The Conservative-Liberal agreement, released by the PMO
The Conservative-Liberal agreement, released just now by the Prime Minister’s Office.
The Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition today agreed to form a working group to develop proposals for Employment Insurance eligibility reform that will:
(a) allow self-employed Canadians to participate voluntarily in the Employment Insurance system; and
(b) improve eligibility requirements in order to ensure regional fairness.
The working group will consist of three appointees of the Prime Minister and three appointees of the Leader of the Opposition. The working group will have access to briefings and data provided by the Department of Human Resources and Skills Development. It may consult such other sources as deemed necessary. The working group will deliver recommendations to the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and Canadians by September 28, 2009.
The parties will work in good faith to implement any consensus recommendations made by the working group. In addition, the Liberals will support the main and supplementary estimates this Friday. The Conservatives will support the Liberal opposition day motion (a draft copy of which is attached), also this Friday.
The Liberal motion after the jump.
THAT this House recognizes that its constitutional role of holding the government to account requires regular, orderly, timely, and clearly understood procedural opportunities for doing so, while not unduly restricting the ability of the government to manage its legislative program, and therefore, notwithstanding any Standing Order or usual practice of this House, when the House adjourns on Friday, June 19th, 2009, it shall stand adjourned until 11:00 a.m. on Monday, September 14th, 2009, whereupon it will commence its fall sittings for the Supply Period ending on December 10th, 2009; provided that:
(i) the House will not sit the week beginning September 21st 2009 to avoid conflicts with G-20 meetings;
(ii) in addition to the accountability reports already required by the Liberal amendment to the 2009 Budget motion, the Government will prepare a further accountability report, meeting all the requirements of that said Liberal amendment, and table it in Parliament during the week of September 28th, 2009, to be followed by an allotted day for the Official Opposition two sitting days later; and
(iii) this House orders that section (10) of Standing Order 81 be amended by adding, immediately after paragraph (c) thereof, the following: (d) In each of the supply periods described in paragraph (a), the first allotted day shall be no earlier than the eighth sitting day and no later than the twelfth sitting day in that period; and no fewer than four nor more than seven sitting days shall be permitted to pass between allotted days within each period, provided that, in any case, the last allotted day in each period shall not be more than seven sitting days before the last sitting day in that period.”