Close X
Tuesday, October 22, 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

Surrey man facing child pornography charges

Surrey man facing child pornography charges
A Surrey man is facing further child pornography charges after his initial arrest in June. R-C-M-P say the 41-year-old man has been in custody since then, and he's now been charged with additional offences including luring a child.

Surrey man facing child pornography charges

Four newsroom staff at Radio NL in Kamloops are cut in format change

Four newsroom staff at Radio NL in Kamloops are cut in format change
More than half of the newsroom at Radio NL in Kamloops, B.C., has been let go as the station moves to a music format.  The radio station has had a decades-long grip on news in the Interior and beyond, breaking stories and covering everything from emergencies to courts and city hall.  

Four newsroom staff at Radio NL in Kamloops are cut in format change

A look at B.C. health care promises ahead of Oct. 19 election day

A look at B.C. health care promises ahead of Oct. 19 election day
The state of British Columbia health care has become a key issue ahead of the provincial election on Oct. 19 as the overburdened system attempts to cope with understaffing, frequent short-term closures of emergency rooms and hundreds of thousands of residents who don't have a family doctor. Here are some of the health-related election promises from the three major parties:

A look at B.C. health care promises ahead of Oct. 19 election day

Picket lines go up as strike begins at six grain terminals in Metro Vancouver

Picket lines go up as strike begins at six grain terminals in Metro Vancouver
Picket lines have gone up at six grain terminals in Metro Vancouver as about 600 workers begin a strike. Canada's labour minister, meanwhile, says he spoke with both the employer and representatives of Grain Workers Union Local 333 on Monday, and they have agreed to resume contract negotiations alongside federal mediators.

Picket lines go up as strike begins at six grain terminals in Metro Vancouver

Health Canada approves Pfizer-BioNTech's updated COVID-19 vaccine

Health Canada approves Pfizer-BioNTech's updated COVID-19 vaccine
Health Canada approved Pfizer-BioNTech's updated COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday, marking its third authorization of vaccine formulations that protect against the most recently circulating variants of the virus. Pfizer-BioNTech's mRNA vaccine, called Comirnaty, targets the KP.2 subvariant of Omicron, replacing the previous version that targeted the XBB.1.5 Omicron subvariant.

Health Canada approves Pfizer-BioNTech's updated COVID-19 vaccine

Greens vow to expand safer supply of drugs in B.C., ex-coroner Lapointe backs plan

Greens vow to expand safer supply of drugs in B.C., ex-coroner Lapointe backs plan
British Columbia's former chief coroner is criticizing plans by two of the province's major political parties for involuntary treatment of people with drug addictions, saying there's little evidence it works and more people will die. Lisa Lapointe emerged from retirement in the starting days of the B.C. election campaign to throw her weight behind a BC Green Party campaign pledge to expand prescribed safer supply of opioids and other drugs to deal with the province's deadly overdose crisis.

Greens vow to expand safer supply of drugs in B.C., ex-coroner Lapointe backs plan