2 weeks Ago By [email protected] (Tonda MacCharles)
OTTAWA—Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government tweaked its cabinet ranks and will easily survive a Conservative non-confidence vote next week after the NDP refused to join Pierre Poilievre’s bid to trigger an election. But tempers in the Commons flared after New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh followed the Bloc Québécois in offering another reprieve of sorts to the Liberals. Singh said NDP MPs will also vote against a Conservative motion next Wednesday, defeating a declaration that the House of Commons has lost confidence in the prime minister and his government.
If passed, it could trigger an election. But the Liberals — who just two days ago were weakened after losing a Montreal seat and finishing a distant third in a Winnipeg riding — now seem certain to pass their first test since the NDP parliamentary co-operation deal collapsed two weeks ago. Poilievre slammed both Opposition party leaders in the Commons, reserving his sharpest criticism for Singh, calling him “a fake, a phoney,” and “a fraud” — words that seemed to trigger an inaudible retort from Singh and a brief halt to debate.
Then Poilievre emerged from the Commons and went before cameras to repeat himself, and add another insult to the list. The Conservative leader called Singh “a liar” — language that is not allowed inside the Commons. Trudeau was not present at either question period or at the minor cabinet shuffle that followed shortly thereafter to close gaps left by the departure of a senior Quebec cabinet minister.
Gov.-Gen. Mary Simon swore in Treasury Board President Anita Anand to take on additional duties as transport minister, replacing Pablo Rodriguez.
Rodriguez announced he is stepping aside to run for the Quebec Liberal party’s leadership, and denied it had anything to do with the loss in LaSalle-Émard-Verdun. Rodriguez said his decision had been made “quite a while ago,” and said he “wasn’t in the local organization” that ran the campaign for the defeated Liberal candidate Laura Palestini in the southern Montreal riding, although he “assumed” his part of responsibility as a member of the broader Liberal organization. Trudeau pegged Public Services and Procurement Minister Jean-Yves Duclos to take on Rodriguez’ role of Quebec political lieutenant.
Quebec politics were front and centre in Ottawa’s political debates throughout the day. The Bloc had already said on Wednesday it would not back the Conservatives’ attempt to trigger a vote, a stance Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet reiterated even after Quebec Premier François Legault, leader of the Coalition Avenir Quebec, urged him on Thursday morning to reverse. Legault called on the Bloc to back the Conservatives’ motion to defeat the Trudeau government.
“It’s still no,” Blanchet posted in French on “X” in response. “I am neither Conservative, nor Liberal ..
. nor CAQiste.” Blanchet told reporters he would take no direction from either Legault or Poilievre, and denied he was propping up the Liberals.
“I’m propping nobody up,” Blanchet said, emphasizing he would try to pry from the Liberals enhanced old age security benefits for seniors aged 65-74. He also wants protections for the dairy sector, and if there is no progress on the Bloc demands he could see voting to oust the government. He rejected Legault’s call to back Poilievre, saying the Conservatives have not offered any clarity on their platform, especially when it comes to Quebec’s demands to limit the influx of temporary immigrants to the province.
Singh adopted a similar tack, rejecting Conservatives’ pressure to topple the Liberals. “We’re not going to let Pierre Poilievre tell us what to do,” Singh told reporters in a hoarse voice before the blow-up inside the Commons. Battling a bad cold, Singh said, “We’re not going to listen to someone who wants to cut the things that people need right now.
Canadians need relief, not more cuts.” But Trudeau’s troubles are not over. The embattled Liberals will face seven days where the Opposition parties will set the agenda before Dec.
10. Next winter and spring, if the government lasts that long, another 15 days are allotted to the Opposition, where non-confidence motions can be presented. For now, Anand will do double duty, and Trudeau has not ruled out making further changes in the weeks ahead, according to a senior government official, who the Star agreed not to identify because the information was not authorized to be made public.
At a news conference Thursday morning, Rodriguez said he will sit outside the Liberal caucus but remain sitting as an Independent MP for Honoré-Mercier until January. He said he does not want to force another costly byelection on voters before an expected general election next year, and chose not to remain in the Liberal caucus because “my priorities will no longer be those of our government, but now I’ll have my own priorities.” Rodriguez denied that he was quitting Liberal caucus due to concerns about the Trudeau Liberal brand in Quebec.
Yet at the same time, he distanced himself from the Trudeau government, saying the decision to sit as an Independent shows “this time it’s not about the Liberal government. This time it’s about me, my vision, what I’m going to propose with my team.” Rodriguez hinted he too has concerns about Quebec’s ability to absorb an influx of refugees — a constant complaint of Legault’s.
“Quebec has to have the capacity to support those immigrants, because once they’re here, who takes them in charge in terms of education, in terms of the health system, it’s the government of Quebec. We have to be able to deliver those services in a good way, in a respectful way,” Rodriguez said..
