Parliament resumes today with Liberal government

 
Canada’s 42nd Parliament will open this afternoon with the election of a new Speaker of the House of Commons, followed by the reading of the Speech from the Throne tomorrow.

It’s the first time MPs will be back in the now 338-seat chamber since the October election — and the first time Justin Trudeau will sit in the Prime Minister’s chair, although he won’t have to face questions from the now opposition Conservatives until Monday.

The government is expected to move quickly to reduce the middle income tax bracket by 1.5   percent while creating a new 33 percent tax bracket for those earning over $200,000 a year.

Meanwhile the Trudeau government is expected to announce plans this morning for a non-partisan advisory body to recommend nominees for the Senate.

The goal is to end the Senate’s partisan nature by making appointments solely based on a person’s merit.

There are currently 22 vacancies in the 105 seat upper chamber — due to former Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s refusal to make appointments after the Supreme Court blocked his ideas for Senate reform.

Something else that may become clearer today is how the government plans to shepherd legislation through the Senate since Trudeau made all the Liberal senators independent of his caucus last year.