Justin Trudeau Calls Off Parliament Until September 23 But Promises CERB Won't Be Affected
Parliament's out for the summer. After a cabinet shuffle, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has asked to prorogue Parliament in Canada until September 23 which puts the government on hold. However, he promised federal benefits like the CERB won't be affected.
On August 18, Trudeau went to Rideau Hall in Ottawa to change up his cabinet following Bill Morneau's resignation.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was named the new finance minister during a physically distanced ceremony.
After that, the PM announced that Parliament will be called off for more than a month.
On Twitter, he also shared information about the prorogation and what that means for Canadians.
Trudeau's government is using the time to work on a plan for rebuilding Canada following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Once the prorogation is done on September 23, there will be a throne speech to lay out all the details of the plan and what will happen going forward.
The House of Commons had already been scheduled to return that week after a summer break.
Trudeau noted that not having Parliament in session for the rest of August and some of September won't have any effect on federal benefits like the CERB or the wage subsidy.
"As we start a new session, our focus will continue to be on getting you the support you need," he said.
For the CERB, an extra eight weeks of benefits were made available when it was extended from 16 to 24 weeks.
It allows people who stopped working because of COVID-19 or are eligible for EI or have gone through their EI benefits to get $2,000 for a 4-week period.
With the extension, the last eligibility period ends on September 26, a couple of days after Parliament returns.
Prorogation ends the current session of Parliament and is approved by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister.
Since every session begins with a Speech from the Throne, this new one in September will be no different.
The governor general will literally read a speech from the throne of the Senate chamber.
This also allows for a confidence vote to take place.
If the government can't get enough support during that vote, there would be a resignation or the end of Parliament so that an election can be held.
Before all of this happened, Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet said he would seek an election in the fall if Trudeau, his chief of staff and Morneau didn't resign.