No confidence vote over sweeping Tory motion

Liberals argue they can’t produce documents in time for pandemic probe

OTTAWA — The Liberals will not turn a Conservative motion into a test of confidence in their minority government — despite arguing the motion is so broad and its demand for documents so massive that it could get in the way of running the country.

However, they are warning there is no way they can produce all the documents demanded by the deadline stipulated in the motion, which calls for a sweeping probe by the House of Commons health committee into a host of issues relating to the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kevin Lamoureux, parliamentary secretary to the government House leader, told the Commons the government will do everything it can to respond if the motion passes. “However, Iwould like to point out that the 15-day timeline outlined in the motion will be physically impossible for the government to meet,” he said Thursday at the start of the debate.

The Conservative motion is to be put to a vote Monday and has the support of both the Bloc Québécois and NDP. A spokesperson for government House leader Pablo Rodriguez said later Thursday that the government will not consider the vote to be a confidence matter.

Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole insisted that the point of the motion is to get the answers that will improve upon Canada’s response to the pandemic, not force an election. During question period, O’Toole made it clear the motion is intended to bolster the Conservative contention that the government has mishandled the pandemic by, among other things, its failure to quickly approve rapid tests, closure of the early pandemic warning system and funnelling contracts to Liberal friends.

“The suggestion that our government… was focused on anything other than protecting the health and safety of Canadians working closely with the provinces, territories and municipalities is simply untrue,” Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said.