit of a comms exercise and also an exercise in endurance," he says. The first version of Webber's bill eventually passed the House but died on the order paper before the 2019 election. A few months later, he won the PMB lottery. C-210 received royal assent on June 21. (Jeneroux's bill followed eight days later.) "This was definitely an all-party effort," Webber tells Playbook. "I give each of them a lot of credit, every party, for wanting this done." — Tradesies: House debate comes at a premium in the Commons. Private member's bills are allotted only so much time each week, and there are a lot of them. MPs often do each other solids, giving their spots to colleagues whose bills have better prospects. Sometimes, MPs who score well in the lottery don't have a bill to their name — and others smell opportunity. Jeneroux drew a disappointing 245 this week. Webber drew 266, but tells Playbook he hopes to sell another MP on a ready-made bill designed to promote Canada's energy sector. NEW START — Interim Green Party Leader AMITA KUTTNER has no interest in running to be permanent leader. “In fact, I'm going to try to get out of it if anyone suggests that I do,” they said. Green MPs ELIZABETH MAY and MIKE MORRICE joined Kuttner, who is a week into their new role, at a presser in Ottawa. May will continue as the party’s parliamentary leader (as if there was any doubt). — Key dates: Party rules stipulate a leadership campaign must kick off before the first six months of an interim leader’s appointment. That puts the deadline at May 24. The leadership contest must wrap within 24 months of Kuttner’s appointment: Nov. 24, 2023. — “Multiple truths.” Kuttner attributed internal discord to a few unnamed individuals. “I have no interest in antagonizing anybody,” they said. “My role, I hope, is to really re-solidify with everyone within the party, to start the process of regrowth to make sure we heal, to make sure we fundraise and also to make sure that we run a good leadership contest.” Ex-Green leader ANNAMIE PAUL compared herself to Conservative Leader ERIN O’TOOLE during an event hosted by the Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee this week. While they both won leadership races around the same time, Paul said she inherited a party with rules that didn’t give her the same decision-making powers as O’Toole. “He was able to appoint the political director, the communications director, the executive director, the fund director, president, et cetera. I have none of those powers whatsoever,” Paul said, adding she was able to choose a chief of staff and a couple others for her office. Asked about Paul’s experience and proposal for on a structural review of the party, Kuttner called it a “fantastic idea.” — Being and seeing green: Though Kuttner admitted they don’t have a clear understanding of what the party’s current finances are (spoiler: not good ), a top priority, they said, is to fundraise “as hard as I possibly can” which could reverse cash flow issues that led the Greens to lay off staff in the summer and fall. | 
