‘We don’t have much time’: Parliament’s fall sitting begins with plenty of political posturing

The fall sitting of Parliament began Monday with plenty of political posturing given the new minority dynamics and the threat of an early general election looming overhead.

Parliament’s return comes as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is facing persistent election pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, whose party maintained a definitive lead over the Liberals in public opinion polls all summer.

Trudeau is also contending with the loss of assumed support from the NDP after Jagmeet Singh “ripped up” the two parties’ supply-and-confidence agreement, declaring a desire to spend the rest of this Parliament going vote-by-vote.

But as Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet positions his caucus to capture the balance of power, the prime minister’s minority Liberal government has political options to stay afloat. But for how long remains the central question.

All these factors played out in the first question period of the fall sitting. First, it was Poilievre previewing a new catchphrase.

“After nine years of NDP-Liberals, taxes up, costs up, crime is up, time’s up,” the Official Opposition leader quipped.

Then, Blanchet asked Trudeau to explain to retired people aged 65 to 74 why their pension cheques are 10 per cent lower than retirees who are 75 and over, hitting on one of his party’s first demands for policy action if the Liberals want their votes.

In response to both, the prime minister offered fiery retorts – challenging the second- and third-placed parties on their policy stances.

Arguably, his strongest rebuke came in response to a question from NDP House Leader Peter Julian who stepped in for Singh who was said to be feeling under the weather.

“As everyone in here knows, over the past couple of years, I’ve had lots of great conversations with the NDP, and I know they actually do care about Canadians and about delivering for them. Unfortunately, they have no idea how to do it,” Trudeau said.

“And as soon as hard things got hard, they turned tail and ran.”

Coming out of last week’s Liberal caucus retreat, Trudeau insisted that despite chatter about the viability of his continued leadership, Liberals are fixated on “putting the strongest balance sheet in the G7 in service of Canadians.”

Government House Leader Karina Gould started Monday off by debuting a new strategy that emerged from the Liberal caucus retreat: sharpening attacks on Poilievre.

She vowed Liberals will be using the weeks ahead to stand up for Canadians and “push back” on Conservative “bullying tactics” and “antics.” The Liberals view it as their role to ensure Poilievre faces scrutiny as the next election approaches.

“We’re a serious party that’s taking the business of government seriously,” she said, while also noting under the Liberals’ new reality, the government will have to work with “any and all parties” to pass their remaining legislative agenda.

The Liberals then signalling they’re keying in on areas where they could find common ground with other parties, presented a new package of mortgage reforms. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland touted the new rules as the “boldest” measures to unlock homeownership for more Canadians. 

Poilievre convened his caucus for a quick strategy session in Ottawa on Sunday, where he said Conservatives will stay focused on the carbon tax and the economy, painting a stark picture of a “nuclear winter” – rhetoric other parties panned him for on Monday.

Not missing a beat in getting back to grilling the government, Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer on Monday pushed for the prime minister to table a series of documents connected to a Sustainable Development Technology Canada program they’re calling a “green slush fund.”

The Conservatives are giving Trudeau one week to turn materials over or they say “further measures will be taken.”

Last week in Montreal, Singh said New Democrats would return to Parliament focused on restoring “hope” for Canadians and trying to leverage the new minority dynamics for fresh progressive policy gains.

Backed by members of his caucus, on Monday Singh faced a barrage of questions from reporters about what the NDP’s voting intentions will be this fall. As has been the case since he pulled the plug on the two-party pact, the top New Democrat was noncommittal.

“Every motion that comes before us, we’ll take a look at it and we’ll make a determination based on what’s in the best interest of Canadians,” Singh said.

Elaborating on his audition as the Liberals’ new dance partner, Blanchet set up the sitting from Quebec’s perspective, stating the Bloc will not make voting decisions based on what will topple or prop up the government, but rather based on what’s best for their province.

“It’s possible this legislature sees its remaining days counted by just a number of weeks,” Blanchet said. “So, we don’t have much time, neither the government nor us, to pass laws.”

When asked whether the Liberals could make any promises to secure the Bloc’s vote, Blanchet said “no.”

“We are playing chicken with four cars. Eventually, one will hit another one, and there will be a wreckage,” he said.

Blanchet added that he’s “as hurried and impatient as anybody to go into an election,” as his party’s numbers “seem pretty good.”

“I invite the government not to limit itself to inviting us to coffee next week to talk about the weather,” he added. “I want concrete, tangible, and rapid.”

At the same time, Green Party Leader Elizabeth May held a press conference where she said she doesn’t think there should be an election this fall. But, when it comes to non-confidence motions, she wants to read them as they come before taking a stance.

May also said her party’s priorities will be tackling climate change, fixing the disability benefit, addressing pressing public safety concerns, and improving housing affordability.

“We are determined to hold this government accountable and push for meaningful action on the issues that matter most to Canadians,” May said.

MPs resumed their work in the House of Commons for the first time since June with two big byelection votes taking place on the same day, and the first non-confidence motion soon to follow.

In the chamber, the first day of debate saw MPs dig into Bill C-71, an act to amend the Citizenship Act, which proposes changes to Canadian citizenship rules for those born abroad. 

Tied to a Supreme Court ruling, this legislation was tabled in May but didn’t advance before MPs hit the barbecue circuit. Over the summer, the federal government was granted an extension until December to fix the unconstitutional “lost Canadians” law.

This debate though, was far from the hottest MPs will see in the days ahead.

Poilievre is poised to present his promised motion of non-confidence in the prime minister, soon.

While the Official Opposition leader has promised to advance a motion to defeat the Trudeau minority at his first opportunity, the government sets the schedule for when opposition days occur. The Liberals are not expected to offer up any day the first week back for this procedural drama to unfold. 

Gould, however, has signalled MPs won’t have to wait too long.

In order to pass, the majority of the current 334 MPs would need to vote to say they no longer have confidence in Trudeau.

Right now the Liberals hold 154 seats, the Conservatives have 119, there are 32 Bloc MPs, 24 New Democrats, and two Green MPs. There are also three Independents.

If this first attempt to bring down Trudeau’s government isn’t successful, there will be additional opportunities ahead, both the opposition’s doing, and as a result of key votes on spending items such as the federal budget.

And, while parliamentarians settled back in to the routine of debating and legislating, campaign offices in LaSalle-Emard-Verdun, Que., and Elmwood-Transcona, Man., made last-minute get-out-the-vote efforts.

Two seats in the House of Commons are up for grabs Monday as voters in these ridings go to the polls in a pair of byelections that have been framed as key tests for Trudeau and others.

In a moment of symbolism and reminder of what’s at stake, ahead of question period, the Conservatives’ newest MP Don Stewart took his seat in the Chamber. He was the candidate to upset the Liberals to become the representative for Toronto-St. Paul’s, Ont. 

With files from CTV News’ Spencer Van Dyk