Poilievre stands with Trudeau to defend PM’s gatekeeping powers over Parliament

OTTAWA – This week, NDP MP Daniel Blaikie (Elmwood-Transcona) continued his fight in the House of Commons to make it harder for Prime Ministers to abuse their gatekeeping power over Parliament.

The motion proposes changes to the Standing Orders that would ensure the prime minister has to meet the House for a confidence vote any time there is a prorogation. “Past abuses of prorogation have led to questions about the legitimacy of the government of the day,” said Blaikie. “These questions would easily be answered by a simple confidence vote. My motion would have made such a vote mandatory with any prorogation, creating a higher level of political accountability for prime ministers that would abuse their power.”

During yesterday's vote, Liberals and Conservatives stood together against the other opposition parties to defeat Blaikie’s motion.

“Pierre Poilievre is a lot of talk when it comes to criticizing government overreach, but here is a clear example of a power that has been repeatedly abused, and he just voted to let Justin Trudeau keep on doing it,” said Blaikie. “The fact is, Pierre Poilievre isn’t concerned about fighting gatekeepers, he’s just looking to become one and will say anything he believes will help him get there.”

The House of Commons first debated the motion in May 2023, and the vote was held on Wednesday, October 25th.