Parliament got some things done in 2022 — but there's a lot more work ahead

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While the past 12 months were hardly uneventful, 2022 was at least a "normal" parliamentary year. The House of Commons calendar was not significantly altered by an election (as in 2019 and 2021) or the arrival of a global pandemic.

Most of the parliamentary year also played out after the Liberals and New Democrats signed a confidence-and-supply agreement in March that committed the parties to working together on a shared set of priorities.

So the government side of the House had fewer excuses for not advancing and passing legislation — and 2022 was not unproductive.

But the government still has far more work on its plate in the 44th Parliament.

What got done in 2022

The House of Commons adjourned on Wednesday having passed 21 government bills over the past 12 months. Seventeen of those bills have received now royal assent after also passing the Senate.

Some of that output was simple housekeeping. Six of the government bills passed in 2022 were appropriation acts needed to fund the government and keep the lights on.

A few other bills were responses to unexpected problems that arose over the past year.

C-28, for instance, was tabled in response to a Supreme Court decision in May and is meant to ensure that extreme intoxication cannot be used as a legal defence when someone commits a violent act. C-14, which amended the formula for allotting seats in the House of Commons, was passed to respond to the prospect of Quebec losing a seat in the upcoming redistribution.

For Liberals (and New Democrats), the most politically salient items were spread across a half-dozen other government bills.

Two omnibus bills — C-19 and C-32 — covered items promised in the spring budget and the fall economic statement, such as the "luxury tax" for expensive aircraft and boats, the creation of tax-free home savings accounts and the elimination of interest on student loans. Two other bills — C-30 and C-31 — implemented the government's responses to the cost of living crisis: an increase in the GST rebate and housing benefit and the creation of a new dental benefit.

C-5 repealed a number of mandatory minimum sentences as part of the Liberal government's commitment to fight systemic racism. A bill to create a new national council for reconciliation passed the House by a vote of 315 to 0 earlier this fall and is now at second reading in the Senate.

Simply counting the number of government bills passed is a crude measure of productivity. But including the four bills that received royal assent in a post-election rush of activity last December, the 44th Parliament gets to the end of 2022 having passed 21 bills. By comparison, the three minority parliaments that ran between 2004 and 2011 passed an average of 63 bills before they expired.

Why 2023 should be a busy year

But the 44th Parliament gets more interesting — and more controversial — when one looks at what's still in the legislative pipeline. 

The government's firearms legislation (C-21) has bogged down at committee amid accusations of overreach. The Online Streaming Act, the government's second attempt to bring major Internet platforms under Canadian content regulations, has also come in for extended Senate scrutiny.

The Online News Act, which would facilitate payments from Internet platforms to Canadian media outlets, passed the House on Wednesday, but legislation to deal with harmful online content is still outstanding (despite a promise in 2021 to table it within 100 days of being re-elected). The government's promised "just transition" legislation, which would set out its plans for helping workers in the energy sector navigate the shift to a low-carbon economy, also has yet to be tabled.

Last week, the government tabled new bills to change foreign investment law and enshrine federal funding for child care and early learning programs. Legislation to create a new disability benefit (tabled in June) is being studied by a House committee, while legislation on digital privacy (also tabled in June) is still at second reading. And the Liberals have promised that sometime in 2023, they will table legislation to ban the use of replacement workers during strikes.

Even though the House has only just adjourned for 2022, the parliamentary agenda for 2023 already seems heavy. Barring an unexpected election or an unforeseen global calamity, the House will have 130 sitting days to deal with it all.

And that sets up the next 12 months as a meaningful test of how fast and how well the government can move, and how much can be accomplished under that novel confidence-and-supply agreement.

Bills that have received royal assent in the 44th Parliament

Government bills

C-2, An Act to provide further support in response to COVID-19
C-3, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Canada Labour Code (sick leave)
C-4, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (conversion therapy)
C-5, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act
C-6, Appropriation Act No. 4, 2021-22
C-8, Economic and Fiscal Update Implementation Act, 2021
C-10, An Act respecting certain measures related to COVID-19
C-12, An Act to amend the Old Age Security Act (Guaranteed Income Supplement)
C-14, An Act to amend the Constitution Act, 1867 (electoral representation)
C-15, Appropriation Act No. 5, 2021-22
C-16, Appropriation Act No. 1, 2022-23
C-19, Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1
C-24, Appropriation Act No. 2, 2022-23
C-25, Appropriation Act No. 3, 2022-23
C-28, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (self-induced extreme intoxication)
C-30, Cost of Living Relief Act, No. 1 (Targeted Tax Relief)
C-31, Cost of Living Relief Act, No. 2 (Targeted Support for Households)
C-32, Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2022
C-36, Appropriation Act No. 4, 2022-23
S-4, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Identification of Criminals Act and to make related amendments to other Acts (COVID-19 response and other measures)
S-10, An Act to give effect to the Anishinabek Nation Governance Agreement, to amend the Sechelt Indian Band Self-Government Act and the Yukon First Nations Self-Government Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other Acts

Private members bills

C-235, Building a Green Prairie Economy Act
S-206, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (disclosure of information by jurors)
S-219, An Act respecting a National Ribbon Skirt Day
S-223, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (trafficking in human organs)