Government faces third Tory non-confidence vote ahead of potential fiscal hurdle

By David Baxter, The Canadian Press on December 9, 2024.

A man is silhouetted as buildings cast their shadows in front of the Peace tower on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

OTTAWA – The Liberals are set to face a third Conservative non-confidence vote today, but the government is likely to survive with the support of the NDP.

Members of Parliament are supposed to vote on a motion that quotes NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh’s criticism of the Liberals and asks the House to agree with Singh and vote to bring down the government.

Singh said last week he is not going to support the Conservatives, so the motion will likely fail.

The House is also supposed to vote on an NDP motion calling on the government to expand the GST break and the $250 “working Canadians rebate” to fully retired seniors and people who rely on disability benefits.

Those votes will come after MPs deal with a debate on a point of privilege raised by Conservative deputy leader Melissa Lantsman on Friday.

As opposition parties continue to use procedural tactics to stall one another’s motions, the House is facing a deadline on Tuesday to vote to approve billions of dollars in government spending.

Treasury Board President Anita Anand has asked Parliament for approval of $21.6 billion to fund programs including housing, dental care and the national school food program.

If that doesn’t pass, some programs could face a cash shortfall, including veteran benefits and natural disaster assistance. The spending request is set to go to a debate and vote late Tuesday.

The final two opposition motions of the year also need to be introduced before Tuesday. The Conservatives are allotted the remaining opposition day motions, which are both expected to be further non-confidence votes.

All of this was scheduled when House Speaker Greg Fergus paused a two-month-long filibuster to make way for the spending debate and opposition motions.

The house has been gridlocked since late September by a filibuster over a Conservative privilege motion. This relates to the Liberals’ refusal to provide unredacted documents about a now-defunct green technology fund to Parliament and to the RCMP.

On Friday, Lantsman raised a point of privilege about an anti-Israeli war protest that temporarily blocked the entrance to a building housing MP offices last week. She said NDP MPs had been supportive of the protesters, who temporarily disrupted members’ ability to get to the House of Commons.

The debate on her motion is expected to resume Monday. Privilege motions take priority over most other House business.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 9, 2024.