The Prime Minister granted an interview to Reuters yesterday and, aside from questions about the upcoming G8 and G20 summits, was asked about the Parliamentary sitting just passed. Here is the transcript of that answer.
The Prime Minister granted an interview to Reuters yesterday and, aside from questions about the upcoming G8 and G20 summits, was asked about the Parliamentary sitting just passed. Here is the transcript of that answer.
Well, first of all, I actually, notwithstanding, you know, notwithstanding my own frustrations with some of the dysfunction in the minority Parliament, I think in the end we actually got some, some pretty good, some pretty good results, particularly in the closing days.
As you know, we got the budget implementation bill through. As, as was observed critically and I think inaccurately, the criticism was inaccurate in some circles. The budget bill was wide-ranging legislation that had a lot, not just of important budgetary measures, but important measures for the Canadian economy. So, I think the passage of the budget bill, in and of itself, made the parliamentary sessions productive. And I know we’ve been criticized by how much was in that budget bill. But, putting a lot in that budget bill effectively ensured, passing it ensured a productive parliamentary session. There were other important things done. The passage of refugee reform legislation, this has been a crying need for, I’d say, at least 15 years. The bill we passed there, I mean, Minister Kenney deserves a lot of credit, got all-party support in the end, for what are some very significant reforms that will help us manage those pressures going forward. As you know, we’ve increasingly been having difficulties managing the dysfunction of the refugee system with the impact that visas have on our, on our international relationships. And so, this is a very important set of reforms. We passed, we passed the, some pardon legislation, the important legislation, or at least part of the reforms to the system of pardons, which have been so abused in this country. And there were several other pieces of legislation. So, actually I think in the end, notwithstanding what was largely, I would not disagree with you, you know, largely a dysfunctional session where, quite frankly, it seemed to me Parliament spent a lot of its time debating things that are not top-of-mind for the Canadian people. In the end, I think we actually got the key pieces of legislation passed. And of course, we also put, the other thing that has to be mentioned is we put a lot on Parliament. We introduced 56 pieces of legislation so far this session. So, it has been, Parliament has had a lot put before it that is moving forward.
Asked explicitly about the fall, he dismissed the possibility of an election.