House Committees: The Fine Print
Here is what you need to know about the significant changes being debated for citizenship, ethics laws, research funding, and the new online streaming framework.
Last week, we highlighted how opposition parties were gearing up for a fight over several key government bills. This week, in the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, they did more than fight—they successfully rewrote entire sections of a government bill, a rare event that signals a new dynamic in the House.
This briefing will take you about 5 minutes to read.
GOVERNANCE
Opposition Rewrites Government’s Citizenship Bill
Driving the news: The Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration passed a series of significant opposition amendments to Bill C-3, the Citizenship Act, 2025, fundamentally altering the government’s proposed legislation on citizenship by descent.
Catch-up: Bill C-3 was introduced to extend citizenship by descent beyond the first generation born abroad, provided the Canadian parent can demonstrate a “substantial connection” to Canada. The clause-by-clause review is where Members of Parliament vote on the specific text of the bill and propose changes.
Big Picture: The Conservative Party, with support from other opposition members, successfully passed amendments that harmonize the bill with stricter requirements found elsewhere in the Citizenship Act. This happened despite government members and department officials often voting against the changes.
Why it matters: This is a notable display of opposition influence in a minority parliament. The government’s bill will now return to the House of Commons with new requirements it did not originally support, including language and knowledge tests for some new citizens. One key amendment requires a Canadian parent living abroad to have been physically present in Canada for 1,095 days (three years) within a five-year period before their child’s birth to pass on citizenship. An earlier, more contentious amendment to end Canada’s policy of birthright citizenship (jus soli) for children of non-permanent residents was defeated.
What’s next: The amended Bill C-3 will be sent back to the House for its report stage, where the government will have to decide whether to accept the opposition’s changes or attempt to reverse them.
ETHICS
Federal Ethics Law Labelled a “Sad Joke”
Driving the news: Testifying before the ethics committee, Duff Conacher of Democracy Watch described the federal Conflict of Interest Act as an “Almost Impossible to be in a Conflict of Interest Act” that fails to apply to 99% of government decisions.
Catch-up: The Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics is reviewing the Conflict of Interest Act. The review has focused on the financial arrangements of the Prime Minister, which involve a blind trust and a complex “ethics screen.”
Key Players: Duff Conacher is a long-time government accountability advocate. His testimony centered on the “general application” loophole, which exempts officials from conflict of interest rules when they make decisions that apply broadly, even if they stand to profit personally.
Why it matters: Conacher argues that mechanisms like ethics screens and blind trusts are “smokescreens” that hide, rather than prevent, conflicts of interest. He claims the only effective solution is for senior public office holders to completely divest from their financial holdings and place the proceeds in simple investments like GICs or government bonds. Other witnesses, like Professor Lori Turnbull, cautioned that ethics rules cannot be built around specific individuals and that no rule is a substitute for good judgment.
SCIENCE & RESEARCH
Committee Clashes Over “Woke Science,” Demands Full Data Transparency
Driving the news: The Standing Committee on Science and Research held a contentious hearing with Canada’s three federal research granting councils, questioning whether Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) criteria undermine meritocracy in science funding.
Catch-up: The committee is studying how federal funding criteria impact research excellence. The debate has pitted the principle of meritocracy against the goal of fostering diversity within the research community.
Big Picture: Agency heads from SSHRC, NSERC, and CIHR defended their use of EDI criteria, arguing that including diverse perspectives strengthens research quality. Conservative MPs challenged this, citing testimony that EDI policies make Canada “more woke than the United States” and drive scholars away, and questioned the value of specific taxpayer-funded projects on topics like “German Children’s Books”.
Why it matters: The session culminated in the committee unanimously passing a motion compelling the three agencies to provide comprehensive, disaggregated data on all grant applications—funded or not—from 2020 to 2025. This move, prompted by testimony that only SSHRC currently provides such data, seeks to create a factual basis for analyzing potential systemic biases in funding related to institutions, language, and EDI criteria.
