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The Liberal government is proposing major changes to the way Parliament functions, including limiting the delay powers of opposition MPs, allowing electronic voting and ending Friday sittings.

Government House leader Bardish Chagger released the proposals in a discussion paper Friday afternoon as MPs headed home for a break week, arguing that it is time to recalibrate the balance of power between the governments duty to pass legislation and the oppositions right to be heard.

We really need to bring the House of Commons into the 21st century, said Ms. Chagger in an interview. The minister said the changes are aimed at making Parliament more predictable and productive.

Opposition MPs immediately slammed the proposals, warning that it would curb their ability to challenge the government.

The proposals echo some of the Parliamentary reform promises made by the Liberals during the election campaign. They include changes to the daily Question Period by having one day a week where the Prime Minister answers all of the questions, as is the case in Britain. Ms. Chagger said the committee should debate whether the Prime Minister should also attend Question Period on other days.

However, the Liberals have already made two failed attempts since the election to change the House of Commons rules. Last May, the government withdrew a controversial motion that would have given it new powers to limit debate. Also last year, a study by the Procedure and House Affairs committee aimed at making Parliament more family friendly held hearings on the idea of eliminating Friday sittings but found no consensus for a change. That same committee is being asked to consider the governments latest proposals. A Liberal motion has circulated that proposed that the committee complete its review by June 2.

Ms. Chagger suggests in her letter that in lieu of Friday sittings, the House of Commons could add more sitting days in January, June and September.

Concern from the opposition Friday focused on changes that would limit the ability of opposition MPs to delay legislation in the House or in committee with long speeches known as filibusters. One section of Ms. Chaggars letter recommends limiting speeches in committee to 10 minutes.

Committees can, at times, become dysfunctional, she wrote. The principle of deliberations in the House and in committees should be to engage in substantive debate on the merit of an issue, not to engage in tactics which seek only to undermine and devalue the important work of Parliament.

Conservative deputy house leader MP Chris Warkentin said his party will strongly oppose changes that limit the ability of MPs to challenge the government.

The idea that they would suggest that MPs bringing the concerns of their constituents forward is somehow an unacceptable use of time for the House of Commons is absolutely reprehensible, he said. To remove those opportunities is really an abuse of power and something that we will definitely oppose.

Mr. Warkentin said his party will not support the elimination of Friday sittings. He said the government appears to be using calls for improved work-life balance as an excuse for limiting accountability.

We believe MPs should work five days a week, and frankly its the experience of most of us that we work seven days a week, he said. I know that theres a lot of Canadians that would suggest that if the Liberals wanted to do less work or if they dont like the job that theyve been elected to do, that there might be somebody else who would replace these members of Parliament.

NDP MP Ian Rankin said the Liberal proposals would be a setback for Canadian democracy that would limit the oppositions powers to hold the government to account.

We do look forward to a healthy debate on this discussion paper, even if it appears healthy debate may be severely restricted around here in the future, he said in a statement.

Follow Bill Curry on Twitter: @curryb

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Liberals' new parliamentary reform plan angers Tories, NDP - The Globe and Mail

OTTAWA The federal Liberals began setting the stage Friday for their second budget, sending out a senior cabinet minister to show why the country's middle class needs an economic and morale boost.

Social Development Minister Jean-Yves Duclos didn't say what will be in the March 22 budget, but hinted the document will look at ways to train and re-train workers and spur private-sector investment in infrastructure and labour.

Duclos will make the same pitch in three cities next week to argue that the Liberals understand the economic fears Canadians have and seek to build trust with voters that the measures in the coming budget will work for those who believe they are part of the middle class.

If people feel comfortable financially, they are more likely to trust the government and the Liberals' growth agenda, Duclos said.

"Perceptions matter because they are a signal of middle-class Canadians' feelings towards the future, and anxiety, stress, uncertainty are key components in how Canadians assess their quality of life," Duclos said.

Since coming to office, the Liberals have repeatedly talked about helping the middle class, without defining the term.

Duclos said Canadians use a variety of indicators to define themselves as part of the middle class, including income levels with data suggesting an income range of $50,000 to $150,000 the cost of living that varies by city and their confidence about whether their children will be better off than they are.

That confidence, the Liberals argue, is dropping. Duclos pointed to polling data that suggest fewer Canadians identify as middle class. He also noted economic data that said median wages have stagnated over 40 years, despite rising since the 1990s, while income growth has been 1.7 times higher for the top one per cent of earners compared with the bottom 90 per cent.

The budget is set to prod companies into investing in their workers, along with public infrastructure, in a bid to boost job growth that would underpin the government's economic strategy and help curb annual budgetary deficits that are projected to be the norm for decades.

Duclos said skills development will play a key role in the budget.

Employment and Social Development Canada in its departmental report for the coming year said that it wants to make training agreements with provinces, valued at almost $2 billion a year, more flexible and more accountable.

A report produced as part of consultations on how to change these labour market development agreements, as they're known, repeatedly pointed to a need to make training programs available to those who aren't receiving employment insurance, which could cover a wider range of workers including aboriginals.

It is on the accountability front that the Liberals expect to land in a battle with the provinces over how to exactly measure success.

Duclos said there is a need to adapt skills training programs to the evolving labour market and suggested the government would add more money to the pot so there are enough "resources associated, of course, with flexibility."

By Jordan Press, The Canadian Press

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Liberals look to set stage for budget - durhamregion.com

CBN News spoke with Justin Danhof of the conservative organization, The National Center for Public Policy Research. Danhof attended Disneys shareholders meeting Wednesday. Hear his reaction in the interview above.

Disney is taking a lot of heat these days from conservatives and liberals for the iconic company's decisions and actions.

Conservatives are upset with the company's choice to include a gay character and gay scene in "Beauty and the Beast," and a gay kiss in a children's cartoon TV show.

