Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Wednesday his MPs will pitch “thousands of amendments” to legislation to keep Parliament sitting over Christmas if the Liberal government doesn’t scrap parts of its carbon tax.
“You will have no rest until the tax is gone,” Poilievre said in a message to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Liberal MPs.
The party maintains it will carry out its obstruction tactics until the Liberals lift the tax on all home-heating energy sources, pass a bill to grant carbon tax relief to some farmers and exempt all First Nations from the carbon levy, as some chiefs have demanded.
The Conservatives say they will demand 135 votes tomorrow on the government’s estimates, a procedural brawl over spending that could take more than 24 hours.
The party also says its MPs will introduce 20,000 amendments to the “sustainable jobs” bill, C-50, currently before the natural resources committee.
Other delaying tactics are planned for the coming days, a spokesperson for Poilievre said.
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These manoeuvres could force the government to extend the Commons sitting time beyond Dec. 15 — the day it was set to rise for the Christmas break.
“I’ve got news for Justin Trudeau,” Poilievre said in a morning address to the Conservative caucus. “You’ve ruined Christmas for Canadians. Common-sense Conservatives are going to ruin your vacation as well. We’re going to put in thousands of amendments at committee and in the House of Commons, forcing all-night, round-the-clock voting to block your $20 billion of inflationary spending and your economically destructive plans until you agree to our demand: take the tax off farmers, First Nations and families.”
That’s a threat to hold up the government’s fall economic statement, which calls for $20.8 billion more in spending over the next six years.
The commitment to derail Parliament comes after senators appointed by Trudeau amended part of a Conservative private member’s bill, C-234, that would have delivered a carbon tax carve-out to some farmers.
Trudeau ‘will have no rest’ until carbon tax is gone, Poilievre says
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre vows to delay the holiday break for the House of Commons over the carbon tax, saying he’s ready to force round-the-clock votes on scores of amendments until the Liberals act.
Progressive Sen. Pierre Dalphond’s amendment, passed by a 40-39 vote, keeps the carbon tax exemption for grain drying but deletes the section that provided tax relief for heating barns and greenhouses.
The Tory bill deals with natural gas and propane — other farm fuels like diesel and gasoline are already exempt under the Liberal tax regime. Farmers are also eligible for a carbon rebate.
In a statement sent to CBC News, Dalphond said he pushed for this change because “alternatives and efficiencies are readily available to reduce emissions related to heating and cooling of farm buildings, as compared to grain drying.”
The Progressive Senate Group includes a former Liberal senator and more recent Trudeau appointees.
Most of the votes to amend the bill came from the Independent Senators Group (ISG), which is largely made up of Trudeau-appointed senators.
Poilievre alleged that Trudeau lobbied his Senate picks to pass the amendment, which threatens the bill’s future.
When asked if Trudeau spoke to senators about the amendment, a spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office pointed to the actions of Conservative senators.
“It is shameful and unbecoming that Conservative parliamentarians have tried to intimidate and bully senators into their ideological, anti-climate agenda. The prime minister engaged in no such behaviour,” Jenna Ghassabeh said.
Two Tory senators posted online the office phone numbers and email addresses of some members of the Red Chamber who have been accused of holding up the bill. The Senate Speaker admonished this behaviour in a Tuesday ruling.
Police and security officials are now investigating reports of racist threats directed at Sen. Bernadette Clement, a Black, Trudeau-appointed senator from eastern Ontario who moved to pause debate on the bill last month.
A senior government official speaking to CBC News on background did say that the prime minister “does not shy away from discussing matters affecting Canadians with fellow parliamentarians.”
The legislation has already passed the House of Commons, but Conservatives, farmers and their lobbyists fear if a Senate-amended bill is sent back to the Commons, it’ll languish and die on the order paper or be defeated under Liberal pressure.
Under parliamentary rules, Senate amendments must go back to the Commons before a bill can become law.
In question period, Trudeau said Conservatives have been “intimidating” and “threatening” parliamentarians to get them to back C-234.
Trudeau says Poilievre ‘pulling stunts’ with threat of delays
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre is playing games with threats of amendments to delay business in the House of Commons, while he added that Liberals are “here to work.”
“The only farming the Conservative Party cares about is rage farming,” Trudeau said. “All of this was just an attempt to fundraise on the backs of farmers.”
In a reference to the Conservative leader’s vehement opposition to some federal climate policies, Trudeau said Poilievre wants to take Canada “back to the stone age” by dismantling the carbon tax.
As for the threat to indefinitely hold up parliamentary proceedings, Trudeau said Poilievre “can make us work late. We’re happy to do it. We’re doing important things for Canadians while he’s pulling stunts.”
House Leader calls ultimatum ‘completely irresponsible’
Government House Leader Karina Gould said Poilievre’s actions are “completely irresponsible.”
“What Mr. Poilievre is doing right now is not leadership,” she said. “It will affect Canadians, because what he is doing is putting thousands of amendments on notice for things like the sustainable jobs act — that’s an 11-page bill. His party has put almost 20,000 amendments on there. He is not in a serious position. He is reckless.”
Gould called Poilievre a “bully.”
Gould calls Poilievre a ‘bully’ for threats to delay bills
Liberal MP and Government House Leader Karina Gould says Pierre Poilievre is “not a serious politician” for threatening to hold up business in the House of Commons, calling Conservative amendments “jokes”.
“Canadians should see him for who he is. This is not about responsible leadership, this is about playing games. Because at the end of the day, politics is a game for him and it’s about his own personal aggrandizement.”
Conservative MP Ben Lobb, who introduced C-234, said he was “disappointed for Canadian farmers” that the amendment passed and the legislation now faces an uncertain future.
“We were so close to a good result,” Lobb said.
An MP from rural Ontario, Lobb said a pork farmer in his riding recently received a natural gas bill for $4,300 — $3,300 of that charge was to cover the carbon tax.
“Obviously that’s not fair. Commodity farming is a low-margin business and every little bit helps and this would have been a great help for them,” Lobb said.
Lobb suggested it was Trudeau’s more recent appointees who got the amendment through.
The prime minister named five new senators, including former Liberal MP Rodger Cuzner, to the Red Chamber on Oct. 31.
Four of them voted last night to back Dalphond’s amendment to delete the carveout for heating farmers’ barns.
“You take those five out and the amendment would have failed last night,” Lobb said.
The Senate is also dealing with persistent attendance issues.
A sizeable number of senators are consistently absent from the chamber.
Of the 94 sitting senators, 15 did not cast a vote on the amendment last night.
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
