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On Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks to reporters alongside Canadian Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs Dominic LeBlanc. The date is August 18, 2020. Patrick Doyle/File Photo/REUTERS (Reuters) – OTTAWA, June 29 (Reuters) – The Senate of Canada approved Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government’s budget bill on Tuesday, the final step in extending COVID-19 funding through the summer and into the fall, ahead of a likely election. Late in the evening, Bill C-30 passed the Senate by a vote of 63 to 19. With the support of the opposition New Democrats and the Bloc Quebecois, Trudeau’s Liberals, who have a minority government, got the bill through the House of Commons last week. find out more The law, which was Canada’s first budget in more than two years, included extensions to essential aid programs including the wage subsidy, which helps firms pay workers, and rent assistance. Two additional bills, one criminalizing LGBT conversion therapy and the other regulating programming on streaming services like Netflix (NFLX.O), were referred back to committee, most likely to be addressed during the summer recess. find out more The Senate, or upper chamber, added two more sitting days this week to deal with a slew of bills passed by House lawmakers last week before they went on vacation. Critics have claimed that the Liberals are rushing legislation ahead of a September election. Trudeau has downplayed election chatter, but sources told Reuters that he was planning a snap election in September to capitalize on Canada’s recovery from the COVID-19 outbreak. The goal would be to gain a majority of votes. In a national poll conducted last week by Leger, Trudeau’s Liberals lead the main opposition Conservatives 34 percent to 30%. Julie Gordon contributed reporting from Ottawa, and Himani Sarkar edited the piece. The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles are our standards. Continue reading

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