Parliamentary showdown looms as Conservatives, Liberals dig in heels over anti-corruption committee
O'Toole says special probe should not trigger election as government declares it a confidence motion
The prospect of a snap election hangs in the balance as the Liberal government and the opposition Conservatives spar over a proposal to create a parliamentary committee to probe the Liberal government's pandemic response spending and possible ethical lapses.
Today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that Canadians will go to the polls if his government loses a confidence vote on the Conservative motion.
"We have rolled out unprecedented measures to support Canadians, to support small businesses, to support families, to support communities right across the country, and we feel that parliamentarians should in this exceptional time have an ability to look very carefully at all that spending. And that's why we're proposing this special committee," Trudeau told a news conference in Ottawa.
"But it will be up to parliamentarians and the opposition to decide whether they want to make this minority Parliament work, or whether they've lost confidence in this government's ability to manage this pandemic and continue to govern this country during this crisis."
The government had proposed striking a special committee with a narrower mandate to review federal COVID-19 program spending.
WATCH / Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on possible election:
The Bloc Québécois has pledged to support the Conservative motion, which means the Liberals must have the NDP's support to survive the confidence vote.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said late Tuesday that the government's decision to make the committee motion a confidence matter was "outrageous" and "absurd." He would not say how his party's MPs might vote on the motion, or whether they would abstain. He also accused Trudeau of trying to force an election while blaming it on the opposition parties.
"I will not let the prime minister use this discussion over a committee as an excuse to go into an election," Singh said.
"I don't understand how he can justify going to people and plunging this country into an election for an opposition day motion about a committee ... I will not be any part of this farce."
Singh said he continues to engage with other parties to find a solution.
WATCH / NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh on committee motion:
Earlier today, Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole argued that creating a special committee to probe possible misuse of tax dollars during the coronavirus pandemic would not constitute legitimate grounds for triggering a general election.
During a news conference in Ottawa, O'Toole said his party's push to strike a so-called "anti-corruption" committee to scrutinize government spending, lobbying and the delivery of federal aid programs is simply about holding the government to account on possible misspending and ethical lapses.
The Liberal government says the motion to create the parliamentary committee will be considered a confidence vote — meaning it could lead to a snap federal election.
MPs will vote on the motion tomorrow.
O'Toole said the Conservative motion being debated today has been amended to include language specifying that creating the committee should not be deemed grounds to order an election.
He said he's also open to changing the name of the committee if that would bring other opposition parties on board.
Liberals have dodged accountability: O'Toole
"Canadians expect the truth. They deserve accountability. That's what this committee will do," he said, adding that the Liberals have dodged accountability by withholding documents, proroguing Parliament and shedding a key minister embroiled in the WE Charity controversy.
WATCH / Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole says Liberals are dodging scrutiny:
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet said he supports the Conservative motion. He said what the Liberals propose would not be enough to get answers on the ethical questions surrounding the government.
He said his team is "absolutely ready" to go if there is an early election.
"I still doubt that the government would be irresponsible enough or light-headed enough to precipitate Quebec and Canada into an election, but they sure feel the temptation. They just do not want to be responsible for it," Blanchet said.
"They want to provoke, challenge, force the Parliament to remove its confidence, its trust in favour of the government to be in elections without being responsible for it, which nobody will believe, of course."
Trudeau says election not in Canadians' best interest
In an interview with Toronto radio station RED FM Tuesday, Trudeau accused the Conservatives of playing political games as the government tries to focus on supporting Canadians through the coronavirus pandemic.
"We've said if they think we're so corrupt, then maybe they don't have confidence in the government, and I think that's something very important. If they want to make criticisms, they have to be willing to back it up in the House," he said.
Trudeau said he does not want an election and that holding one now would not be in the best interests of Canadians.
"But if the Conservatives are saying that this government is completely corrupt, then I think they have to face the consequences of that," he said.
Liberal House leader Pablo Rodriguez called the Conservative motion "totally irresponsible" and confirmed the government will deem it a confidence motion.
He said the committee will detract from the government's efforts to help Canadians through the health and financial crises.
"Their motion is nothing more than a dangerous political plan to paralyze the government, and they're doing this at a time when we should all be focusing on keeping Canadians safe and healthy during the pandemic," he said.
The Conservative motion would give the new committee a mandate to examine the Canada student service grant and the ties between WE Charity — which had been selected to administer the program — and members of the Liberal government and their family members.
It also would be tasked to examine other issues related to the government's COVID-19 response.
The Conservatives say the committee would have the power to call Trudeau as a witness, as well as Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland and other cabinet ministers.
Weeks ago, the NDP pitched a special committee that would focus exclusively on pandemic-related spending — an idea the Tories' anti-corruption probe would amplify.
The Liberals countered with their own proposal for a COVID-19 committee, detailing their pitch Monday in a letter to the House leaders of the other parties.
They're proposing one that focuses on pandemic-related spending, with six Liberal MPs and six members of the opposition parties. The Tories' version would have 15 MPs, with the opposition holding the majority.
Documents dropped Monday
More light was shed Monday on the interactions between WE Charity and the government with the release of dozens of pages of documents previously demanded by the finance committee. The documents include details of fees paid to, and expenses covered for, members of the Trudeau family who participated in WE events.
The charity said previously that Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, the prime minister's wife, had been paid a $1,500 speaking fee for one appearance. The documents released Monday also disclosed that the charity covered $23,940.76 in expenses for eight appearances between 2012 and 2020.
The Commons' ethics committee also has demanded to know how much money Trudeau and his family received in speakers' fees over the last several years. Trudeau released details of his own fees Monday — amounting to about $1.3 million — which he disclosed when he ran for leadership of the party in 2013.
But the Liberals said his family's records were off limits.
WATCH / Leaders spar in Commons over Conservative motion:
With files from Stephanie Levitz of The Canadian Press
