Ottawa, ON – Gérard Deltell, the Conservative House Leader, issued the following statement following the announcement by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that Parliament won’t be recalled for another five weeks:

“Today’s news that Parliament won’t return for another five weeks shouldn’t come as a surprise to Canadians. It’s clear that the $600 million ‘urgent’ election was nothing more than a power grab for Justin Trudeau trying to secure a majority government, and that he is in no rush to get back to work.

“It’s wrong that in the middle of the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, Justin Trudeau is waiting 63 days to return to work. That’s 63 days that Members of Parliament should be working in the House of Commons to address the pandemic, inflation, labour shortages, and a number of other issues important to Canadians.

“Unlike Justin Trudeau and his Liberal government, a Conservative government would have returned Parliament sooner. We are ready to get back to work immediately to focus on the issues impacting Canadians from coast-to-coast.”