Ottawa shenanigans a distraction from government business affecting North

The cloud of uncertainty over Parliament Hill this week stretches all the way to the Arctic.

With Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government in shambles from its bungled fall economic statement and the stunning resignation of Chrystia Freeland as finance minister, there’s some unfinished business related to Canada’s North that needs tending to.

As Canadians head into the holidays, Trudeau is clinging onto the prime minister’s job. (Check your phone. That might have changed between the writing of this editorial and its publication.)

For a few hours on Monday, Canadians were left wondering if the country indeed had a finance minister and if so, who it was. The government was scheduled to update its financial position, but the woman of the hour had resigned from cabinet over a spat with the prime minister.

It fueled speculation Trudeau might resign as Liberal leader, plunging his party into a leadership race. Or that he might call a snap election. Or that he might ask Gov. Gen. Mary Simon to prorogue Parliament — essentially calling a timeout in parliamentary business — for a few months.

Any of those options would have been a setback for Nunavut or Nunavik. At the end of 2024, there are a few key pieces of government business that would be nice to wrap up before the next scheduled election in October 2025.

With U.S. president-elect Donald Trump threatening to impose a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods coming into the States, Premier P.J. Akeeagok warned the effects of such a move would be felt across the country.

After meeting with premiers, Trudeau touted a “Team Canada” approach toward U.S.-Canada relations, a sentiment now undermined by political infighting.

Another federal project that will affect northerners is the review of the Nutrition North subsidy program that Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal announced in October before he himself announced he will step down from cabinet after a replacement is named.

The plan, Vandal said then, was for the government to appoint a representative early in 2025 to begin a review of the program.

And just last week, Nunavut MP Lori Idlout heralded a parliamentary committee’s recommendation to put Inuktitut on the ballot in the next federal election. That recommendation moved on to the Senate, but if Parliament grinds to a halt — due to proroguing or an election — progress on that front will stall too.

Shenanigans in Ottawa can only serve as distractions from this kind of business.

Finally, it seems likely that Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative party is poised to form the government after the next election — whenever that is.

A Conservative government hell-bent on cutting public spending and bringing down Canada’s deficit might be less generous with funding for issues affecting the North, such as the lack of housing and the high cost of groceries.

It was a messy end to 2024 on Parliament Hill. Here’s hoping there won’t be a hangover in the new year.