Elizabeth May is concerned about what she calls the increased use of “Harper tactics” from the Liberal government. The Green Party leader rose in the House of Commons Tuesday morning to bemoan that the government invoked time allocation on Bill C-44, its budget implementation legislation tabled in April. Opposition MPs have called C-44, which clocks in at nearly 300 pages, an omnibus bill because it includes controversial changes to the powers of the Parliamentary Budget Office and a new law clearing the way for the Canada Infrastructure Bank.

Green Party Leader Elizabeth May asks a question to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the House of Commons on Oct. 3, 2016. (Photo: Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press) May said Tuesday it was unfortunate that Government House Leader Bardish Chagger was not in the House to answer questions about the tactic, which were instead fielded by Finance Minister Bill Morneau. Chagger signalled last week that the Liberals would shut down debate more frequently after opposition MPs rejected proposed parliamentary reforms to “manage time for debating legislation.” “The breakdown of relations between the House leaders of the large three parties in this place is leading to an increased use of what I would call ‘Harper tactics,’” May said. While conceding C-44 does not contain the same “egregious misuse of power” as bills C-38 and C-45 — behemoth bills tabled by the Tories in 2012 that made sweeping changes to a host of laws and regulations — May said it is a piece of omnibus legislation, nonetheless. 'Bad tactics' May singled out the proposed changes to make the PBO an independent officer of Parliament as a “subject of such importance” that it should be debated separately from budgetary measures. Time allocation, which allows a government to limit debate on a bill so that it can be passed at a quicker pace, is a tool that that should be used “extremely rarely,” May said. “To say as the Liberals now do that, ‘We’re using it less than (former prime minister Stephen) Harper did,’ is not an excuse for adopting bad tactics and majority rule in a way that hurts the healthy functioning of this place.” May added on Twitter: “So much for promises of doing things differently.”

Liberals moving time allocation on omnibus budget bill. So much for promises of doing things differently. :( #cdnpoli#GPC — Elizabeth May (@ElizabethMay) May 9, 2017

Morneau responded that the government believes it is time to move the bill to committee, where they are open to hearing about potential “improvements.” The finance minister maintained the measures in C-44 all relate to the budget, including the changes to the PBO. “We’re not trying to sneak into the bill things that are unrelated to the budget,” he said. “We’re not trying to do something that perhaps has been done in the past to get things through without due consideration.” NDP MP Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet also asked Morneau how he would have reacted if the Harper government, which invoked time allocation 100 times in the previous Parliament, had pulled the same move. Morneau said that since 39 MPs have already spoken on the bill, it’s important to see it move to the next stage. “We believe enough time has been provided and it’s time for the committee to consider these matters and to begin study,” Morneau said.

Liberals vote another time allocation, this time on their omnibus #Budget2017 bill. There is little left of their "sunny ways". #cdnpolipic.twitter.com/M41BSSUhx9 — NDP HoC - NPD CdC (@NDPHoC_NPDCdC) May 9, 2017