What’s next: The agencies have 15 days from the adoption of the motion to provide the requested data, which could significantly shape the committee’s final report.
BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY
Online Streaming Act Implementation Hits Legal and Logistical Hurdles
Driving the news: The CRTC confirmed its implementation of the Online Streaming Act (formerly Bill C-11) is in a holding pattern on key files, awaiting a court decision and finalizing its new definition of Canadian content.
Catch-up: The CRTC is tasked with modernizing Canada’s broadcasting framework, which includes requiring online streaming services to contribute to Canadian and Indigenous content.
Key Players: CRTC Chairperson Vicky Eatrides testified before the Canadian Heritage committee on the commission’s progress.
Why it matters: The CRTC’s first major decision—requiring streamers to contribute 5% of their Canadian revenue (estimated at $200 million annually) to support Canadian content—has been challenged in court. The Federal Court of Appeal granted a stay, meaning the funds are not yet flowing into the system as intended. At the same time, the CRTC has not yet released its updated definition of “Canadian content,” a crucial piece of the regulatory puzzle for both streamers and creators. This leaves the industry in a state of uncertainty.
On The Docket
An amendment to give children adopted internationally the same citizenship-by-descent rights as children born abroad was defeated at the citizenship committee after a heated debate and confusion over its legal effect.
The ethics committee heard arguments that opposition party leaders, especially in a minority parliament, should be subject to the same ethics rules as the Prime Minister, though witnesses disagreed on when those rules should apply.
Conservative MPs pressed the CRTC on why CTV has replaced local weekend and evening news broadcasts in Western Canada with American NFL games, questioning the commission’s commitment to local news.
In Their Own Words
Duff Conacher, Co-founder of Democracy Watch
“The Conflict of Interest Act really should be called...the ‘Almost Impossible to be in a Conflict of Interest Act’.”
Why it matters: In his testimony to the ethics committee, Mr. Conacher argued that loopholes in the current law, particularly the “general application” exemption, render it ineffective for 99% of the decisions made by senior government officials. His assessment frames the debate not as a matter of minor tweaks, but of a fundamental failure in Canada’s democratic accountability architecture.
Also Noteworthy
The Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration approved a budget of $5,500 for its study of Bill C-3.
Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner stated that “birth tourism” levels are 590% higher today than they were in 2015.
According to Statistics Canada data cited by the CRTC, prices for cellphone services fell by 16.7% between 2023 and 2024.
The CRTC has launched 15 public consultations and held four public hearings to implement the Online Streaming Act.
A study submitted to the science committee found that 88% of all Canadian university faculty identify as left-leaning.
Canada’s federal agencies signed the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) in 2019, but a formal action plan for implementation is still pending.
SSHRC granted $75,000 for a research project titled “Text Complexity of German Children’s Books”.
The CRTC is creating a new commercial radio news fund that will be available to more than 500 radio stations outside of major city centres.
The number of CRTC employees is approximately 750, including 60 temporary staff hired to help implement the Online Streaming Act.
The Data Brief
$200 million The estimated annual contribution from online streaming services to Canadian content, which is currently on hold pending a Federal Court of Appeal ruling.
1,095 The number of days of physical presence in Canada (within a five-year period) that a parent must now demonstrate to pass citizenship to a child born abroad, following an opposition amendment to Bill C-3.
88% The proportion of Canadian university faculty identified as “left-leaning” in a study referenced during the Standing Committee on Science and Research meeting.
5% The percentage of Canadian revenue that large online streaming services must contribute to funds that support Canadian content, according to the CRTC’s initial decision.
Sources:
Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. (2025, October 1). 45th Parliament, 1st Session (Evidence No. 004). House of Commons.
Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration. (2025, October 7). 45th Parliament, 1st Session (Evidence No. 006). House of Commons.
Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics. (2025, October 1). 45th Parliament, 1st Session (Evidence No. 006). House of Commons.
Standing Committee on Science and Research. (2025, October 1). 45th Parliament, 1st Session (Evidence No. 006). House of Commons.