If you’ve been missing the world as it was before COVID-19, you might take some comfort from the sounds of discord and discontent now emanating from Parliament Hill.
If you’ve been missing the world as it was before COVID-19, you might take some comfort from the sounds of discord and discontent now emanating from Parliament Hill.
As always, it’s only the welfare of Canadians hanging in the balance.
“We have all shown that we can put politics aside and work together on legislation that quickly helps Canadians,” Government House leader Pablo Rodriguez said this morning as he announced the government’s intention to move forward with a new bill of emergency measures. “And I think that with good will and with collaboration, we can do that again.”
A short while later, Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet compared the Liberal government’s legislative style to a baker who puts cod liver oil into a chocolate cake.
Watch: Yves-François Blanchet says Liberals want opposition to act as ‘rubber stamp’
Bloc Quebecois leader Yves-François Blanchet accuses the Liberals of acting as if they have a majority government and their leader — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — of “acting like a prince” in attempting to push forward legislation that would extend COVID-19 aid programs. 2:18
When MPs convened at noon, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh condemned the government’s legislation as insufficient. The prime minister responded by accusing opposition MPs of refusing to debate the bill. At 2:30 pm, when Rodriguez asked for the unanimous consent of the House to begin an expedited process for passing the legislation, he was turned down.
The Liberals and Conservatives then took turns presenting proposals that they knew the other party would reject, allowing them to accuse each other of intransigence.
The current standoff is the direct result of a confluence of grievances — though it should also be viewed as partisan politics reverting to its normal mean.
Watch: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calls on opposition to debate bill
Opposition Leader Andrew Scheer debated Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the COVID committee of the House of Commons on Wednesday. 0:53
The Conservatives, who have been accusing the Trudeau government of “shutting down” Parliament, are refusing to cooperate with the government on anyth