Justin Trudeau blasts Jagmeet Singh’s request that the Governor General not agree to an election

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This article was published 28/07/2021 (1283 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA—Justin Trudeau hit back Wednesday at NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh over his request to the Governor General not to dissolve Parliament and call an election if the prime minister asks.

As first reported by the Star, Singh made the request in a letter to Gov. Gen. Mary Simon this week, arguing that Parliament is fully functioning. If Trudeau tries to make the case it isn’t, and he needs to go to the polls, Simon should say no, Singh wrote.

But Trudeau snapped back at that during an announcement in St. John’s, suggesting that Parliament isn’t actually working at all.

“When Conservatives in the House used every procedural tactic to try and delay, to block, to slow things down, the NDP stood aside and watched,” Trudeau said.

“They could have stood with us to move forward faster on these important progressive pieces of legislation. They didn’t.”

Pieces of legislation stalled by the Tories, and cited by Trudeau, included bills that would ban the practice of conversion therapy and eliminate mandatory minimum penalties to address systemic racism in the justice system.

Singh cited those same bills in his letter to Simon as legislation the NDP supports.

“We are concerned that a snap summer election will slow progress on these initiatives,” Singh wrote.

Singh has also previously said he intends to prop up the minority Liberal government in confidence votes, as he doesn’t believe an election ought to be called during the pandemic.

In his letter to Simon, he said that means the government can continue to enjoy the confidence of the Commons, and in turn the case can’t be made Parliament isn’t working.

“In the present sitting of the House of Commons, the government has won every confidence vote they have put to the House — including on the speech from the throne and on the budget,” Singh wrote.

“Additionally, just two months ago the House approved by a margin of 327-1 a motion stating that ‘holding an election during a pandemic would be irresponsible.’”

Trudeau said what he views as problematic is anything but a focus on Canadians and pandemic response.

“I think Canadians deserve to have governments and parliamentarians focused on them, not focused on politicking. That’s what we’ve been as a government, that’s what we will continue to do every single day,” he said.

His comments came minutes after making a major campaign-style announcement on child-care funding for Newfoundland and Labrador.

Hours before that, he announced a $5.2-billion deal to help the province cover the costs of its troubled Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project, a commitment that will help keep electricity prices from spiking this November.

All party leaders, including Singh, are on election-style tours at the moment as speculation runs rampant an election call is merely weeks away.

For that to happen, Trudeau would have to go to Simon and ask her to dissolve Parliament.

By convention, she should agree, but in his letter Singh said that’s not an obligation.

“Should he attempt to request dissolution of Parliament, we think it is important to reiterate that, as you are aware, one does not need to be granted in the absence of a loss of confidence in the House. Thank you for your consideration.”

Though the Constitution Act gives the Queen — and in turn her representative in Canada, the governor general, executive power — in practice the governor general does act on the advice of the prime minister.

But the governor general’s fundamental role is to ensure Canada’s democratic institutions are functioning appropriately.

In that spirit the governor general retains what’s known as reserve powers that can be used to override a prime ministerial request, though most scholars agree it’s an option that ought to be used only in exceptional and emergency circumstances.

In his letter, Singh notes that Simon is likely receiving expert advice both from within and outside Rideau Hall. He said his letter was framed in the spirit of providing context to help guide her choice.

One place those experts might guide her is down the path of history.

In 1926, Lord Julian Byng refused prime minister William Lyon Mackenzie King’s request to dissolve Parliament and call fresh elections.

That refusal led to a constitutional crisis known as the King-Byng Affair, where Byng asked the next largest party in Parliament at that time to form a government.

That arrangement eventually fell apart, and Mackenzie King won the subsequent election.

Though scholars disagree as to whether Byng’s decision was the right one, University of Ottawa law professor and constitutional expert Errol Mendes said the crisis will likely be brought to the attention of Simon.

She will basically “learn from that situation,” and accept the anticipated request from Trudeau to call an early election, he said.

Find the Star’s federal election coverage here.

With files from The Canadian Press

Stephanie Levitz is an Ottawa-based reporter covering federal politics for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @StephanieLevitz