Liberals are upset that its CEO, Bob Iger, is on President Donald Trump's business advisory council.

At The Walt Disney Company's annual shareholders meeting in Denver, shareholder representatives opposing the Trump administration called on Iger to step down from the President's Strategic and Policy Forum, saying his involvement shows he and Disney support Trump's policies.

"By its association, Disney is complicit in Trump's Muslim ban and his anti-immigrant, anti-refugee agenda," said Mehrdad Azemun, campaigns director for People's Action, according to ValueWalk.com. "Disney can't pick and choose which of Trump's policies they support and which they don't. The only solution is for Bob Iger to leave Trump's business council."

"We are against Trump's messages and Iger needs to step down," said Lupita Carrasquillo, an economic-justice organizer for the Colorado People's Alliance, according to The Denver Post.

"We all love Disney movies and the messages that they teach, but we should not be teaching children a message of hate," she continued.

A coalition of organizations collected more than a half million signatures to deliver to The Walt Disney Company, calling for Iger not to participate on the council.

Iger, who is a Democrat and supported Hillary Clinton, called his involvement a "privileged opportunity" and refused to step down.

"I made a decision that I thought it was in the best interest of our company and of our industry to have an opportunity to express specific point of views directly to the president of the United States and to his administration," Iger said at the meeting, according to the Los Angeles Times.

One shareholder spoke in favor of Iger's decision.

"I want to thank you for being our voice in the room with the president," shareholder Dwight Morgan said, The Times reported.

Iger didn't just field questions from liberal protesters.

Justin Danhof, general counsel for The National Center for Public Policy Research, a conservative organization, accused Disney-owned ESPN and ABC News of being biased against the Trump administration.

Iger said that's not true.

"I am going to disagree with just about everything you said," Iger said, responding to Danhof, The Times reported. "The charge that ESPN is exhibiting significant political bias in its programming is just completely exaggerated."

"I can stand here today and look you in the face and say I am proud of the efforts of ABC News," the Disney CEO also said to Danhof, The Denver Post reported.

"There are always going to be people yourself included, perhaps the president who are going to believe that it is not being presented in a manner that is consistent with their own beliefs," Iger continued. "That doesn't necessarily mean they are going to be unfair."

Danhof told CBN News after the meeting that he wasn't convinced.

"I left the meeting after Mr. Iger's response with the feeling that if you don't share the views of the liberal elites that work in academia or live in Manhattan that Bob Iger doesn't really want you as a customer on his Disney platforms," Danhof said.

"Those are the 'values'... that I heard espoused today at the Disney shareholder meeting," he continued.

Meanwhile, the company did not address the backlash over a gay scene in "Beauty and the Beast" and a gay kiss in "Star vs. the Forces of Evil," according to Danhof.

"They did show a sneak peek of the 'Beauty and the Beast' movie, but the sneak peek did not include the scene that's been discussed so much in the media," he told CBN News.

Iger did speak favorably of the movie, according to an audio webcast of the shareholders meeting.

Later in the meeting, Iger referenced the values of the overall company.

"Our values include equality, inclusion, fairness, and optimism, of course, and they're reflected across every aspect of our company, including our storytelling," he said.

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Disney CEO Faces More Backlash - This Time from Liberals - CBN News

CNSNews.com

Alt-Left Insanity: Can We Have a Day Without Whiny, Male Liberals ... CNSNews.com Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends Apologies for our fun hiatus from altlefty insanity but I credit the annual MRC Cruise for throwing an ... and more »

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Alt-Left Insanity: Can We Have a Day Without Whiny, Male Liberals ... - CNSNews.com

CJ Letters Published 3:09 p.m. ET March 9, 2017 | Updated 15 hours ago

Yes, we provoke, poke, prod, and challenge our students.(Photo: Illustration - ALLVISIONN, Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Regarding liberal bias in academia, Dr. Jones says, Admittedly, there are probably more liberal and progressive thinkers in the professorate than not. He then tells us that the more educated you are, the more liberal you are, on average. Then he says that he is in the less than 1.7 percent of the population that has a Ph.D., that he is educated, smart and a thinker. The only thing missing is but best of all, Im not conceited!

So, education yields progressives, which yields thinkers. Ergo, conservatives are not thinkers. Since he thinks his job is to teach his students to think, the only way they can demonstrate proficiency is to become more liberal. Therefore, professors arent biased; theyre just trying to get those dumb conservatives to think.

Paul Stine

Louisville 40204

It is coincidental that on the sameday I read Professor Ricky Jones' columntouting the intellectual superiority of liberal college professors I also read an article in the conservative magazineThe Weekly Standardon the death of conservative intellectual Michael Novak by Joseph Bottum, who writes, "If you can't picturea worldwithout widely read outlets for intellectual conservatism --a worldin which socialism and secularization were the unquestioned air thatallAmerican thinkers were assumed to breathe -- you should offer a prayer for the life of a man named Michael Novak."

Personally, I suspect thatJones has spent much of his life and time hobnobbing with professors of like-minded ideology and that his question of "why do well-educated people tend not to self-identify as conservative" suggests he is likely oblivious to the intellectual conservatism that abounds outside the confines of college campuses. Most liberals believe they should be in control of our culture, our society, and our nation for the simple reason they believe themselves smarter than the rest of us. Professor Jones need not worry about being considered "dangerous." He is so only to those who are actually convinced of his superior ability tothink.

James A. Ritz

Salem, Indiana 47167

Read:Yes,professors are dangerous | Ricky Jones

Read:Trump,Bevin are both bullies | Ricky Jones

Read:Trump,'true' Americans triumph | Ricky Jones

Read:RickyJones on bullies in leadership | Letters

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Liberals in the classroom | Letters - The Courier-Journal