Three Liberal candidates who won recent byelections, securing a majority government for Prime Minister Mark Carney, officially joined the House of Commons on Monday. The government wasted no time in leveraging its newfound majority by proposing a motion to limit discussions on a rule change that would allow the Liberals to dominate committees.
The Liberal party aims to alter committee structures to ensure they have a majority presence. These committees play a vital role in reviewing legislation and government affairs, including the authority to summon witnesses and request documents.
Government House leader Steven MacKinnon justified these changes by citing the parliamentary tradition that majority governments should also hold the majority of committee seats, albeit acknowledging the current circumstances as unusual.
Opposition House leader Andrew Scheer criticized the move as undemocratic, emphasizing that the new Liberal MPs would immediately vote to curtail debates. Despite opposition, the Liberals possess enough votes to push through these alterations.
The government benches now host 174 members, with five MPs defecting over the past six months, four from the Conservative party and one from the NDP. The trio of Doly Begum, Danielle Martin, and Tatiana Auguste officially took their seats after being sworn in as Members of Parliament on Saturday.
Begum and Martin replaced former cabinet ministers in Toronto-area ridings, while Auguste triumphed in the Bloc Quebecois stronghold of Terrebonne after a rematch due to voting irregularities corrected by a Supreme Court decision.
The Liberal caucus warmly welcomed the new MPs with applause and embraces in the Commons, contrasting the sparse opposition benches lacking prominent leaders. Meanwhile, NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice announced his departure from the party to sit as an Independent before contesting provincially for Quebec Solidaire.
This move reduces the NDP’s parliamentary presence to five seats, with leader Avi Lewis not holding a seat. Boulerice’s resignation from Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie will necessitate a byelection within six months.