Scheer lands one last jab as Conservative leader
OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer rose Wednesday in the House of Commons for what was likely his last time as Opposition leader and told MPs dotted throughout the chamber that he had a sense of deja vu.
“It looks like my last question period as leader of the Conservative party is just like my first: Warm, sunny and the prime minister nowhere to be found,” he said.
Indeed, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was on holiday Wednesday for the rare summer sitting; the next will come after Scheer’s replacement has been elected later this month.
That Parliament continued, albeit in a modified form, in the midst of a pandemic is one of Scheer’s accomplishments in his three years as only the second permanent leader of the party.
He had hoped unseating the previous majority Liberal government would be an accomplishment as well, but his failure to do so last fall led to his resignation, pending the election of his successor.
Ontario MP Michael Barrett, one of the few MPs to publicly back Scheer during the heated public and private internal party fight after the election, paid him a quick tribute in the Commons.
“This place is better for his service as leader,” Barrett said.
Commons sittings, committee hearings and the chance to propose improvements to government programs all came from the Opposition’s push for more accountability from the Liberals as they rolled out their COVID-19 response, Scheer said during a final news conference this week.