Conservatives balk at ‘power grab,’ emergency COVID-19 aid package bogs down

Hopes that Parliament could speedily approve emergency legislation freeing up billions in aid to help Canadians weather the COVID-19 pandemic were dashed Tuesday over Conservative objections to what they dubbed a Liberal “power grab.”

An emergency sitting of the House of Commons was suspended moments after it began as Conservatives balked at provisions that would give the government sweeping powers to unilaterally spend, borrow and change taxation levels without Parliament’s approval for the next 21 months.