Canada: PM Trudeau avoids snap election in confidence vote
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government won a vote of confidence on Wednesday, thereby avoiding a snap election, as the COVID-19 crisis worsens.
Members of parliament voted 180-146 against a motion from the Conservatives to create a special committee to probe the government’s ethics and pandemic spending.
Read more: Canada’s finance minister resigns amid coronavirus pandemic
Support from other parties
Trudeau’s minority government was able to garner the support of New Democratic Party (NDP), along with a handful of Green and independent MPs.
“Parliament chose to back Canadians rather than political games,” Liberal House leader Pablo Rodriguez told reporters.
Trudeau’s party had won only a minority of seats in the election a year ago, and required the support of other parties to remain in power.
Canada will not need to go through another election, as winter arrives and the country braces for a second wave of coronavirus infections.
A poll by the research group EKOS showed that more than 70% of Canadians said they did not want a snap election, according to Reuters.
Probe into ethics
The opposition Conservatives wanted a probe into the government awarding the contract to run a C$900 million (€577 million) student grant program to the WE charity that had paid Trudeau’s family members for engagements in previous years.
The motion also called for a committee to probe the efficacy of the government’s pandemic spending.
“Too many Canadians have been left behind in the Trudeau government’s slow, confused and issue-plagued COVID-19 pandemic response – and the prime minister is avoiding accountability at
all costs,” said Conservative leader Erin O’Toole in a news conference.
Trudeau has apologized for taking part in a cabinet decision to use the charity, which has since pulled out of the program.
tg/rc (AFP, Reuters)
Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/canada-pm-trudeau-avoids-snap-election-in-confidence-vote/a-55353545?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf