Liberal House of Commons interim leader Stephen McKinnon said on Monday that MPs from all parties must set a better tone when the House of Commons reconvenes later this month.
Ms McKinnon was speaking at a private ceremony at Rideau Hall shortly after being sworn in temporarily as Liberal Party leader, replacing Karina Gould, who is on maternity leave.
“There’s no question we can do better,” McKinnon said.
Member of Parliament for Ketineau Province. He is currently in charge of negotiating with other parties to shepherd the bill through the House of Commons.
The short-term cabinet adjustments come as many lament the breakdown in decorum in the House of Commons, where personal heckles and legislative maneuvering led to an all-night voting marathon last month.
Mr McKinnon said it had been a “difficult” fall in the Commons this year, but he was promising an “open door policy” aimed at finding common ground with opposition parties.
He argued that the Liberals respect the rules of the House of Commons more than parties seeking to block legislation, a framework that the Conservatives have repeatedly rejected. But he also said MPs from all parties, including his Liberal counterpart, needed to show better behavior.
“Sometimes the climate and atmosphere within the House of Commons is not one that I would recommend to people as a place to work,” he said.
“All members are bringing to the House the need for greater respect for the rules and greater respect for these institutions.”
McKinnon said progress on pharmacare remains a top priority for the government and a core part of the agreement underpinning the NDP’s minority Liberal government. He did not say how the Liberals would implement their goal of introducing a pharmacare bill by March.
The Supply and Confidence Agreement with the NDP originally called for the pharmacare bill to be passed by the end of 2023, but the two parties agreed to postpone it until the end of last year. They now hope to introduce the bill by March 1st.
McKinnon was elected in 2015 and appointed Chief of Staff in 2021. Brampton North MP Ruby Sahota will take on the role of government chief of staff.
