Ghost of the House of Commons past: Learning from the debates of 50 years ago

Inflation and economic disruption persists, an ongoing trade spat with the United States continues to threaten the economy and a Prime Minister Trudeau leads the country less than a year away from what would turn out to be a near-disastrous election.

The year is 1971 and the cause of the economic crisis is different than it is today, just as is the U.S. president.

Fifty years ago today, the House of Commons was in the middle of one of its shortest winter breaks ever, disbanding on Dec. 23 and returning on Dec. 28.

The length of the holiday break was a subject of great "anguish" for MPs, "who have to go long distances home to celebrate Christmas with their families and constituents and then come back here on Monday," according to Ged Baldwin, then House leader for the opposition Progressive Conservatives.

And when the House did reconvene after the festivities, the world was very much changed, at least for prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau; he was congratulated on the birth of his first child, Justin Trudeau.

NDP House Leader Stanley Knowles noted it was the first time the Commons sat to congratulate a PM on the birth of their child; and the House did so with its own nerdy style of humour that's still recognizable 50 years later.

"I am entitled, on a parliamentary issue, to say to the prime minister that he will have joy and happiness. There will be problems, of course, but it will be useless in the debates that may take place from time to time to employ 75C. It just will not work," said Baldwin.

In 1971, standing order 75C was the recently implemented rule for time allocation, a means by which the government can limit debate and speed along legislation. It's still controversial to this day, as standing order 78(3).

Trudeau replied that he hoped to use another rule, one which would have required multi-party consent, before saying what is almost certainly the first pun on our current prime minister's name: "But one way or another, the baby has arrived 'just-in' time to have agreement."

"This is one case where I would be able to tell [Justin] that I have had advice from people of all parties who have had some experience in the rearing of children and that there will be a multi-party approach to this," Pierre Trudeau joked.

It was a incredibly important moment for Trudeau, according to his biographer John English.

"[1971] was a terrible year for Trudeau," aside from his marriage and the birth of his son, English said.

An attempt at constitutional reform had failed, he was falling in the polls and economic concerns were running high.

Despite this, 1971 was life-changing.