​If you have been following Ottawa based politics recently you may have heard some speculation that Prime Minister Trudeau might prorogue the House of Commons, as the fall session is soon set to return.

This begs the more obvious question- what does that mean? 

As I have written previously on this topic, prorogation is one of the more interesting Parliamentary procedures. In essence each “session” of Parliament is not unlike a chapter in a book. 

As much as each chapter will have a beginning and an end, so too will a session of Parliament.


Prorogation is officially defined as the ending of a session of Parliament.

In this case the 1st session of this Parliament (the 42nd), would come to a close if is officially prorogued by a proclamation of the Governor General at the request of the Prime Minister.

Why request prorogation? 

There can be a number of different reasons however the most common is that the next session of Parliament would open with a throne-speech. Many consider this akin to hitting the reset button as it allows the sitting Government to outline a new or different direction.

Considering the next federal election is fast approaching, many believe there is political value in outlining a new agenda, hence the speculation that the House may be prorogued in the near future.

Is it unusual for the house to be prorogued? 

Looking back at previous Parliaments including the last one, there have been only five Parliaments that did not have two or more sessions. In fact many Parliaments had 3 or more sessions with some having as many as 5, 6 and even 7 sessions within the duration of an elected Parliament. 

Part of the reason for this is that prior to having a fixed calendar, prorogation was the only way the House could adjourn for a period of time. One other interesting aspect of prorogation is that it can be used at the discretion of Government without the consent of the opposition (that would normally be required to adjourn the House). 

Because prorogation is a tool of government that does not require the consent of the opposition, it tends to be quite heavily opposed when it is used because it allows the Government to defer debate or change the channel onto a different subject. 

I do not often engage in speculation however I believe this session of the House will likely end up being prorogued. 

My question this week now that you know more about prorogation is, do you think it is an acceptable political tool for the Government to use?

I can be reached at Dan.Albas@parl.gc.ca or call toll free 1-800-665-8711.

I have often said that the wheels of Ottawa tend to turn quite slowly. 

One of the issues I worked on in the last Parliament was the need to establish a regulatory framework in Canada related to invasive species legislation.  

This was and remains a serious concern locally given the growing threat of invasive freshwater mussels to our region.

After considerable delay and much prodding we were able to have the new regulations in place for the 2015 boating season however that was only the first of many steps required to protect the Okanagan and other freshwater lakes in British Columbia and Western Canada.

The concern now is funding. 

Recently when the Prime Minister visited the Okanagan he and members of his caucus have been touting “$500,000 in research, education and outreach to help prevent invasive mussels from reaching local waterways”.

In turn I have recognized the Liberal Government for listening to our concerns and taking some action on this file. 

Unfortunately the funding announced recently is spread out over a 3-4 year time frame meaning the actual impact is roughly $158,000 annually.

As my opposition colleague from North Okanagan—Shuswap, Mel Arnold pointed out, along with Okanagan Basin Water Board (OBWB), and more recently the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce, this funding is nowhere near adequate to prevent invasive mussels from reaching our local waterways.

Make no mistake, the risks are very real. 

It is estimated that an invasive mussel infestation could create economic loss of $42 million annually in direct costs and lost revenue to the Okanagan region. 

More concerning is that invasive zebra and quaggamussels could destroy critically needed habitat that would further threaten or even destroy our local Pacific Salmon population.

The OBWB has issued a comprehensive multi-point plan that will better protect our region from invasive mussels. The annual operating cost of this plan is roughly $2 million.

To put that number into perspective, the current Federal Government’s annual Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) funding is close to $19 million. At the moment, 86% of the annual AIS funding is spent in Ontario. Here in the Okanagan, this recently announced funding from the Liberal Government is less than 1% of that.

I believe our Pacific Salmon habitat deserves more protection from the Liberals then less than 1% of the AIS funding. 

My question this week: 

Do you agree with me that the Federal Liberal Government should fully fund the request from the Okanagan Basin Water Board to better protect our region from invasive freshwater mussels?

I can be reached at Dan.Albas@parl.gc.ca or call toll free 1-800-665-8711. 

In my weekly MP reports I often close with a question related to the subject of the report. 

I do this for a number of different reasons, most importantly because I want to know what my constituents think.

On some issues there may be a strong consensus, however on other issues there might be vast differences of opinion. 

In particular, I find citizens will often convey a perspective that might not be reflected in Ottawa. 

If there was any one subject that provoked an extremely significant response, it was related to the Trudeau Liberal Government announcing that it would spend $4.5 Billion to purchase the Trans-Mountain pipeline project from USA based Kinder Morgan.

The intent of this purchase was to spend an additional $ 7.4 Billion to build the expanded Trans-Mountain pipeline.

The reaction I heard from this decision that the Government spend nearly $12 Billion building a pipeline, was generally one of outrage, even from those who indicated they supported its construction.

I mention this because very recently the CBC reported on documents Kinder Morgan filed with the United States Security and Exchange Commission that show constructing the pipeline could increase costs a further $1.9 Billion over and above what was formerly disclosed and take an additional year to construct.

