PARLIAMENT HILL, Ottawa—The Conservative-dominated Senate voted down an NDP climate change bill that was supported by all the opposition parties, raising allegations of undemocratic behaviour.
A vote came about unexpectedly when the Liberals appeared to try to force Conservative senators to speak on the bill, which they had not done in the over 190 days since the bill was sent to the Senate after its first reading in the House of Commons.
In the vote that followed, Conservative senators voted against the bill causing it to fail to get past the Senate to second reading, something that hasn’t happened in 70 years, NDP leader Jack Layton said on Wednesday.
Liberal and NDP MPs expressed outrage over the vote, saying it is undemocratic.
The Senate is generally expected to rubber-stamp legislation and the NDP has called for it to be abolished entirely. It has also been a frequent target by the Conservatives in the past. The Conservatives support an elected Senate.
Opposition parties are saying that without the bill progressing to second reading, where it would be scrutinized by committee, the government has nothing on the books to address climate change in advance of United Nations global warming talks in Cancun, Mexico, later this month.
A vote came about unexpectedly when the Liberals appeared to try to force Conservative senators to speak on the bill, which they had not done in the over 190 days since the bill was sent to the Senate after its first reading in the House of Commons.
In the vote that followed, Conservative senators voted against the bill causing it to fail to get past the Senate to second reading, something that hasn’t happened in 70 years, NDP leader Jack Layton said on Wednesday.
Liberal and NDP MPs expressed outrage over the vote, saying it is undemocratic.
The Senate is generally expected to rubber-stamp legislation and the NDP has called for it to be abolished entirely. It has also been a frequent target by the Conservatives in the past. The Conservatives support an elected Senate.
Opposition parties are saying that without the bill progressing to second reading, where it would be scrutinized by committee, the government has nothing on the books to address climate change in advance of United Nations global warming talks in Cancun, Mexico, later this month.
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