Parliament Adjourns for the Summer 2 Days Early, Ending Spring Sitting

A view of Centre Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, the seat of Canada’s government, in a file photo. Matthew Little/The Epoch Times

All parties agreed on June 21 to adjourn the House of Commons for the summer two days earlier than scheduled despite the Liberal government not yet having established a public inquiry into foreign election interference allegations.

Both Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre and Bloc Quebecois leader Yves-François Blanchet had called on the government to establish an inquiry before the end of Parliament’s spring session.

Negotiations between the government and opposition parties are ongoing, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau telling reporters that Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc is still working “rapidly” with the party leaders to come to an agreement on the matter.

“We’re working very, very hard,” Trudeau said on June 21 in Ottawa, adding that LeBlanc is ensuring any inquiry process decided upon has “acceptable” reference terms for all parties and a chief that all party leaders agree upon.

“We’re very much looking to work collaboratively with the other parties, but there has to be clarity around the fact that they’re all committed and in agreement with the process we have,” Trudeau said.

The House unanimously agreed to a motion introduced by Government House Leader Mark Holland after question period on June 21 to adjourn until Sept. 18.

MPs continued the House’s business until 12:30 in the morning on June 22 when the speaker declared the Commons adjourned for the summer recess.

Public Inquiry

Since former governor general David Johnston resigned from his role as special rapporteur on foreign interference in Canada’s elections, LeBlanc has been consulting with legal scholars and opposition party leaders to determine “what the next steps should look like and determine who best may be suited to lead this public work.”

Poilievre, Blanchet, and NDP leader Jagmeet Singh held several meetings this week with LeBlanc on the matter, and Holland said on June 21 that he expects to hear news on the matter “very, very soon given the productive nature of those conversations.”

Conservative MP Larry Brock told reporters on June 21 that the Tories have submitted some “very non-partisan names” as suggestions for individuals who could lead a potential inquiry, while the Bloc submitted their own list of names last week.

“The government has an onus to actually call it,” he said.

“We just want pure openness, full transparency, full accountability.”

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.