COMMONS BREAK MAROONS MANY BILLS

Balance Of Chretien Legislative Legacy Left In Hands Of Paul Martin

OTTAWA (CP) - The House of Commons has spent its last working day of the
Jean Chretien era, leaving some major bills unpassed and their fate
squarely in the hands of prime minister in waiting Paul Martin.

As MPs left Ottawa today, legislation to create a new and more powerful
ethics commissioner to oversee Parliamentary conflict-of-interest laws, a
key piece of Jean Chretien's legacy, was unexpectedly added to the
unfinished list.

The bill had been passed by the Commons, but the Senate added a surprise
amendment today, which means the Commons has to pass the bill again before
it can become law.

The Senate then adjourned to Nov. 17. It's expected that the Commons will
prorogue - ending the session - that day, leaving a backlog of legislation
in limbo.

"We're obviously disappointed," said Jim Munson, Chretien's spokesman.

"If the House prorogues, the new leader will have to decide what to do
about this in the new year."

Duff Conacher of Democracy Watch condemned the Senate amendment of the
ethics bill:

"Senators are so drunk on their own unaccountable power that they're
incapable of sober second thought when it comes to enforcement of ethics
rules for senators."

The Commons has its own list of unfinished business, including:

A bill to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana, an
initiative Justice Minister Martin Cauchon had heralded as long overdue.

Legislation to revamp aboriginal self-government, a measure that Chretien
trumpeted upon its introduction but quietly backed away from after it met
bitter opposition from many First Nations.

A reform of drug patent laws to ease the shipment of AIDS medication and
other desperately needed pharmaceuticals to developing countries.

A measure to tighten child pornography laws by limiting the defence of
artistic merit, a move applauded by law-and-order advocates but denounced
by civil libertarians.

In theory, the House is just taking a one-week break. In practice, nobody
expects it to reconvene as scheduled Nov. 17.

That's because Martin will be confirmed as Liberal leader by a party
convention next Thursday. Chretien is poised to call an end to the
parliamentary session after that, to avoid returning to the Commons as a
lame duck, although the murky status of the ethics commissioner bill may
make the decision difficult.

The Senate faces a slate of bills that have already passed the lower house,
but won't get to them if the session ends.

They include legislation creating seven new Commons seats - two in British
Columbia, two in Alberta and three in Ontario - in time for the general
election expected next spring.

Also on the agenda is a long-promised initiative to establish a national
sex offender registry to help police keep track of potential predators.

The upper house is also reviewing legislation to outlaw human cloning and
regulate embryonic stem cell research.

Under parliamentary rules, any bills that haven't passed both houses will
die upon prorogation. There is a simple procedure, however, for the
government to resurrect them once a new session starts.

Chretien alluded to that earlier this week, insisting an end to the current
session doesn't really mean an end to all the work in progress.

"When you write that the bills disappear that's not correct," the prime
minister told reporters. "The bills are generally reinstated."

The catch is that it's a Martin-led government that will decide whether to
reinstate them when the new session starts in February.

Justice Minister Cauchon has expressed hope the marijuana bill will be
among those revived, but there has been no word from Martin aides on
whether that hope is well-founded.

The chances of survival for the native self-government bill are slim.
Martin has voiced misgivings about it and hinted he wants to go back to the
drawing board.

He has expressed support, however, for the AIDS drug initiative, the ethics
commissioner bill and the new Commons seats that he wants in time for the
election.

Beyond that, it's anybody's guess.

Chretien aides admit privately there have been no deals struck and no
promises made about what will survive and what will not. "There haven't
been any discussions, formal or informal," said one insider.