“I’ve never seen this\u00a0in the eight and half years that I have been here in the Senate: Liberal MPs and ministers hovering in front of the Senate door, and accosting senators. Imagine,” Conservative Senator Leo Housakos, chair of the powerful internal economy committee, said in an interview with CBC News.<\/p>\n
Some of the MPs\u00a0stood behind the bar separating the\u00a0entrance from the Senate floor while the vote was held, an unusual move, as visitors to the chamber usually sit in the gallery above.<\/p>\n
![\"FedBudget](\"https:\/\/i.cbc.ca\/1.4171537.1498068275!\/cpImage\/httpImage\/image.jpg_gen\/derivatives\/original_620\/fedbudget-infrastructure-20170620.jpg\")
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Some Liberal MPs stood behind this bar on the floor of the Senate chamber Tuesday evening as senators voted on whether to accept amendments to the government’s budget bill. (Adrian Wyld\/Canadian Press)<\/p>\n
“I don’t know if it was an attempt to intimidate, but it certainly was an attempt to influence the vote,” Housakos said.<\/p>\n
(MPs do have the\u00a0right to sit or stand behind the bar but rarely do so in the numbers witnessed Tuesday.)<\/p>\n
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- Delivering ‘real change’ proves messy for Trudeau Liberals<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
- Senators amend budget bill to remove automatic annual hikes to alcohol taxes<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
A spokesman for Chagger\u00a0said the efforts were “a continuation of the approach we have been taking with the Senate in this Parliament \u2014 maintaining dialogue as the senators do their work.”<\/p>\n
\n ‘There’s no cohesion. There’s no communication. \u2026. It’s a state of chaos’<\/span>
\n – Senator Leo Housakos<\/span><\/cite>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\nBut the government advocacy did not have the desired effect, as the amended bill passed report stage 46-32, and cleared third reading Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Nine Liberal senators\u00a0\u2014 Joe\u00a0Day, Lillian Dyck, Art\u00a0Eggleton, Joan\u00a0Fraser, Libbe\u00a0Hubley, Serge\u00a0Joyal, Terry Mercer, Jim Munson and Claudette Tardif\u00a0\u2014 and three Independents,\u00a0Senators\u00a0Diane Griffin, \u00c9ric Forest and Stephen Greene, voted with all Conservatives present in the chamber (34) in support of the\u00a0amendment.<\/p>\n
- Senators amend budget bill to remove automatic annual hikes to alcohol taxes<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"si-nb-joe-day-220\"](\"https:\/\/i.cbc.ca\/1.1654223.1379075700!\/httpImage\/image.jpg_gen\/derivatives\/original_300\/si-nb-joe-day-220.jpg\")
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