Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in his farewell speech on Monday that Parliament would be prorogued until March 24. The move would give the Liberals time to find a new leader ahead of a confidence vote that could trigger an early election in 2025.
“Once the party selects its next leader through a national competitive process, I will step down as party leader and as prime minister,” Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa on Monday. “This country deserves a real choice in the next election. It was clear to me that if I had to fight a domestic battle, I would not be the best option in that election.”
What is a grace period?
Prorogation of Parliament is essentially a procedural means of halting Parliament’s activities while allowing the government to maintain its power. During a prorogued session, MPs do not sit in the House of Commons, committee activities are suspended, and pending legislation that has not yet been enacted is terminated.
The most recent parliamentary session was scheduled to resume from winter recess on January 27, after which Prime Minister Trudeau’s minority government could quickly face a no-confidence motion from the opposition that would trigger a federal election.
Prime Minister Trudeau announced Monday that Governor Mary Simon had granted his request to prorogue Parliament.
“With the extension of the session, all parliamentary procedures will be completed,” he said. House of Commons Procedure Guide I will explain. “Generally, while Congress is in session, Members are relieved of their duties in Congress until the House and its committees resume operation in the new session.”
Prime Minister Trudeau has suspended parliament until March 24, giving the embattled party time to elect a leader before the federal Conservatives and NDP oust the Liberal government, in power since 2015. You will earn money. Prime Minister Trudeau is facing growing calls for his resignation from within his own party as opinion polls show his approval ratings plummeting.
What is happening now?
Unfinished bills that are completed during the session may be reintroduced in the next Congress. Until then, many unfulfilled government commitments will remain unresolved. These include proposed $250 checks for working Canadians, expanded gun control measures, increased border security, changes to capital gains taxes and new efforts to address online harm.
“Obviously, the government’s legislative policy is at a standstill at this point in time,” Eric Adams, a law professor and constitutional law expert at the University of Alberta, told CTV News. “However, all of the governance actions under the current executive powers will continue. Appointment powers will continue, and to some extent it will be business as usual.”
Prime Minister Trudeau will remain in power until a successor is chosen, and his government will have to respond to the threat of tariffs from the new Trump administration, which takes office on January 20.
co-founder of democracy watchNonprofit groups advocating for democratic reform and government accountability had criticized Trudeau’s move.
Duff Conacher told CTVNews.ca: “The prorogation of Parliament cancels all bills pending in Parliament, thereby wasting all the time and taxpayers’ money spent on drafting and debating them. There is a possibility.” “The prorogation of Parliament also allows the government to escape accountability for its decisions, actions and wrongdoing because it halts daily question periods in the House of Commons and committees in both Houses of Parliament. Both of these effects protect the judgment. party that undermines our nation’s democratic process. “
Parliament is technically prorogued by the Governor-General on the advice of the Prime Minister. A prorogation of parliament is different from a parliamentary activity because it only suspends parliamentary activities. “Dissolution” of the Diett, automatically triggering a general election.
Prime Minister Trudeau previously prorogued parliament in August 2020 as his government developed a COVID-19 recovery plan while also facing the WE Charity scandal. In its 2015 election platform, the Liberal Party accused former Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper of using Parliament’s prorogation to “avoid a difficult political situation”.
“We will not do that,” the Liberal Party vowed at the time.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s advisers had received legal guidance that March 24 was the longest the government could go without approving new spending. The next parliament will begin with a Throne Speech outlining the government’s intentions and priorities, setting the stage for a key vote of confidence.
Files from CTV News National Correspondent Rachel Aiello and CTV National News Senior Correspondent Heather Wright.
