Trudeau shows off in question period
— Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took to his feet Wednesday to answer questions on the use of chemical weapons in Syria, the bombing mission in Iraq, executive compensation at Bombardier and money to help support families with autism. Then he kept going. Trudeau rose every time someone in the opposition benches posed a query during the daily question period, catching his rivals off-guard. The government is trying to convince the opposition of the merits of its proposed changes to parliamentary procedure, which include devoting one question period a week to grilling only the prime minister, such as is done in Britain.
It was one promise in the Liberal campaign platform, and Trudeau appeared to enjoy his surprise stunt to show off how it would work.
The spectacle prompted some snark, particularly from Conservative MP Tony Clement, who wondered aloud whether one could change the rules to also guarantee a corresponding increase in the quality of Trudeau’s answers.
In a way, however, it backfired: both Conservative MP Mark Strahl and NDP counterpart David Christopherson noted the stunt proved there is no need to change the rules without a broader Commons consensus.
Conservative and New Democrats began a filibuster at the procedures committee last month, speaking for hours over four days in hopes of thwarting Liberal efforts to expedite a review of the changes. That filibuster resumed again Wednesday.
The proposals also include letting MPs vote electronically, doing away with sparsely attended Friday sittings and scheduling a set amount of time to move government bills through the legislative process.
The Conservatives and New Democrats have joined forces to demand the Liberals guarantee they won’t force the changes through without all-party consensus.
On Wednesday, opposition House leader Candice Bergen and NDP House leader Murray Rankin proposed a compromise: a special committee to study the issue.
Government House leader Bardish Chagger said the Liberals are prepared to stand their ground on the parts of the discussion paper that stem from their campaign promises, but she would continue reaching out to Bergen and Rankin.
“I am open to all ideas.”