Without an “uncle” party, we could end up in an unprecedented situation where the stalemate in the House of Commons could drag on and no one in parliament would vote, leading to a tacit vote of no confidence in the government.
The Conservative Party and the Bloc Quebecois have already announced plans to introduce a motion of no confidence at the next opportunity to topple the government and trigger an election. But with the House of Representatives stalled over a filibuster for more than a month, it’s unclear when that opportunity will arise.
While this may seem like good news for the beleaguered Liberal minority government despite the lack of progress on legislation, the standoff has pushed Parliament closer and closer to a procedural cliff, with the Liberals There is a possibility that the government will not be able to raise the funds necessary for its operations.
“It’s unprecedented. We don’t know exactly what’s going to happen,” said constitutional lawyer Lyle Skinner.
“This is a clear sign that something unusual is going on, and at some point it will be seen as a loss of confidence without a vote of confidence.”
Congress is scheduled to resume Monday after a weeklong break for Memorial Day, with a weeks-long filibuster expected to pick up where it left off before the break.
The Liberals and Conservatives each blame the other for the situation in the House of Commons.
The Conservatives have promised that business in the House of Commons will be suspended until the government hands over unredacted documents to Parliament and the RCMP relating to the Green Tech Fund, which misused government funds.
The Liberals say the Conservatives are filibustering their own motion and should instead follow the chair’s orders and move the discussion to committee.
“We are committed to getting things done for Canadians in Parliament,” Liberal House of Commons Leader Karina Gould said in a statement. “I think the Conservative Party should stop playing obstructionist partisanship so that we can debate the issue.”
Gould called the filibuster “reckless and irresponsible” and said Conservatives are “putting partisan self-interest ahead of parliamentary responsibility.”
The government argues it is out of order to order Parliament to hand over documents for use by a third party, in this case the RCMP, rather than the House of Commons or its members.
Opposition Leader of the House of Commons Andrew Scheer fired back that if Mr Gould really cared, he could immediately reopen the House of Commons “by ending the Liberal cover-up and releasing all documents as ordered by Parliament”. did.
Due to ongoing debates that take precedence over all other business, the government is unable to raise funds and this is one of the main reasons why Parliament exists.
Mr Skinner said funding bills (called supply bills) are special because if the government cannot persuade Parliament to pass them, it shows the House has lost confidence in the government. , he said. A loss of trust could trigger an election.
If the government cannot even vote on the supply bill, all sorts of questions arise.
“It’s like going into an American-style government shutdown because no one wants an election, and there’s no strategy for that,” Skinner said.
We do not foresee a situation as dire as this in the near future.
The government is expected to request funding to cover unforeseen expenses in December. If a vote is not reached due to a filibuster, there may be a short-term budget crunch.
But if this situation continues into March, there could be a much larger impact that could actually mimic a US-style shutdown. The Government will not be able to spend any money in the new financial year and the Governor-General will have to be careful.
There are still political means to avoid this situation, but so far no political party seems ready to accept them.
Another opposition party, such as the New Democratic Party, could join forces with the Liberal Party to introduce a motion to end debate. But for now, the NDP appears content to watch the Liberals and Conservatives hoist themselves with their own procedural whips, and has shown no intention of ending the filibuster.
The bloc is proposing to do just that, but it would agree to Liberal demands such as setting aside $16 billion over five years to increase old-age security benefits for people under 75. limited to cases where
The Conservatives say they will only end the filibuster if the Liberals deliver a document or the NDP agrees to help topple the government.
There’s not much the Liberals can do themselves except call an election to funnel money while the government is in caretaker mode, or prorogue parliament and do a hard reset.
Green Party leader Elizabeth May said she didn’t think that would happen.
“I think it is very likely that the vast majority of MPs and the major political parties think there is an interest in ensuring that there is no crisis in the continuity of supplies for government businesses,” May told a news conference. Ta. this month.
All that is required is for the parties to cooperate in ways they have not done in recent weeks.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 17, 2024.
