On Parliament Hill

On Monday, the Liberal/NDP Government forced through Motion 11 – a motion that essentially removes the ability of opposition parties to do their job of holding the government accountable.

Motion 11 allows any Liberal minister to adjourn the House (and by extension shut down committee work) until September without advance warning, and Liberal members to not show up for work as it removes the constitutional requirement of a quorum (the minimum number of members necessary to conduct the business of the House).

Motion 11 was introduced for two main reasons.

First is the Liberal Government’s failure to use the sitting days (agreed to by all parties) efficiently. The Government has had ample to time to advance their legislative agenda. They have wasted that time and now find themselves with only 30 sitting days left to pass their budget and numerous other pieces of legislation.

The second reason is more disturbing: This Prime Minister’s refusal to be held accountable by Parliament (and to Canadians).

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is no stranger to ethics investigations (Aga Kahn, SNC Lavalin, WE Charity, the list goes on). In recent days, however, it has come to light that the RCMP considered charging Justin Trudeau with fraud in relation to his $271,000 2016 vacation to the island of the Aga Khan. The RCMP investigation hit a wall when it was unclear whether or not Justin Trudeau (as head of the government) had granted himself permission to accept the trip. In a recent slip up in the House, Trudeau was explicit that he had not done so. As such, Conservatives have asked the RCMP to re-open their investigation.

This is not the only investigation into Justin Trudeau currently being considered/underway. The Prime Minister has yet to come clean about the shocking national security breach at the Winnipeg National Microbiology Lab – where scientists with close ties to the Chinese military were given top clearance to work in one of our nation’s most secure facilities. He is also about to come under scrutiny for his use of the Emergencies Act – in my view a grotesque and unjustifiable example of this government’s overreach. If it appears the committees carrying out these investigations are getting too close to information that would be damaging to the government – an outcome that is almost a certainty – or even if Question Period starts to get too hot for the PM, any Liberal Minister now has the ability to arbitrarily shut down parliament without notice and, in so doing, stop the important work of those committees.

In short, Motion 11 equals less accountability for Justin Trudeau.

It is clear from Monday’s results that, by selling their votes, the New Democratic Party has sold out their voters and now belong to Justin Trudeau. It is equally clear that Justin Trudeau knows his days are numbered and will use every tactic he can to hold onto power.

Given the NDP’s willingness to sell themselves to the Liberals, Justin Trudeau finally has the (de-facto) majority he wants. A parliament where those across the aisle are reduced to an audience rather than a meaningful opposition.

Unlike Justin Trudeau and the NDP, Canada’s Conservatives are there for Canadians.

Conservatives understand the kitchen table issues facing Canadian families, like the soaring cost of living, and we will continue to raise the issues that matter to you.

We will continue to do our work to hold this Government to account and call out the scandals and failures of this Prime Minister.