(The Canadian Press)

By Glenn Hicks

New government

Parliament set to reconvene with Speaker election on Dec. 5

Nov 12, 2019 | 9:26 AM

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will lay out priorities for his new minority government on Dec. 5.

The Prime Minister’s Office says that is the day the House of Commons will convene for the first time since the October election.

On the same day, members of Parliament will elect a Speaker from their ranks and then hear the government’s throne speech.

Trudeau’s office made the announcement today before Trudeau met Opposition leader Andrew Scheer.

Speaking in French during a photo op at the start of the meeting, Trudeau said voters expect MPs to get to work quickly and he wants to meet those expectations.

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“Last month, Canadians elected a Parliament that they expect to work together and that’s exactly what I’m going to be focusing on doing,” Trudeau said in English.

“I’m going to be talking about our priorities this morning of affordability for Canadians, growth for the middle class, and the fight against climate change and I look forward to discussing those and other issues with Mr. Scheer this morning.”

Scheer wanted the House of Commons to begin sitting Nov. 25, five days after Trudeau is scheduled to announce his new cabinet.

Scheer plans to use the meeting to lay out his Conservative party’s priorities.

“This country is more divided than it ever has been. We need to get to work as quickly as possible so that we can address the priorities of Canadians and bring our country closer together,” Scheer said, following Trudeau.

“We appreciate learning of the date of recall – we were hoping it would be earlier so we can get to work right away – but I look forward to this meeting where I can outline specific priorities that the Conservative party will want to be focused on.”

The Canadian Press