OTTAWA – Prime Minister Mark Carney will travel to Europe next month to address the European Parliament before the Canadian House of Commons returns to debate the escalating trade dispute with the United States.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) says Parliament will not be recalled early, despite Conservative calls for an emergency debate after Canada-U.S. trade talks broke down last week.
“Is this for real?” Conservative deputy leader Melissa Lantsman wrote on social media. “The prime minister of Canada says this country is ‘at war,’ then plans to fly to Strasbourg to address EU parliamentarians while refusing to recall the Parliament of the country he claims is under attack.”
Government officials say Carney will attend the European Union’s State of the Union conference on Sept. 16 and will address the European Parliament the following day.
In a statement, the PMO said Carney accepted an invitation from European Parliament President Roberta Metsola to speak in Strasbourg, France.
The statement said Carney’s outreach to Europe since winning the election is helping “strengthen Canada’s opportunities in a changing world and will deliver greater security, certainty and long-term prosperity.”
A PMO official said Carney addressed Canadians on the collapse of trade negotiations in a speech and news conference Saturday, one day after talks with the United States fell apart.
The Conservatives argue a news conference is no substitute for parliamentary scrutiny and debate.
“Parliament exists to hold government accountable, and a crisis of this scale is exactly when that accountability matters most, not something to defer for a month thinking that one press conference will do the trick,” Lantsman said in a statement to CTV News.
Before leaving for Europe, Carney is scheduled to attend an investor summit in Toronto, where the federal government will try to convince major institutional investors that Canada remains an attractive destination for capital, despite mounting economic uncertainty.
Canadian Parliament resumes sitting on Sept. 21, the week after Carney returns from Europe.
