Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre leaves the Prime Minister's office in the West Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Dec. 3.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has poured cold water on a suggestion from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre that would allow the government to deliver a fall economic statement despite the continuing filibuster in Parliament.
Ms. Freeland said Mr. Poilievre’s proposal to allot two hours from an opposition day Monday so she could provide an update was “utterly absurd.”
“This proposal from the Conservatives is like an arsonist who set the fire in the first place, saying, ‘Don’t worry about it. I’ll come with a fire truck for a couple of hours. But tomorrow I’ll be back again with matches,’” she told reporters on her way into a Senate committee meeting late Wednesday.
Though Ms. Freeland has cited the logjam in Parliament as a reason she has yet to deliver an update, Mr. Poilievre accused the Liberals earlier Wednesday of holding the fall economic statement back because the deficit is higher than projected.
“Common sense Conservatives are calling for the Finance Minister to introduce a fall update to indicate whether she’s keeping her promise to cap the deficit at $40-billion, or whether Trudeau’s completely lost control of the deficit once again,” he told reporters on his way into his party’s weekly caucus meeting.
On Monday, the Conservatives will control the Commons agenda for what’s known as an opposition day, which the Speaker recently ruled should take priority over the filibuster.
The filibuster is related to the government’s refusal to fully comply with a House of Commons order to hand over documents related to a green technology fund. While it is being led by the Conservatives, neither the Bloc Québécois nor the NDP have been willing to give the minority government the required votes to shut it down. All say that if the government were to hand over the documents, the matter could move on.
The Conservatives are using their opposition day for a motion of non-confidence in the government. It is not expected to pass. The two hours Mr. Poilievre is offering up would come from the time allotted for that debate.
The fall economic statement updates the country’s financial picture and in recent years has been accompanied by legislation for new spending. The update has been delivered in December before, but more often has come before the end of November.
Ms. Freeland said Wednesday that she will present it “soon.”
The Globe and Mail reported last week that the government has been looking at alternatives to delivering the update in the House of Commons because of the filibuster, but Ms. Freeland said that’s where it belongs.
Next week, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem is scheduled to deliver his final interest rate decision of the year, and the government would likely want to avoid disrupting his announcement with new financial information.
That leaves late next week and the first two days of the following week, as the House breaks on Dec. 17.
If the update is paired with legislation to adopt new measures, the government would need the support of at least one other party to break or suspend the filibuster to debate or pass the legislation.
Or Ms. Freeland could deliver an update to a parliamentary committee or outside Parliament entirely. There is precedent for both options from previous Liberal and Conservatives governments.
Depending on the timing of any proposed measures, the government could also wait until the new year to introduce legislation related to the update.
Ms. Freeland’s April budget projected the deficit for the fiscal year ending March 31 would be $40-billion, barely within the fiscal anchor, or target, of $40.1-billion she announced in last year’s fall update.
More than eight months after that fiscal year came to an end, the government has not yet released the public accounts indicating whether that target was met.
Adding to the government’s fiscal pressures is the promise to send $250 cheques to working Canadians earning less than $150,000. The initiative is expected to cost $4.68-billion, but so far both the Bloc and NDP have said they will only support it if it is expanded to more Canadians.
On Friday, the House will debate an NDP opposition day motion calling for all adult Canadians who netted less than $150,000 last year, whether or not they were working, to receive the cheques. The motion also calls for parts of the federal government’s two-month sales tax holiday to be made permanent. The NDP said the GST should be lifted for good on things such as grocery store meals, internet and cellphone bills, home heating, diapers and children’s clothing.
The House will vote on the NDP proposals Monday. Ms. Freeland has declined to say whether the government is open to the proposals.
With a report from Marieke Walsh.