Poilievre left on the sidelines as Parliament opens

National Observer

2 days ago

Pierre Poilievre found himself Wednesday in a place he said he's "never really been" before: watching Parliament's first question period unfold as a spectator, not a participant.
In a press conference held just outside the House of Commons chamber before question period began, the Conservative leader — who was a member of Parliament for more than 20 years — told reporters he'd love to be inside.
"I love the House of Commons, I love the excitement and the thrill," he said, adding that he's going to "work hard to earn the opportunity to do it again."
Poilievre lost his longtime Ottawa-area seat in the federal election a month ago, and plans to run in a byelection later this summer in a rural Alberta riding.
Former party leader Andrew Scheer, who is serving as the Opposition leader in the House of Commons, led the Conservatives during Prime Minister Mark Carney's first-ever question period on Wednesday.
Scheer began by welcoming Carney and promising to scrutinize "every word he says and every dollar he spends on behalf of taxpayers."
Dimitris Soudas, a former spokesman for Stephen Harper, said he expects debate in the Commons will be less theatrical for now, given that Scheer's style is "very different" from that of Poilievre.
Pierre Poilievre found himself Wednesday in a place he said he's "never really been" before: watching Parliament's first question period unfold as a spectator, not a participant.
"I suspect that, at least for Day 1, it's not going to be the hyper-partisanship that we got acclimatized to over the last several years," he said.
Poilievre suggested his party is ready to work with the minority Liberal government.
"We will vote for every tax cut, always and everywhere. We love taxpayers," he said.
He said the Conservatives will try to amend the government's ways and means motion — which will enact the income tax cut Carney promised during the election campaign — to increase the cut and end the industrial carbon price.
"The question we always ask is, 'Is the proposal better than the status quo?'" Poilievre said. "If it is, then we support it. If it's not, then we oppose it."
That suggests a departure from the dysfunction that dominated the last sitting of Parliament before Christmas. In the fall, Conservatives blocked nearly all government business with endless amendments to their own privilege motion.
The opposition also forced three non-confidence votes as it tried to topple Justin Trudeau's minority government.
Carney's minority government likely will face its first confidence vote in early June when MPs vote on whether they support the speech from the throne, which was read on Tuesday by King Charles.
Just moments before question period began Wednesday, Liberal MPs gave a standing ovation to their colleague Bruce Fanjoy, who beat Poilievre in the riding of Carleton.
Poilievre was not in the public gallery as debate began on Wednesday and the Opposition leader's office wouldn't say whether he attended the caucus meeting earlier in the day.
Battle River—Crowfoot MP Damien Kurek, who has promised to resign his seat to allow Poilievre to run there in a byelection, was at the meeting but didn't answer when reporters asked him when he will step down.
The law dictates that MPs need to hold their seats for 30 days before they can resign.
The byelection could happen as soon as the first week of August. The spring sitting of Parliament is slated to run until late June.
Conservatives are expecting Scheer's turn as leader to be temporary. Kurek won his riding by an overwhelming margin and Poilievre has a clear advantage in the byelection.
Most returning Conservative MPs — 73 in total — have been given what are expected to be temporary roles either in party leadership or as critics. Poilievre has said he plans to shuffle the ranks to include more newly elected members in the fall.
— With files from Nick Murray