By Pepper Parr
July 26th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
Karina Gould reading the oaths during her swearing in as House Leader
Karina Gould MP for Burlington has been appointed the Government House leader She will be in charge of the party’s day-to-day business in the House of Commons of Canada , and usually conducts negotiations with other parties on the conduct of bills and debates.
They also argue points of order before the speaker of the House.
Gould, who announced yesterday that she is pregnant will be closer to home with this new portfolio.
The job is a demanding one, especially given that the government is a minority with an agreement with the New Democrats to support the government on supply bills.
Supply bills are the legislation that permits the government to spend money.
An appropriation act begins as a supply bill (sometimes referred to as a money bill). Once the bill is approved by Parliament and then granted royal assent, it becomes an appropriation act. The appropriation act is the vehicle through which expenditures from the Consolidated Revenue Fund are authorized in order to pay for government programs and services.
The job calls for patience and an understanding of what the government wants to achieve. Good House Leaders keep governments alive. It is politics at its rawest within the House of Commons.
It will be a happy day when these Liberals get taken down by the Conservatives, Gould included. Remember the crazy line ups at Service Canada offices? This is the Minister responsible for the Passport office fiasco. Well done, Karina. Karina is one of Trudeau’s most staunch supporters. Trudeau will go down as Canada’s worst PM, bar none. She should make a great House Leader given her brutal performance. Please stay on your Mat Leave when it comes around!
Good for Karina. Lets face it the current government is a one “people kind” show. The one move that was not anticipated, was moving Anand to Treausury. Could it be she was way too good at her job (reminiscent of the Martin Chretien era struggles). And there there was the Bill Blair and David Lametti head scratchers. Some of the moves had more to do with trying to secure or land certain seats.
House Leader is “critical” in the same vein that an Admin. Assistant is. Could anyone name the most recent House Leader? I’m having some difficulty understanding that this a promotion.
The House leader, if they are any good at all, keeps a government alive during a minority. Recall Allan McEachern