SPRING OF PABLO — Thirty-nine sitting days separate the Liberal legislative agenda from a summer of community barbecues and R&R for weary staffers (or, for Conservatives, the stressful, exhilarating crescendo of a leadership race). Heritage Minister PABLO RODRIGUEZ 's legislative plate is brimming with future acrimony. It's his job to pass Bill C-11, an overhaul of broadcasting laws, plus new measures that would force Facebook and Google to fork over a share of their advertising revenue to news outlets whose work is shared on those social networks. Both bills will whip up the Two Minutes Hate from their critics. Bill C-11 is the government's redo after the former C-10 died in the Senate before last year's election. Its main goal is to force digital broadcasters to produce Canadian content. Like STEVEN GUILBEAULT before him, Rodriguez is convinced there's nothing untoward here. One of his biggest critics, uOttawa law prof MICHAEL GEIST, couldn't disagree more . He says the legislative rewrite could still regulate user-generated content — say, your friendly neighborhood YouTuber. Rodriguez will deny, deny, deny. But the debate will come to define the heritage minister's spring. — And another thing: Geist also hates Rodriguez's C-18, which he dismisses as a "shakedown" of the social networks "with requirements to pay for nothing more than listing Canadian media organizations with hyperlinks in a search index, social media post, or possibly even a tweet." — And another thing: Geist also has set his sights on another forthcoming Rodriguez priority: a bill to fight against online hate. Geist says the government is ignoring free-speech concerns, and concludes this third bill isn't an "outlier," but rather "reflective of the government’s plan for regulating the internet." — There's the talking point: Conservatives will feast on the criticism served up by experts like Geist. Anyone who says the big government bogeymen are out to get regular folks will feed question periods from here till eternity. Did someone forward you this Playbook? Click here to sign up for your own subscription to this free newsletter. A LEGISLATIVE BUFFET — The government has also tabled seven other bills that are somewhere between languishing and law. — Bill C-5: The justice committee is looking at C-5, the government's second legislative attempt to repeal mandatory minimums for certain drug offenses. — Bill C-7: The government hasn't yet prioritized C-7, which would increase allowances for senators who lead parliamentary groups and enshrine consultation on the appointment of officers of Parliament. — Bill C-8: The bill that would implement various pieces of CHRYSTIA FREELAND's December fiscal update, C-8 , is back from committee and was last debated April 4. Highlights include a tax on vacant foreign-owned property, a business tax credit for ventilation expenses, and a tax credit for farmers facing fuel charges. The bill would unlock federal funding to improve ventilation in schools and for Covid tests (as well as proof-of-vaccination programs, though many provinces have already dropped those requirements). — Bill C-9: Justice Minister DAVID LAMETTI's C-9 would change the rules on how judges' conduct is reviewed, and how they're removed from the bench. The government has so far not prioritized its passage. — Bill C-13: Official Languages Minister GINETTE PETITPAS TAYLOR's C-13 overhauls the decades-old Official Languages Act — and responds to concerns about the declining state of the French language in Canada. Every opposition party agrees the bill is long overdue. Both the Tories and New Democrats hope to pack it with amendments. — Bill C-14: The House should have no trouble passing C-14 , which would ensure no province ever loses seats after a riding redistribution process. The Conservatives and NDP will both support the legislation. (Tory MP TOM KMIEC even claimed the bill was part of STEPHEN HARPER's legacy on representation.) The Bloc doesn't think it goes far enough. — Bill C-17: The government tabled C-17 on March 25. It'd be a law with two goals: pay the provinces C$2 billion to clear surgery backlogs, and another C$750 million to cities to help cover budget shortfalls for public transit. — Also to come: The government will soon introduce its budget implementation bill. And, of course, we’re waiting on an announcement about the official inquiry into the use of the Emergencies Act. As CP's LAURA OSMAN reports, the Act requires the government to call an inquiry within 60 days of revoking the declaration. That deadline is ... today. BUDGET TALK — The Liberal-NDP effort to vanquish parliamentary brinkmanship with a supply-and-confidence deal could support as many as four budgets. The cooperative well could run dry long before then, but this spring's fiscal plan is all but a done deal. Foregone conclusions notwithstanding, Bloc Québécois MP GABRIEL STE-MARIE's subamendment to the budget motion will still see debate in the House today. — Brass tacks: The sovereigntist Quebecers don't hold much leverage in the shadow of the two-party deal, and their subamendment is doomed to failure. But for the record, Ste-Marie hopes to persuade the Commons to substantially boost health transfers to provinces, increase the old age pension for those aged 65 to 74, take "concrete action" against climate change, "offer solutions" to the rising cost of living, and a reliable old chestnut: "consult and respect the jurisdictions of Quebec, the provinces and territories.” The House will also debate the budget on Tuesday and Wednesday. — Pet project hour: Liberal MP KEN MCDONALD's private member's motion on long-term care will also see an hour of debate today. McDonald wants the feds to work with provinces and territories to "improve the quality and availability" of beds, implement strict infection prevention and control measures, and develop legislation that guarantees a level of care for seniors everywhere in Canada. Later in the week, the Commons will debate four private member's bills: — Green MP ELIZABETH MAY's attempt to create a national strategy to "address the harm caused by environmental racism." — Tory MP KEVIN WAUGH's effort to add the prohibition of public Holocaust denial to the Criminal Code. — Tory MP CLIFFORD SMALL's bill that would set a federal framework on the conservation of fish stocks and management. — Liberal MP ANJU DHILLON's proposal to require judges to consider electronic monitoring devices as a condition of a release order for those accused of intimate partner violence (and mandate that judges receive continuing education on intimate partner violence).
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