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A bid by senators to amend the Trudeau government's budget escalated Wednesday into a test of wills over which parliamentary chamber — the elected House of Commons or the appointed Senate — has the right to decide budgetary matters.
Senators were incensed after the government summarily and swiftly rejected Senate amendments to its budget implementation bill, sending a message back to the upper house that the changes "infringe upon the rights and privileges" of the Commons.
The message echoed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's contention that the elected chamber has the sole authority and legitimacy to decide budgetary matters.
The message was sent, without debate and with unanimous approval of MPs from all parties in the Commons, less than three hours after the Senate gave final approval to an amended version of the budget bill, deleting provisions that would impose a so-called escalator tax on booze.
Senators must now decide whether to insist upon their amendments or defer to the will of the elected chamber. But they were so insulted by the assertion that they don't have the right to amend budget bills that they almost unanimously refused to even consider the message later Wednesday, putting it off until Thursday and potentially disrupting MPs' summer break.
In the end, even the government representative in the Senate, Peter Harder, voted against his own motion to immediately consider the Commons' message, which went down to defeat by a vote of 79-2, with five abstentions.
