OTTAWA, ON - Parliament Hill is going to be getting really busy with the return of MPs and Senators next week. After a long summer of awful polling for the Liberals, intense support for the Torys, and I don’t know what for the NDP - the upcoming sitting is expected to be a blood bath.
Question Period will be on the top of minds of parliamentarians as it will give Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre his first chance in a while to face off with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Conservative Party Leader Pierre PoilievreSomething that we should look out for when watching QP will be how Poilievre behaves. This summer, he rebranded himself. He ditched his glasses, put away the suit, and truly connected with Canadians by putting forward a more calm and collected man. While this may not be the only reason for his recent surge in the polls, it certainly helped his party reach a 98% chance of winning the most seats according to 338 Canada. When Pierre is in the house, he does not hold back. He is strong and on the attack against Prime Minister Trudeau. But do Canadians really like that? It has been proven that the Pierre we have seen over the summer is more popular than the Pierre we see destroying Trudeau’s every move in the House. Will he show up on the House floor in a t-shirt and jeans? Probably not. But, will he show up on the House floor looking like a different man than he was last time? Possibly. A Trudeau Comeback? Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is not looking good in the polls. He is not performing well and neither is his Liberal Party of Canada. He now has a chance to get back into the good books of Canadians. Legislation is powerful, but you also need to be careful. Bill C-11 was a highly controversial act. The government claimed it was all about promoting Canadian content while Conservatives described it as “censorship”. If the government was truly about Bill C-11 promoting Canadian content - how did we get to the point where Conservatives called it censorship? The government needs to be careful with legislation. Canadians are watching and any more bad moves by the Liberal Minority Government could cost them. Prime Minister Trudeau also has the opportunity to debate Poilievre during Question Period. Trudeau is a strong campaigner and knows how to run an election campaign. This skill could certainly benefit him in the House. But again, Canadians are watching. Trudeau usually attends Question Period Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The Prime Minister is already booked next Tuesday and Wednesday in New York for the UN General Assembly. Strong Singh? Quiet Singh? NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is another person to watch when Parliament returns. His party is currently in a supply and confidence agreement with the Liberals where the NDP promises to keep the government in power until 2025 as long as the Liberals commit to passing key NDP proposals like dental care. Jagmeet Singh has drew up a lot of attention and is one of the most powerful people in the Canadian Government. He can decide whether or not the Government survives. Housing and Affordability on the Table Prime Minister Trudeau wrapped up his Liberal Caucus Retreat in London, ON with new housing policies. A policy that stood out was the government’s plan to remove the GST on rental housing construction. The government also announced the first movement in their “Housing Accelerator Fund”. The government is funding London, ON with $74 million to build 2,000 new homes in three years. The program was first announced in their 2021 election platform and was put in place through the government’s 2022 budget. The government also invited the CEOs of Loblaw, Sobeys, Metro, Costco, and Walmart to meet with them. This comes as grocery prices remain high. According to CBC News, Trudeau is giving chains until Thanksgiving to stabilize grocery prices or else Ottawa will take action. The Prime Minister did threaten tax measures if necessary. We could also see the government make changes to the Competition Act. To read the CBC News story on this ➡️ https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/government-grocery-store-meeting-ottawa-food-prices-1.6967978 Bail Reform and Guns Prime Minister Trudeau was rumoured to be expected to prorogue parliament which would scrap all government legislation off the order paper. If he did so, that would mean the government’s key firearm legislation and bail-reform bill would lose progress. Trudeau didn’t prorogue parliament and the order paper stayed still. Bill C-21, the controversial firearm legislation, is being considered in the Senate after over a year of being stuck in the House. Trudeau’s bail-reform legislation is also up for debate on day one. The legislation made very little to no progress since it was introduced last spring. Premiers from across the country are calling for bail-reform and it will be interesting to see how the parties debate the bill. Opposition on the Attack The upcoming sitting will almost certainly feature the opposition on the attack. It also looks like Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and the NDP’s Jagmeet Singh are up on the private members ballot. Private Members Business is when the House considers bills or motions by MPs who are not in cabinet. Poilievre is up soon on the list but has nothing currently under his name. It is very likely for that to change soon as Poilievre announced he intends to table legislation focused on housing called the “Building Homes, Not Bureaucracy Act”. According to the Conservative Party of Canada’s website, the bill will ;
He has a motion under his name but is also going to, according to CTV News, table legislation called “Lowering Prices for Canadians Act”. The CTV News article says, “The bill seeks to make changes to Canada's Competition Act in three main ways, the source said:
The House of Commons and Senate of Canada are set to return Monday, September 18th, 2023. All eyes will be watching the new Trudeau cabinet and if their performance in the House will improve the Liberal’s polling numbers.
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