Deadlock in the House of Commons unknown to most Canadians: poll

A debate has brought work in the House of Commons to a standstill for weeks, but a new poll suggests most Canadians aren’t even aware of it.

In a new survey by the Leger opinion research institute, 55 percent of those surveyed said they had not heard about the procedural questions that have held up Parliament for more than twelve days of sitting.

The issue stems from a privilege motion put forward by the Conservatives over a green tech fund that was found to have misspent government money.

The Tories have vowed to continue debate on their motion until the Liberals turn over unredacted documents about the fund to Parliament and the RCMP.

The government submitted redacted versions of these documents to the House of Commons in August, and the RCMP says it also has this information.

However, the Mounties have expressed doubts about whether they could lawfully use documents given to them by Parliament as part of an investigation, and the Liberals have so far refused to release the unredacted versions.

Matters of privilege take precedence over all other matters in the House of Commons until they are resolved.

The survey shows that roughly the same number of people, 27 percent each, believe that the Liberals and the Conservatives are responsible for the problem. However, 26 percent of respondents said they did not know who was responsible.

The governing Liberals could end the debate if they had another party’s support for their own motion.

Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet said Wednesday his party would support such a motion if the government finds a way to pass two of the bloc’s bills on pensions and utility management.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said the Liberals would continue to talk with both the Bloc and the NDP about tabling a motion to restrict debate.

A majority of 39 percent of respondents to the Leger poll said the government and opposition parties should work together to solve the problems. That was the most popular option among people who said they were Liberal and NDP supporters.

Holding an election to break the deadlock was the most popular option among conservative voters who took part in the poll.

Although the majority of respondents said they were unaware of procedural issues in the House of Commons, 61 percent said they believe Parliament is not working efficiently.

Even after debate on the current motion has concluded, a second privilege issue raised by the Conservatives is still awaiting debate in the House of Commons.

Question times and committee meetings still took place, but the government is unable to advance its own agenda and opposition parties cannot move forward with Opposition Day motions during the debate.

The Leger poll collected input from 1,500 Canadian adults in an online survey between October 18 and 21.

No margin of error can be assigned to the survey because online surveys are not truly random samples.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.