The government’s controversial anti-terrorism bill, C-51, is moving a step closer to becoming law as the House of Commons prepares for its final vote on the legislation.

Third reading began Monday at noon, with one Liberal, six NDPs MPs and eight government MPs present as the debate started. None of the party leaders was present, nor were the Liberal or NDP public safety critics.

Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney and his parliamentary secretary, Roxanne James, were among those in the House for the debate.

NDP MP Francois Lapointe kicked off the debate, followed by Liberal MP Kevin Lamoureux.

Lamoureux and several members of the government attacked the NDP for spreading inaccurate information about the bill, with MP Scott Armstrong calling the Opposition “irresponsible” for suggesting C-51 will let CSIS spy on ordinary Canadians.

The report on C-51 from the House of Commons national security committee will also be tabled Monday afternoon, with a vote on the report set to take place once debate resumes after question period.

With time allocation imposed on third reading, the government expects to have the bill go to a final House vote by Tuesday evening, says Jean-Christophe de Le Rue, press secretary for Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney.

NDP Leader Tom Mulcair has said his party will not support the legislation but Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau has, controversially, said his party will support the bill but change some of its provisions if elected.

Lamoureux reiterated that stance Monday, saying it would be a mistake not to allow the bill to pass just because there are some things they don’t approve of.

“I would not argue this is perfect legislation,” he said. “I would argue it is in Canadians’ best interests to allow it to pass.”

Green Party Leader Elizabeth May arrived just before 1:00 pm and quickly slammed the Liberal Party for attacking the NDP’s “principled’ stance on the legislation, saying she hoped the Liberal Party would change its position to vote against the bill with the Greens and NDP.

Even without that Liberal support, the Conservative majority ensures the bill will pass and be referred to the Senate.

Senators are under a tight schedule to evaluate the legislation before Parliament rises for the summer at the end of June.

The Senate national security committee began its pre-study of the bill on March 30 and has heard from witnesses such as Justice Minister Peter Mackay, Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney, former Supreme Court justice John C. Major, CSIS director Michel Coloumbe and CSE chief Greta Bossenmaier, in addition to representatives from the RCMP, Civil Liberties Association and Canadian Bar Association.

Much of the testimony so far has centred on the same concerns raised to the House committee in its evaluation: namely, that there is not enough oversight of the new powers extended to CSIS and that the bill goes too far in allowing for the violation of Canadians’ rights.

The bill being voted on Tuesday and referred to the Senate will include four amendments introduced by the House national security committee following intense outcry from critics over the bill.

The amendments clarify that C-51 does not allow CSIS to perform arrests, removed the requirement in the proposed legislation for airlines to “do anything” the government asks if it’s meant to stop someone travelling abroad for terrorist purposes and also removed the word “lawful” as a descriptor for the kinds of protests, dissent and advocacy that would be viewed as threats to the security of Canada and which could result in increased information sharing.

However, the committee refused multiple motions to add sunset clauses into the bill and to ban CSIS from participating in rendition or torture.