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With some restrictions, the government decides when opposition days fall in the sitting calendar, and in this case the Liberals decided to put the Conservative opposition day on a Friday, which is a shorter day in the House and also coincides with when many MPs leave Ottawa to return to their ridings.

“They were trying to punish us by giving us a Friday,” said Bergen. “We had to send a signal that they couldn’t do that kind of thing.”

The Liberals have a strong minority and will be able to pass their budget or any other confidence motion with the help of any one of the three major opposition parties, but on committee votes, motions and private member’s business, they may not have the control over Parliament they did in the past government.

The motion, which is expected to pass, would give the Bloc, NDP and Conservatives one additional opposition day in the next three sitting weeks and would prevent the government from putting any of them on a Wednesday or a Friday, the two shorter days.

With fewer days left for debate, the government will be forced to slow down its own legislative agenda. The Liberals are trying to pass the new NAFTA agreement through the House and have several other bills they would like to make more progress on.

A minority government, often in Canadian history, has become the time when we achieved the most

Deputy government whip Ginette Petitpas Taylor raised the problem in the House during debates on the Conservative motion.

“Let me remind the House that this motion will delay several important bills, such as Bill C-4, the bill to implement the historic trade agreement between our great country, the United States and Mexico,” she said during debate on the issue. “Let us remember that the United States, Mexico and all premiers want this bill to be passed, and passed quickly.”