Prolonging Parliament's session – What's the purpose?

The King of England's representative in Canada is set to deliver a speech at the commencement of the new parliamentary session. This speech will outline the Prime Minister's main orientations for the session ahead.

The prorogation procedure, a process that formally ends a session of Parliament and suspends all parliamentary activities until the next session begins, will be initiated by the Prime Minister. However, this must be done through the Lieutenant-Governor Manon Jeannotte.

The prorogation of 2021 marks the fourth time in the 21st century that this measure has been used. It's important to note that prorogation cancels all bills under study that have not yet been adopted, effectively halting all activities of the National Assembly.

The Bloc Québécois has expressed their discontent over Ottawa adopting its project of law on major infrastructures under its own bill, rather than allowing the bill to go through the normal parliamentary process.

Once the prorogation is complete, a new parliamentary session, with new bills and a new schedule, will be launched. The leader of the government can make "revive" the cancelled bills by depositing a motion when the Assembly resumes. The motion to revive the bills must be deposited before the third session that follows the normal resumption of work.

Interestingly, while most prorogations last only a few weeks, there was an extreme case of a 355-day prorogation in 1908. Deputies have been given until June 20 to study and adopt Ottawa's project of law on major infrastructures before the prorogation takes effect.

It's worth mentioning that the highest-ranking civil servant in office during SAAQclic testified that he knew nothing about the cost overruns related to the project.

In conclusion, the prorogation of the parliamentary session serves as a pause in the ongoing legislative process, allowing for a fresh start with new bills and a new schedule once the session resumes.