Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre released an open letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney on the weekend.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Members of Parliament returned to Ottawa on Monday, where Liberal and Conservative MPs vowed to work together on specific measures related to affordability and bail reform while accusing each other of obstruction on other key files.
The Conservatives said they would support the government’s plan to boost the GST credit, announced earlier Monday, and would allow Bill C-14 on bail reform to progress through a committee study.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre released an open letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney on the weekend, saying he was “writing to offer help to turn rhetoric into reality” on a list of measures he said the government has long delayed.
The Conservative Leader’s list included calls for action on high grocery prices, crime, pipeline approvals and parliamentary support for trade deals with Britain and Indonesia.
Since the April election, the Carney government has passed only two bills into law other than bills related to routine spending. Having fallen just a few seats shy of a majority, the Liberals have frequently struggled to advance bills through Parliament as they do not have a formal partner in the Chamber.
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On Monday morning, Mr. Carney announced a five-year increase to the geared-to-income GST credit as a form of affordability support that he said would help Canadians with the cost of groceries.
Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon then held a news conference to say he’s willing to extend the sitting hours of the Commons in order to move government bills forward.
“A historic suite of legislation to deal with crime in our communities is before Parliament, and we are telling Mr. Poilievre: ‘Get out of the way. Free your MPs to vote for this legislation that will deal with crime in Canadian communities,’ ” Mr. MacKinnon said.
The minister referenced several measures, including Bill C-16, which was introduced in December shortly before the House of Commons broke for the holidays. The sweeping legislation has not yet been studied by a committee. The bill is aimed at protecting victims of sexual and intimate-partner violence and reinstates more than a dozen mandatory minimum sentences that had been ruled unconstitutional by the courts.
He also mentioned reform of the bail system, which is the focus of another government bill, C-14.
Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon rises during Question Period on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Mr. MacKinnon called for action on C-15, which implements parts of the Nov. 4 budget. It had 11 days of debate in the House, but Commons committee hearings on the bill only started Monday.
“We want Mr. Poilievre to commit to a reasonable timeline,” for studying and approving the budget bill, he said.
The Liberals said the GST-credit increase will require new legislation in the House and urged the Conservatives to support that as well.
While Mr. Poilievre’s letter had called for action on “affordable groceries,” it then specifically called on the government to eliminate the industrial carbon tax and other environmental policies. The Liberals have previously rejected such proposals.
In his next meeting with the country’s premiers, Carney faces a balancing act
In Question Period on Monday, Mr. Poilievre said his party will allow the GST credit to pass, but he also pushed the Prime Minister to adopt his broader proposals related to lowering food prices by reducing costs for the agriculture sector.
“In the spirit of solidarity, why won’t they agree with the Canadian people that we should get rid of all the hidden taxes?” Mr. Poilievre said.
The Prime Minister did not attend Question Period on Monday. Instead, he met in Toronto with Ontario Premier Doug Ford ahead of a first ministers’ meeting in Ottawa later this week.
The House of Commons debated one of the crime bills, C-16, Monday.
Conservative justice critic Larry Brock said that while his party supports many elements of the bill, it cannot support the legislation in its current form because some of the new mandatory minimums would be vulnerable to legal challenges.
“This Liberal government wants credit for being tough on crime, but it refuses to do the hard work of writing laws that actually withstand scrutiny,” he said.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Prime Minister Mark Carney shake hands after a meeting in Toronto on Monday.Carlos Osorio/Reuters
During the debate, Mr. Brock said his party is open to prioritizing Bill C-14 on bail reform provided the government agrees to “reasonable” amendments.
The Commons resumed sitting with a new vacancy, after the resignation this month of Liberal MP Chrystia Freeland. A by-election date has not yet been announced.
As a result, the minority Liberals have two fewer seats than all opposition parties combined. Because the Speaker, a Liberal, votes only in the event of a tie, the Liberals are effectively three votes shy of a majority.
The number of Conservative votes in the House is complicated by the status of Edmonton Riverbend MP Matt Jeneroux, who announced plans to resign in November. Mr. Poilievre said at the time that Mr. Jeneroux would formally step down in the spring. Since that announcement, Mr. Jeneroux has not voted in the House and has not provided an update on whether he intends to vote in the future.
The Liberal government’s recent comments accusing Mr. Poilievre of obstructing Parliament have led some observers to speculate that Mr. Carney may be considering a spring election.
Mr. Carney was asked directly by a journalist Monday whether he was.
“Of course we’re not,” he replied. “We’re focused on results for Canadians.”