Either out or morbid curiosity or as a cry for help, I watched yesterday’s House of Commons’ debate on proposing changes to the Standing Orders, and…I didn’t hate it? There were actually some good ideas in there, and there were calls to undo a couple of changes that were made during the height of the pandemic to accommodate “hybrid parliament,” which I hadn’t realised had been changed. While this was kicked off by Liberal MP Corey Hogan’s suggestions for reforming Question Period, which I wrote about in my weekend column, there were a number of other reasonable suggestions. One common theme by several MPs across party lines was to end the vestiges of hybrid sittings, which I wholeheartedly agree with, and some of that included the remote voting app (which again, is an affront to Parliamentary democracy and should be abolished), but that will be a tougher sell. A number of MPs also had gripes about the ability of the Senate to stall or kill private members’ bills through delay, but that has nothing to do with the Standing Orders, as the House does not write the rules of the Senate.
- Michael Chong wants to restore the Speaker’s right of recognition and do away with speaking lists, and adopt the UK practice of allocating time among the number of MPs who want to speak to a specific bill or motion. (Agreed!) He also wants to ensure that the Speaker and a committee of MPs appoint the Clerks and Sergeant-at-Arms, and wants committee spots and chairs determined by secret preferential ballots, and for the Board of Internal Economy to only be comprised of backbenchers. All of these are reasonable.
- Yves Perron wants the prayer replaced with a moment of reflection, and to have a designated time on Fridays for a more free-flowing question-and-answer session with ministers akin to the special committee of the whole sessions during COVID. He also wants limits on the size of panels at committees to ensure that they are more manageable He also wants unanimous consent motions to be held on Wednesdays and to be tabled in advance (which I’m very dubious about).
- Jenny Kwan and Pat Kelly both want the return of voice votes/standing five to trigger recorded votes, which was one of those hybrid rule changes that needs to be undone. Kwan wants new rules on dissenting committee reports being presented, and no Supply Days on Wednesdays of Fridays (but they are already limited as to the number they can have, and that would take up all Tuesdays and Thursdays).
- Kelly wants to invert the times for speeches and questions and answers, so you have shorter speeches and longer question/comment segments (which I’m not opposed to).
- John-Paul Danko is concerned about parliamentary privilege being weaponized to allow slander to be clipped and shared over socials.
- Scott Reid had some very specific concerns about ethics complaints being weaponized (but I’m not sure that’s in the Standing Orders).
- Kevin Lamoureux wants concurrence debates to be held after government orders, as they are used as dilatory motions. He also wants a segment where MPs can speak to any bill of their choosing for five or ten minutes on a Friday.
- Garnett Genuis wants guardrails on unanimous consent motions used to pass bills at all stages, and wants to do away with the parties asking suck-up questions during question/comment segments after speeches.
In all, there are actually a few good ideas in there, but we’ll see how much the Procedure and House Affairs committee takes up any of them (and I am not hopeful on most). Nevertheless, it was nice to see a reasonable debate on some (mostly) reasonable ideas on how to make the House of Commons work better.
Ukraine Dispatch
Canada is sending AIM missiles for Ukraine’s air defence. President Zelenskyy is calling for faster action on air defence and repairing the power grids.
Good reads:
- Anita Anand and Governor General Mary Simon opened the new consulate in Nuuk, Greenland (the space of which we are sharing with Iceland).
- The Official Languages Commissioner put out a Valentine’s Day post which contains a risqué double entendre in French, which raises questions about the vetting.
- Here is a look at the Inuit delegation who went to consulate opening in Greenland.
- Irwin Cotler says that the move to replace the special advisor on combatting antisemitism with a new “council” will make Canadian Jews feel less safe.
- China’s top court has commuted the death sentence for a Canadian drug smuggler incarcerated in that country.
- The Supreme Court of Canada ruled 7-2 that confirmed exceptions to solicitor-client confidentiality in cases where a lawyer is facing charges.
- Here is a look at some possibilities for Poilievre’s next riding to run in, given that Damien Kurek is running again in Battle River—Crowfoot.
- Some Conservatives are upset with Jamil Jivani for taking “freelance” trips to Washington when he doesn’t have a portfolio, and he can play by his own rules.
- Newfoundland and Labrador has pulled the plug on a proposed ocean conservation area, meaning the federal plans can’t move ahead.
- Justin Ling calls on the Canadian government to stop using the TUSCAN list for suspected terrorists, as Trump is weaponizing it against his opponents.
- My weekend column delves into Corey Hogan’s ideas about how to reform Question Period, which has absolutely degraded over the past two decades.
Odds and ends:
— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2026-02-06T20:13:48.246Z
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