Most troubling is the fact that Canadian journalists did not learn of this new information directly from the Liberal Government. 

Without the filings from the US Security and Exchange Commission this information would likely still be hidden from Canadians.

Given that the CBC reports the cost to construct the Trans Mountain expansion pipeline may now top $9.3 Billion, with a possible completion date of December 2021, my question this week is a simple one: 

Have your views on the Trans-Mountain pipeline project changed in any way and do you believe the Trudeau Liberal Government can reliably manage this project?

I can be reached at Dan.Albas@parl.gc.ca or call toll free 1-800-665-8711. 

Social media- in particular Twitter, has become an increasingly powerful force for political communication as we hear almost daily media reports on tweets from the President of the United States. 

Last year, here in Canada, a tweet came from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that stated:

“To those fleeing persecution, terror & war Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada” 

This tweet has been frequently referenced as a catalyst for a large increase in illegal immigration across Canada's borders

More recently a tweet from Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland called out Saudi Arabia for imprisoning human rights activists resulting in a significant reaction from Saudi Arabia. 

Within days of the tweet, Saudi Arabia announced intentions to withdraw roughly 16,000 students from Canadian post-secondary institutions, expelled the Canadian Ambassador from Saudi Arabia and withdrew the Saudi Arabian Ambassador from Canada.

In addition, Saudi Arabia placed a freeze on all new trade and investment transactions with Canada, suspended all flights to and from Toronto and Saudi Arabia and is transferring all Saudi nationals receiving paid medical treatment in Canada to hospitals in other countries.

It has also been reported that the Saudi Central Bank is in the process of selling off and divesting all Canadian related equities, bond, and cash holdings. There are also reports that Canadian agricultural products will no longer be purchased along with other actions

The total cost financially is unknown to date.

It is estimated that Saudi Arabia has invested close to $6 Billion in Canada and that the loss of Saudi students may account for roughly $500 million in lost revenue annually to Canadian post-secondary institutions.

It is difficult to comprehend that Canada’s relations with Saudi Arabia could become so stressed over the use of social media and Twitter however Minister Freeland and the  Liberal Government stands by the tweet calling out Saudi Arabia for serious human rights concerns.

Perhaps the most telling aspect of this situation is that to date none of our allies, including the United States, have stood by Canada.

Countries such as Egypt and Jordan have stated they are siding with Saudi Arabia in what they view as an intrusion by Canada into domestic affairs.

My thoughts?

I do not believe the Liberal Government intended to provoke this reaction from Saudi Arabia, as very few could have predicted this level of response. Likewise I believe it is a long standing tradition of current and previous Canadian Governments to raise human rights concerns when and where they exist. 

Where I will fault the Liberal Government is using Twitter as the tool to convey these concerns.

Canada has a long standing history of having a world class diplomatic sector and using the services of skilled diplomats offers many benefits. 

There is a growing concern where the Liberal Government has used tweets that have helped to create situations that adversely impact others as this current situation with Saudi Arabia demonstrates. 

My question this week;

Are you concerned with the growing reliance of using Twitter diplomacy as opposed to traditional diplomacy by the Liberal Government?

I can be reached at Dan.Albas@parl.gc.ca or call toll free 1-800-665-8711. 

​For three years now the national carbon tax has been one of the signature policies of the Trudeau Liberal Government in Ottawa.

However the Province of Saskatchewan has continued to be a hold out and is refusing to implement the federally imposed carbon tax. 

More recently, the new Ontario Government also announced its intentions to reject what is often called the “Trudeau Carbon Tax” and has created the potential for a significant legal challenge.

This week the Office of Environment Minister Catherine McKenna announced that the Liberals will be doing some back peddling on the Liberal carbon tax policy.

The Liberal Government announced plans that, as the CBC reported, will reduce the carbon tax so “large polluters will be taxed on 10-20% of emissions rather than 30%” as was previously planned."

One well known Canadian columnist observed, these carbon tax changes amount to “a carbon tax that taxes you less the more carbon you emit.” 

Why are the Liberals making this change to reduce carbon tax on large scale polluters?

In short, over concerns related to competitiveness. 

In my view these concerns are quite valid.

As for example, the United States does not have a national carbon tax nor do many of Canada's largest trading partners. 

I believe this is a major policy change as it is the first time the Trudeau Liberal Government has publicly admitted that the costs of the carbon tax can place Canadian industry at a competitive disadvantage when compared to other countries that have no carbon tax whatsoever. 

The bigger problem is that these carbon tax changes announced by the Liberals only apply to large scale polluters; unfortunately they do not apply to small business owners or hardworking Canadian families. 

For the average family and small business owner there are no exemptions whatsoever.

In some Provinces there are rebates for certain citizens however they are not applied in the same manner as an across the board exemption that would benefit all taxpayers.

I believe this creates a challenge and also leads to my question for this week.

As the Liberals have now admitted that the carbon tax makes heavily polluting industry less competitive would it not also be fair to recognize the adverse impacts on small business owners and Canadian families who in comparison are not large scale polluters?

I can be reached at Dan.Albas@parl.gc.ca or call toll free  1-800-665-8711.