Parliament prorogued until Sept. 23, Trudeau says
The existing bills and committee studies are not necessarily ended for good, however. Procedural options exist for MPs to approve motions that would reinstate bills and studies back to the stages they were at at the time of prorogation.
Prior to Mr. Trudeau’s prorogation announcement, he was at Rideau Hall for a ceremony to swear in Ms. Freeland to the critical finance portfolio. On Monday, Mr. Morneau, who had served in the role since 2015, announced he was leaving the Trudeau cabinet. Mr. Morneau is also resigning as an MP. The swearing in of the new cabinet was the first of its kind during the pandemic. Those attending the ceremony wore masks and chairs at the ceremony were spaced out due to precautions for avoiding the spread of COVID-19. Ms. Freeland, who was first elected in 2013, will be the first female finance minister in Canadian history, and she is regarded in Liberal circles as a good listener, strong communicator and as being able to take on significant undertakings for the government. From 2015 to 2017, Ms. Freeland served as the International Trade Minister and oversaw the renegotiation of Canada’s free trade agreement with the European Union.From January 2017 to November 2019, she held the Foreign Affairs portfolio and concluded the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement between Canada, Mexico and the United States.The cabinet change-up, which also involves Dominic LeBlanc taking over the helm of Intergovernmental Affairs, comes at a significant moment for the Trudeau government. On Monday, Mr. Morneau also said he anticipated a long and challenging recovery from the economic crisis brought on by COVID-19 and it would be important for the Prime Minister to have a finance minister at his side that had a long-term vision. “That’s what led me to conclude, during this time period, that it’s appropriate for me to step down,” he said. Mr. Morneau also insisted that he was not pushed to step away from his role but rather that he thought there needed to be long-term leadership to guide the country’s finances due to the economic fallout of the pandemic.He said he had been thinking about the decision for some time and that he intends to put his name forward to become the next secretary-general of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Mr. Morneau’s resignation followed a meeting with the Prime Minister on Monday and reports of tension between him and Mr. Morneau. Both are the subject of investigations by the ethics commissioner related to a now-cancelled contribution agreement with WE Charity to administer a program for students during the pandemic. The Ethics Commissioner will proceed with his report on Bill Morneau even if he is no longer an office holder, his office confirmed on Tuesday.reimbursed $41,366 to WE Charity for travel expenses that the group covered for personal trips his family took to Kenya and Ecuador in 2017.Story continues below advertisement Mr. Trudeau thanked Mr. Morneau for his service, adding that he counted on the minister’s leadership, advice and close friendship over the years. Conservative finance critic Pierre Poilievre told reporters on Tuesday that Mr. Trudeau should also resign over ethics issues and for demonstrating poor judgement. Mr. Poilievre said Mr. Morneau should have resigned a long time ago, but that his ethical issues pale in comparison to the Prime Minister’s controversies. He listed Mr. Trudeau’s acceptance of a family vacation on the Aga Khan’s private island, his role in the SNC-Lavalin affair and his approval of a major federal contract for WE Charity, even though the organization had paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to his family. “That is the ethical track record of the Prime Minister. It’s far worse than Bill Morneau. In fact, Bill Morneau is a boy scout next to the Liberal law-breaker we call Justin Trudeau,” he said. When asked about the appointment of Ms. Freeland as the next finance minister, Mr. Poilievre dug up an Ms. Freeland made in 2011 while on a U.S. television panel discussing that country’s fiscal situation.At the time of the panel, Ms. Freeland was the editor of Thomson Reuters Digital. On the panel, former federal reserve chairman Alan Greenspan had advocated for an end to former president George W. Bush’s tax cuts so that tax rates would return to previous levels seen under former president Bill Clinton. “Well, I would say amen to raising taxes, but I’m getting a little bit tired of people beating up on Europe and claiming that the U.S. economy is in such better shape,” Ms. Freeland said. Based on that, Mr. Poilievre suggested Ms. Freeland will support higher taxes as Canada’s new finance minister. “Ms. Freeland was chair of the cabinet committee that approved the half-billion dollar handout to the WE organization. That is the scandal in which we are involved today,” he said. “For Freeland, higher taxes is a religion. She said ‘amen to higher taxes,’ and I quote. So it sounds like she’s the same as the previous finance minister. Regardless, though, of how you play musical chairs, we still have the same corrupt and incompetent Prime Minister as head of the same corrupt and chaotic government.”NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Tuesday he was pleased to see Ms. Freeland take on the role as finance minister and acknowledged she was the first female to do so.He said that many Canadians are concerned about the loss of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit and how they are going to make ends meet, adding that Mr. Morneau’s departure brings him no joy. Know what is happening in the halls of power with the day’s top political headlines and commentary as selected by Globe editors .
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