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

Canada abstains from UN motion calling on Israel to end occupation of Gaza, West Bank

Canada abstains from UN motion calling on Israel to end occupation of Gaza, West Bank
Canada abstained today from a high-profile United Nations vote demanding that Israel end its "unlawful presence" in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank within a year. Canada's ambassador to the United Nations, Bob Rae, told the assembly the motion was too one-sided to support, though he said Ottawa agrees that Israel is illegally occupying Palestinian territories.

Canada abstains from UN motion calling on Israel to end occupation of Gaza, West Bank

Canadian Coast Guard crew member lost at sea off Newfoundland

Canadian Coast Guard crew member lost at sea off Newfoundland
A crew member of a Canadian Coast Guard ship has been lost at sea off southern Newfoundland. The agency said in a release Wednesday that an extensive search and rescue effort for the man was ended Tuesday evening.

Canadian Coast Guard crew member lost at sea off Newfoundland

Legal groups file three complaints over VPD treatment of Palestine protesters

Legal groups file three complaints over VPD treatment of Palestine protesters
The Pivot Legal Society and the BC Civil Liberties Association say they've launched three complaints against the Vancouver Police Department alleging illegal surveillance and police brutality against pro-Palestine protesters.  The association and the society say the complaints stem from the "violent dispersal" of protesters who demonstrated at a Vancouver rail crossing in May. 

Legal groups file three complaints over VPD treatment of Palestine protesters

Construction wraps on indoor supervised site for people who inhale drugs in Vancouver

Construction wraps on indoor supervised site for people who inhale drugs in Vancouver
Dr. Julio Montaner, at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS which operates the site, says supervised injection sites have been extremely successful in stopping people from dying of overdoses, and similar services need to be offered to people who smoke their drugs.

Construction wraps on indoor supervised site for people who inhale drugs in Vancouver

RCMP feared they didn't have enough evidence to hold terror suspect sought by U.S.

RCMP feared they didn't have enough evidence to hold terror suspect sought by U.S.
Court documents filed in the case of a Pakistani man arrested in Quebec for an alleged plot to kill Jews in New York City reveal the RCMP didn't have enough evidence to hold him in Canada. The RCMP arrested Muhammad Shahzeb Khan on Sept. 4 in Ormstown, Que., as he allegedly prepared to cross the nearby border into the United States.

RCMP feared they didn't have enough evidence to hold terror suspect sought by U.S.

B.C. short-term rental restrictions reducing rents, saving tenants millions: study

B.C. short-term rental restrictions reducing rents, saving tenants millions: study
Crackdowns on short-term rentals in British Columbia have effectively reduced rents by 5.7 per cent, saving tenants more than $600 million last year, says a report led by the Canada Research Chair in Urban Governance at McGill University. That figure is the result of municipal restrictions, in particular requirements that short-term rental units must be located within the operator's principal residence.

B.C. short-term rental restrictions reducing rents, saving tenants millions: study