The House of Commons has been preparing to suspend debate for weeks, but new polling shows most Canadians aren’t even aware it’s happening.
A new poll by pollster Leger found that 55% of respondents said they had never heard of the procedural issues that have stalled parliament for more than 12 days.
The issue stems from a privilege motion brought by the Conservative Party regarding the Green Technology Fund, which was found to have involved the improper spending of government funds.
The Conservatives vowed to continue debating the motion until the Liberals submit unredacted documents about the fund to Parliament and the RCMP.
The government provided redacted versions of those documents to the House of Commons in August, and the RCMP says it also has the information.
But the Mounties have questioned whether they can legally use documents given to them by Parliament as part of the investigation, and the Liberals have so far refused to release the unredacted version.
Privilege issues take precedence over all other business in the House until resolved.
The poll suggests that roughly equal numbers of people think the Liberals and Conservatives are to blame for this problem, at 27% each. However, 26% of those polled said they did not know who was to blame.
The ruling Liberal Party can end the debate if it gains support from other parties for its own motion.
Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-François Blanchet said Wednesday that if the government finds a way to pass two bloc bills on senior safety and supply management, his party would support such a motion.
Deputy Premier Chrystia Freeland said the Liberals continue to consult with both the bloc and the NDP about bringing forward a motion to end debate.
A plurality of people responding to the Léger poll (39%) said the government and opposition parties should work together to solve problems. This was the most popular choice among those who said they supported the Liberal Party and the National Democratic Party.
Holding an election to break the deadlock was the most popular option among Conservative voters surveyed.
Despite the majority of respondents saying they were unaware of procedural problems in the House of Commons, 61% said they believed Parliament was not working efficiently.
Even after debate on the current motion is concluded, a second issue on privileges raised by the Conservatives awaits debate in the House of Commons.
Question periods and committees are still in session, but the government is unable to advance its own agenda and opposition parties are unable to advance opposition day motions during deliberations.
The Leger poll gathered opinions from 1,500 Canadian adults in an online survey between Oct. 18 and Oct. 21.
Because online surveys are not considered truly random samples, we cannot assign a margin of error to the survey.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.
