Parliament Set to Break After Turbulent Fall Session
Parliament is gearing up for a holiday break after a chaotic fall filled with controversies and significant political shifts
Canada, Parliament, Justin Trudeau, Chrystia Freeland, Cloverdale-Langley City, Alberta
Ottawa: Members of Parliament are about to kick off their holiday break today, wrapping up a pretty wild fall session. It’s been a rollercoaster ride with non-confidence votes, filibusters, and stalled bills. Plus, the finance minister just resigned, adding to the drama.
After Chrystia Freeland’s surprising exit from the cabinet, some Liberal MPs are calling for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step down too. Ontario MP Chad Collins mentioned that the Liberal caucus is pretty divided right now and thinks it’s time for a leadership race.
Dominic LeBlanc has stepped in as the new finance minister, just minutes after the government released its fall economic statement. The update revealed that the deficit has ballooned to nearly $62 billion, way over the $40 billion target Freeland set earlier this year.
In other news, Canada Post is back in action after a month-long strike that left a ton of mail and packages stuck. The Canada Industrial Relations Board ordered the workers back to their jobs after some hearings over the weekend. The union is not too happy about this and plans to challenge the intervention.
On the political front, the federal Conservatives just snagged a byelection win in British Columbia’s Cloverdale-Langley City riding. Tamara Jansen is heading back to Ottawa as the MP, which is a bit of a blow to Trudeau’s Liberals.
Meanwhile, in Newfoundland and Labrador, some folks are urging the province to rethink a big energy deal with Quebec. They’re worried about repeating past mistakes, especially with the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project that faced tons of delays and cost overruns.
Lastly, there’s been a tragic incident involving a mixed martial arts organizer linked to a fighter’s death in Alberta. This company had previously been cited for safety issues in the U.K. after another fighter died. The police are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding this latest incident.