Canadians could be casting their ballots in a December election.
A vote of confidence set to happen based on a Conservative-proposed committee to probe, among other things, alleged Liberal corruption.
IAIN ANGUS (NDP)
“The language of the Conservative motion was very inflammatory and it was almost as if the [Tories] wanted to push the government into a corner and really spook them if you’d like,” says Iain Angus, who carried the NDP flag both at the provincial and federal level. “They could’ve done it a different way, especially if their real intention was just to have the committee look at WE and the other aspects. The committee may come to the conclusion that there was corruption but you don’t put that into the motion.”
Angus goes onto say “It’s really not surprising to see the government to say ‘look this is a confidence vote’ and, in some ways, they wanted to smoke out the opposition to see where they stood.”
JOHN BELL (CONSERVATIVE)
The President of the Thunder Bay-Superior North Electoral District Association isn’t sure why the Liberals are making this proposal a confidence measure.
“What Conservatives really wanted here was for the government to be held accountable on an issue, and that’s the job of the opposition. I think Mr. Trudeau is telling Mr. O’Toole that he shouldn’t be doing his job, that there’s something extraordinary about this time and that he’s not prepared, for whatever reason, to
deal with the issue of irregular spending or inappropriate conduct by the Government of Canada.”
Bell stresses under normal circumstances this is not a confidence measure. Usually confidence measures are things that have to do with spending or the Throne Speech.
“The committee would be looking at the WE scandal, but it would also have a mandate to look at a broader scope of irregular influence and spending by all governments. This isn’t a committee that would disappear should the Liberals lose power, it’s a committee that has the potential to be in power to look at all of these issues over time for all governments.”
Bell went onto say: “This is separate from the ethics commissioner, which a federally appointed thing. If this were to go forward. it would be run by the House of Commons, essentially in the name of the speaker. My understanding is it would have a fairly broad mandate.”
KEN BOSHCOFF (LIBERALS)
Ken Boshcoff, who knows a thing or two about votes of confidence in the House of Commons, says should the government fall expect things to move quickly.
“Basically the speaker would say that this parliament is dissolved so that, I believe, would happen rather quickly because there really is no reconsideration of something like that,” notes Boshcoff. “There have been, in the past, I believe in many jurisdictions elections in early December. [If the government falls] that would still give five or six weeks for [everyone to get ready] for a December election.”