THE WORST FORM OF LAWMAKING

The House of Commons heritage committee has been accused of “secret law-making” as it rushes to pass the controversial C-10 broadcasting bill.

On Thursday, the Liberal, NDP and Bloc members of the committee agreed to vote on more amendments but without the opportunity to ask for explanations, or clarification about what the effect of those amendments would be.

“I find it shocking and deeply troubling that the committee is proceeding with clause-by-clause by voting on amendments that have not been made public, are not subject to debate, and there are no experts available to answer questions,” said University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist. Geist, a vocal critic of the bill, said that process amounts to secret law-making.

 Geist said in an email that voting on bills without experts in the room constitutes “the very worst form of lawmaking.” Geist, who obtained the text of some of the amendments, said one of the them uses language similar to net neutrality but may have the effect of harming net neutrality. “Were any experts consulted on this? Do MPs who voted on it understand the implications?” he asked.