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Ottawa: Parliament resumes its work amidst party squabbles and liberal discontent.

Ottawa: Parliament resumes its work amidst party squabbles and liberal discontent.

By م.زهير الشاعر

Published: October 22, 2024

The House of Commons resumed its work today after a week-long break, but it is unlikely that things will proceed as usual.

Today, the Canadian MPs resumed, for the eleventh day, the discussion on the request from the governors for documents regarding the spending of Justin Trudeau's Liberal government on green technology projects.

The issue of privileges has practically paralyzed the work of the House of Commons as the Liberals seek to maintain their grip on a House in which their MPs represent a minority and has become increasingly divided.

In another matter, the leader of the New Democratic Party (left-leaning), Jagmeet Singh, sent a message to the Speaker of the House, Greg Fergus, asking for an emergency discussion regarding the recent allegations of Indian authorities intervening in Canadian affairs.

Last week, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (the federal police) stated that they had evidence linking agents of the Indian government to cases of murder, extortion, and coercion in Canada. Canada expelled six accredited Indian diplomats, including the ambassador, as a result of those allegations, and India responded by expelling six accredited Canadian diplomats.

In his message, Singh stated that “the seriousness of the situation and the danger it poses to all Canadians” necessitate holding an emergency session so that parliamentarians can discuss potential measures to protect Canadians.

On Wednesday, the Liberal Prime Minister is expected to face the most serious challenge to his leadership yet. According to several media reports, a group of Liberal MPs are planning behind the scenes to confront Trudeau during a meeting of the Liberal parliamentary caucus on that day.

These MPs wish to have a serious conversation with their leader about the significant decline in their party's popularity in opinion polls and the bleak electoral prospects.

The specific strategy and the scale of the movement aimed at pushing Trudeau to resign from the leadership of the Liberal Party remain unclear, although some MPs who spoke to the Canadian Press on the condition of anonymity said that the number of MPs participating in this movement is considerable.

Trudeau can avoid the issue by taking the controversial step of proroguing Parliament, which would end the parliamentary session and pave the way for a new throne speech. The throne speech outlines the government’s agenda.

Additionally, some political observers believe that if Trudeau were to prorogue Parliament, it would provide enough time for the Liberal Party to organize a leadership race if he were to step down.

Trudeau intends to make a cabinet shuffle soon to replace four ministers who have announced they do not intend to run in the next general election.

The next general election is scheduled to be held no later than October 2025, but it could occur earlier if the Liberals lose the confidence of the House of Commons.

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