A Canadian parliamentary committee headed by an opposition Conservative Party lawmaker will meet during lawmakers' recess in a bid to speed up the overthrow of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government, the lawmaker said on Friday, UNN reports citing Reuters.
Details
A House of Commons committee will begin meeting on January 7 to consider and vote on a motion of no confidence in the Liberal government, committee chairman John Williamson said in a letter to committee members. Ultimately, the motion must be passed by the House of Commons to bring down the government.
Parliament will resume its work on January 27.
Trudeau, who has been in power since 2015, has been under increasing pressure to resign since his former finance minister, Chrystia Freeland, resigned on December 16.
Williamson, a Conservative lawmaker, said he was prepared to hold meetings throughout January with a view to holding a vote of no confidence as early as January 30.
Trudeau's options have narrowed since New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh, who is helping the Liberals stay in power, said last week that he would take steps to topple the Liberal minority government and call for elections.
"It is now clear that the Liberal government does not have the confidence of Parliament. The Conservatives, the Bloc Québécois and the NDP, who represent the majority of MPs, have all announced that they will vote no confidence in the Liberal government," Williamson said in a copy of the letter he posted on social media.
However, Trudeau may adjourn parliament, which would formally end the current session and prevent opposition lawmakers from voting for a no-confidence motion.
All opposition parties will need to support the same motion to dismiss the government.
The group, headed by Williamson, includes five Liberal MPs, four Conservative MPs, and one each from the NDP and the Bloc Québécois.
Canadian governments have to demonstrate that they have the confidence of the House of Commons. The vote on the budget and other expenditures is considered a measure of confidence, and if the government loses it, it falls. In almost all cases, the election campaign begins immediately.
Recall
Canada's Finance Minister Freeland resigned due to disagreements with Trudeau over the response to Trump's threat of a 25% tariff. The resignation provoked a government crisis and calls for the resignation of the Canadian Prime Minister himself.