FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FROM MP MARILYN GLADU

SARNIA, ON— On Tuesday, Canadians watched as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau prorogued Parliament, after he himself spoke out against the practice in the House of Commons several times over the years. Proroguing Parliament now, during the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, is a serious mistake and is detrimental to Canadians for many reasons.

The WE corruption scandal has engulfed the Liberal party since May, and we are seeing the peak of the fallout now, with the ‘resignation’ of former finance minister Bill Morneau. Whether the circumstances of his leaving are as they are reported (i.e., he resigned and was not pushed out), are largely irrelevant—Morneau was culpable in the WE scandal, having been given more than $41,000 in travel expenses from WE that he had not seen fit to repay until after the WE scandal erupted, acting in contravention to the Ethics Act. The Liberals have been playing fast and loose with the Ethics Act for years, and this is no exception.

Replacing him we find MP Chrystia Freeland, now Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance. Freeland is the first woman to ever hold the post of Finance Minister in our country, and I wish her luck in the position. It is my hope she is able to provide the strong voice of reason we desperately need in facing and reducing our ever-mounting deficit.

However, even discussing the deficit, the pandemic, and what can be done to work to begin to resolve these issues cannot happen if Parliament is not in session. Trudeau has kept MPs away from Parliament since March. Conservatives have been fighting ever since to return to the House of Commons to provide the kind of effective opposition that can’t be conducted over video conferencing. Forcing the prorogation of Parliament will push back even further several important issues we are in the middle of deliberating: the reform of the Employment Insurance program, the issue of the Canada-U.S. border closure, and the continuation of the financial programs that are keeping food on the tables of many Canadians affected by the economic consequences of the pandemic. Proroguing Parliament to hide out from the fallout of scandal is a cowardly act— even more so during this unprecedented crisis.

The only benefit that can come from this action is the new Throne Speech set to come on Sept. 23 that would mark the beginning of the new session. The Throne Speech, and the subsequent vote to act upon it, would provide the opportunity for a vote of non-confidence—only then would MPs across the aisles and of all parties have the opportunity to register their displeasure with the Prime Minister’s actions over the last few weeks and months.

I anxiously await the outcome of the moves made Tuesday. Rest assured that no matter what happens, the Conservative Party, including and especially myself, will continue to work for the betterment of Canadians as our primary goal.

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