Close X
Friday, October 25, 2024
ADVT 
National

Parliament returns amid partisan wrangling, rumblings about Trudeau's leadership

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 21 Oct, 2024 11:24 AM
  • Parliament returns amid partisan wrangling, rumblings about Trudeau's leadership

The House of Commons returns today from a weeklong break, but it's unlikely to be business as usual.

Members of Parliament resumed an 11th day of debate on a Conservative demand for documents about federal spending on green technology projects.

The matter of privilege has all but paralyzed House business as the Liberals try to maintain a grip on an increasingly fractious minority Parliament.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has also written a letter to House Speaker Greg Fergus, asking for an emergency debate on the RCMP allegations that agents of the Indian government were linked to cases of murder, extortion and coercion in Canada. 

Canada expelled six Indian diplomats and India in turn sent six Canadian envoys home as a result of the allegations.

In the letter, Singh says "the severity of the situation and the danger it poses to all Canadians" warrants an emergency debate so parliamentarians can discuss potential actions to protect people. 

An NDP spokesperson said if Fergus approves the request, the debate could happen as early as Monday evening, once the regularly scheduled sitting of Parliament is over. 

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to face the most serious challenge to his leadership to date.

Several media reports have detailed that a group of Liberal MPs plan to confront Trudeau at the party's Wednesday caucus meeting over sagging poll numbers and gloomy electoral prospects.

The precise strategy and breadth of the attempt to push Trudeau to resign remain unclear, though some MPs who spoke to The Canadian Press on background said the number of members involved is significant.

Trudeau could sidestep both problems by taking the controversial step of proroguing Parliament, which would end the session and set the stage for a fresh throne speech.

Some political watchers have also mused that would allow time for the Liberals to hold leadership race if Trudeau were to step down. 

The prime minister plans to soon shuffle his cabinet to replace four ministers who don't plan to run again in the next election.

A general election must be held by October next year, but it could come sooner if the Liberals lose the confidence of the House.

MORE National ARTICLES

Lack of teamwork with Feds: Eby

Lack of teamwork with Feds: Eby
Premier David Eby says working with the federal government can sometimes feel like beating his head against a wall. Eby is in Halifax for a meeting of Canada's premiers, where he told a news conference that he's disappointed in the lack of teamwork with Ottawa.

Lack of teamwork with Feds: Eby

Man in hospital in Nanaimo stabbing

Man in hospital in Nanaimo stabbing
A 52-year-old Nanaimo man was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries after an early morning stabbing last Friday. R-C-M-P say it happened along Fitzwilliam Street in downtown Nanaimo, and the victim was not co-operative with investigators. 

Man in hospital in Nanaimo stabbing

B.C. caps international post-secondary student enrolment at 30 per cent of total

B.C. caps international post-secondary student enrolment at 30 per cent of total
In a statement, the provincial Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills says the new limit is meant to make sure that "international student enrolment doesn't strain an institution's ability "to provide appropriate services." 

B.C. caps international post-secondary student enrolment at 30 per cent of total

Torrential rain causes major flooding in Toronto, parts of GTA

Torrential rain causes major flooding in Toronto, parts of GTA
The rest of the Greater Toronto Area, which was also hit by intense downpours, similarly saw flooding disrupt parts of many communities, with portions of highways awash with water and many cars abandoned. 

Torrential rain causes major flooding in Toronto, parts of GTA

Canada drops $9M on NYC luxury condo for consul general's official residence

Canada drops $9M on NYC luxury condo for consul general's official residence
Canada has spent $9 million for a luxury condo in Manhattan to be used as the official residence for its consul general in New York. Global Affairs Canada says a previous New York City residence purchased in 1961 isn't up to code and doesn't meet the department's standards, but won't say what is being done with it.

Canada drops $9M on NYC luxury condo for consul general's official residence

B.C.'s 'massive error' part of web of inaction that could have saved boy: advocate

B.C.'s 'massive error' part of web of inaction that could have saved boy: advocate
Jennifer Charlesworth says the boy's death is not an outlier, but rather an example of ways the child welfare system has let down children and families in B.C. and across Canada, despite decades of reports making hundreds of recommendations for change.

B.C.'s 'massive error' part of web of inaction that could have saved boy: advocate