Conservative block conversion

Something was going on in Parliament House early Wednesday morning, when leader Erin O’Toole walked out of his Conservative caucus with a mysterious smile on his face.

We’ll speed the passage of a C-4 bill to ban conversion therapyErin O’Toole said. A surprising statement, as more than half of its deputies voted against a similar bill in the previous parliament.

But the real reversal came in the afternoon, when Conservative Representative Rob Moore asked the House of Representatives to pass the C-4 unanimously immediately, without discussion or committee consideration.

It was enough for one member to shout Non At home to beat the movement.

suspense. Silence. The ranks of social conservatives fell silent. The move was carried out, with cheers from both sides of the House of Representatives and hugs from liberals thanking their conservative counterparts.

win over Which I’ll remember until I’m 90Openly gay minister Randy Boissonnault was fired. It’s a relief not to see another heartbreaking discussion for my communityMinister Pascal Saint Ong also added.

It was a rare moment of unity in the House of Commons, but it was not entirely without political calculation.

Erin O’Toole and Justin Trudeau shake hands in the House of Commons after the bill to ban conversion therapy was passed in the country.

Photo: The Canadian Press/Adrian Wilde

By agreeing to speed the passage of a bill they did everything in their power to slow their pace nearly six months ago, governors are abandoning a game they knew had previously been lost. They avoid provoking internal divisions within their group.

Leader Erin O’Toole gives the impression that he is beginning to persuade the more hard-right in his party.

Objections were raised during the last debate, but the bill still passed through the House in June, before dying in the Senate when elections were called. It’s time to move forwardcurator explains Gérard Deltel.

And this is where the liberals led by Justin Trudeau will have to be on their guard.

Choose your battle

Obviously, one liberal strategy is to split the ranks of the Conservatives for better governance of work in the House of Commons.

At the beginning of this session, the liberals threw three baits into the water. Only one reaction, which is to vaccinate MPs, which continues to be a nuisance to conservatives.

Then there are the other two things: the bill for conversion therapy and the bill banning demonstrations near health facilities.

Liberals want to protect doctors and nurses from anti-vaccine activists. But they also know that some social conservatives can oppose this, particularly because they fear that this ban on demonstrations will extend to other places, such as abortion clinics.

However, in both cases, conservatives are reluctant to take the bait.

It seems that for the time being Irene O’Toole’s close guard has succeeded in convincing some of his most rebellious deputies not to fight against the windmills and to choose the battlefield more wisely.

Even in the case of the Omicron variant, conservatives say Satisfied The measures announced by the government avoided criticism with a simple opposition reaction.

By neutralizing liberals’ divisive bombs in this way, conservatives want to eliminate distractions and highlight what they see as the main weaknesses of Trudeau’s government: the economy, inflation and the cost of life.

The issue, which was not discussed during the election campaign, has become central in the coming months. A file that seems to have surprised the Trudeau government a little. Chrystia Freeland’s December 14 economic statement, especially her spring budget, will certainly attempt to rectify the situation.

Until then, liberal forces should be concerned about the new, more disciplined approach that the Conservative bloc appears to have discovered.