A motion for the House of Commons to sit on Monday, December 18, 2023 to focus on Huron-Bruce MP Ben Lobb's grain drying bill was swiftly defeated in the House's final scheduled sitting day of 2023.
The motion aimed to pass Bill C-234, sponsored by Lobb, which aims to exempt farmers from paying the carbon tax on propane or natural gas used for drying grain or heating barns.
Conservative MP Garnett Genuis moved the motion for the House to sit on Monday, intending to push the passage of C-234. However, the motion faced swift defeat in the Chamber as other MPs voiced their opposition on a vote that required unanimous consent to pass.
The Commons schedule designates Friday as the final sitting day of 2023, with a return planned for late January. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's previous threat to filibuster in an attempt to keep MPs at their desks until Christmas did not materialize as expected, leading to only a two-day delay in the parliamentary calendar.
Changing the House sitting schedule necessitates unanimous support from MPs, making it a challenging task.
Bill C-234, initially passing the House earlier in the year with NDP support, faced amendments in the Senate. Conservatives argued that these changes, including narrowing the carbon tax exemption and shortening the legislation's sunset period to three years, could doom the bill.
Despite a motion by Lobb to reject the Senate amendments, it failed to pass in the House on Wednesday, December 13, 2023.
