Carney says he's 'absolutely not' considering proroguing Parliament after byelections

undercoat government minister german mark Carney says he's " dead non" considering proroguing Parliament should he win a majority in the House following three upcoming byelections.

"It has never even entered my thinking, the possibility of [proroguing]," the prime minister said Tuesday during an unrelated news conference.

Carney was asked about the possibility of prorogation — which would end the current parliamentary session and reset the House agenda — after the Globe and Mail reported, citing government sources, that it was on the table.

"I couldn't have been more surprised to see a suggestion that that was under consideration at all," Carney said.

The Liberals would be able to form a thin majority government if they win two out of the three upcoming byelections — but the government's agenda would still face some hurdles in the House of Commons if it can't get opposition parties on board.

'Absolutely not': Carney clear proroguing Parliament 'never even entered my thinking'

If the Liberals gain two seats, their votes in the House would technically be equal to the opposition parties' combined votes — and any vote that ends in a tie is broken by the Speaker.

Although Speaker Francis Scarpaleggia was elected a Liberal, that doesn't mean he would automatically vote with the government.

The Speaker is an impartial role by convention and doesn't sit with a party caucus once chosen by their peers.

According to the House's official guide to practice and procedure, the Speaker "normally votes to maintain the status quo," including "preserving the possibility that the matter might somehow be brought back in the future and be decided by a majority of the House."

The Liberals would be in a slightly better position if they swept all three byelections by having one more vote than the opposition parties combined.

But should the Liberals get to a majority plus one position, they would still need some opposition support to push legislation through committees.

As it stands, House committees have a roughly even split of Liberals and Conservatives. Each committee also has one Bloc Québécois member.

Typically, committee standings — with the exception of the procedure and House affairs committee — could be reset if Parliament was prorogued.

But Carney doesn't have that option thanks to a motion that passed the House in June which locked in committee standings for the duration of this Parliament.

It's possible for that motion to be overruled by a subsequent motion — but would likely face stiff opposition from the other parties.

If the Liberals only win two of the coming byelections, they likely wouldn't be able to pass such a motion. The Speaker would vote against it as it's a change to the status quo.

The three byelections are taking place in the Toronto ridings of University-Rosedale and Scarborough Southwest — and the Quebec riding of Terrebonne.

All three are being held on April 13, with advance polls open April 3 to 6.

Senior writer

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