There are some very interesting developments going on....

What is going on in Parliament these days?

The Conservative party brought forth 2 non-confidence votes over the past week. They both were defeated. It appears that no party wants to align with any Conservative-led initiatives. I can't say I fully understand all the politics behind this other than it appears none of them want to be out of a job.

Based on a Mainstreet Research poll from September 30th here is what a newly elected government could look like:

Here's some even bigger news!

As of yesterday, the decision to continue supporting the Liberal party and going against the Conservative non-confidence motions is making the NDP and the Bloc Québécois parties look even worse. Can these parties now be accused of supporting corruption?

A motion was brought forth in Parliament by the Conservative party and supported by the NDP and Bloc Québécois regarding the Auditor General and the Ethics Commissioner's findings from the investigation completed on the SDTC (Sustainable Development Technology Canada) misuse of government (tax paid) funds in which it was found that the board of directors and executives had gone against its mandate by approving projects for funding that are ineligible for government funds and had violated the Conflict of Interest Act multiple times. This motion demanded that the Trudeau government hand all documents over to the RCMP within 30 days. This 30-day deadline passed and all that was submitted was redacted documents and the government then fell into contempt of the House of Commons. The Liberal government argued that they believed the motion violated Charter rights. But the Speaker of the House, Greg Fergus, did not accept this argument and ruled that the Trudeau government defied the authority of Parliament.

In his address in the House, Fergus stated:

“In some instances, only partial disclosures were made, owing either to redactions or the withholding of documents. In other instances, the House order was met with a complete refusal. As it stands, the motion was adopted. The House has clearly ordered the production of certain documents, and that order has clearly not been fully complied with. The Chair cannot come to any other conclusion but to find that a prima facie question of privilege has been established,”

For an excellent analysis of this unprecedented situation, please check out this video from Northern Perspective: 

The House of Commons conducts all its business on the 'green book' also known as the House of Commons Procedure and Practice which contains the following order:

Order #10 - Order and decorum. No appeal

'The Speaker shall preserve order and decorum and shall decide questions of order. In deciding a point of order or practice, the Speaker shall state the Standing Order or other authority applicable to the case. No debate shall be permitted on any such decision, and no such decision shall be subject to an appeal to the House.'

Based on this order, the speaker had the authority to preserve the decorum of the House, and as the Liberal government is not following this order (honouring an approved motion in which unredacted documents need to be transferred to the RCMP) the speaker suspended all of their business in the House until they comply.

The good news on this situation is that if you are opposed to bills such as Bill C-63 which is still being debated in the House of Commons you will have more time to fight against it and teach others about how horrendous it is. No business can move forward now that the Liberal party is no longer allowed to conduct business in the House. But if you are concerned about Bill C-293 then the battle isn't changing. This bill is still slated for it's second reading and has already passed through the House and must be thrown in the trash! The Speaker's ruling does not affect the business in the Senate.

So what could potentially happen now?

It appears the Liberal government has some very tough choices to make. From what I understand,here are their options:

1. They continue not being compliant and not turn over the documents and no business will move forward.

2. They comply and turn the documents over in which potential criminal charges may be filed against government members or their friends

3. They prorogue parliament in which this motion is dead but all the business currently in any part of government is also dead. This includes any bills in the Senate and if they came back from this prorogation of Parliament every bill or business in government would have to start from the beginning and could only be done by reintroducing each bill and then receiving unanimous consent to start the process in government again.

4. Prime Minister Trudeau could go to the Governor General and recommend that she dissolve parliament which would lead to a call for an election.

On top of all of this craziness, the Bloc Québécois is putting a lot of pressure on the government to get Bill C-319 (An Act to amend the Old Age Security Act) which is currently being debated in the Senate to pass. A motion to request for a royal recommendation for Bill C-319 was passed in the House this week. The Bloc Québécois is demanding this bill be passed into law by the end of October. What makes this political game more interesting is that Trudeau has been criticized for stacking the Senate with almost all of his appointees and therefore having control of the Senate. If he pushes the Senate to pass this bill it will prove that he is in control of them. The Senate may not have even planned to look at this bill for months so what they choose to do regarding this bill could say a lot. If this bill is not passed by the end of October the Bloc Québécois announced in press interviews that it will partner with the Conservatives in putting forth a non-confidence vote.

So what should Canadians be doing with this intense firestorm going on? Get a big bucket of popcorn and watch the drama unfold... maybe...

I think this would be a great time to compose some questions or requests and email the different levels of government.

Here are some ideas:

To the Senators:

• Was it your plan to complete your readings of Bill C-319 and recommend it for Royal Assent in October 2024 or will you be accepting pressure from the Liberal government and the Bloc Québécois opposition to change your calendar and proceed on this item?

• As the Liberal government has continued to lose the trust of Canadians through their choice to not comply with a passed motion in the House you must discard Bill C-293 as this bill has been written allowing for too much authority and is too vague.

To the Liberal government:

• Will you leave Canadian citizens without an active government due to not complying with the motion passed in government that has led to you being unable to continue business?

To the NDP Members of Parliament:

• Will you continue to align yourself with a government that has been found in contempt for not complying with a passed motion to turn all unredacted documents over to the RCMP?

What do you think would be a good call to action right now? I would love to hear from you!