Reports from Ottawa are that the Conservatives have notched the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement down on the order paper.
The deal, enshrined in Bill C-23, was expected to go to a vote after a second reading. The second reading, or at least part of it, took place last week. The vote didn't.
Here, I reproduce part of a message sent out from NDP Foreign Affairs critic Peter Julian on Friday.
This is our second victory, I guess it means that we’ve won the second round of the debate but there is no doubt that this Bill will be coming back, potentially in a few weeks time, while the House sits awaiting a pending election.
I think that we should celebrate another victory at a time when the government thought, with Liberal support, it could push it rapidly through within a couple of days.
I reported last week that some Liberals are now in support of the deal, but others, obviously, are less sure.
MP Jay Hill indicated Friday that Bill C-23 is no longer at the top of the Conservatives' list, but has been bumped down a notch behind the National Capital Act, which he expects to table after MPs return from constituency break.
I guess the phone calls and petitions are having some effect.
Photo of MP Scott Brison, Canada-Colombia FTA booster par excellence. He spent 96 hours in Colombia in August.
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