Trudeau cabinet says secret ballots not needed, insists party is united
As Liberal MPs struggle with questions of confidence, cabinet says party's as united as ever
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OTTAWA — The matter is settled.
That’s the position of cabinet ministers on Tuesday as questions swirl around Parliament Hill over the future of embattled Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his government.
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Speaking to reporters outside the Liberal cabinet meeting Tuesday morning, Housing Minister Sean Fraser said he wasn’t in favour of introducing a secret ballot so caucus members could express their opinions without putting their political careers at risk.
“I don’t think it’s the right way to deal with this sort of thing,” he said.
“I find that one of the advantages of having a caucus meeting is to speak openly and speak freely. When you move towards doing things in secret, that belies the very nature of what a caucus is supposed to be about.”
The prime minister rebuffed calls last week to step aside, after numerous Liberal MPs expressed dismay over the government’s approval ratings.
The matter supposedly came to a head during a contentious caucus meeting last Wednesday, where disgruntled MPs reportedly aired their grievances with the PM behind closed doors.
Whatever went on in the caucus room apparently stayed in the caucus room, with most members greeting the phalanx of press gallery reporters with smiles and positive words.
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An Angus Reid poll released on Monday puts Trudeau’s approval at a disastrous 29%, ranking third behind Tory leader Pierre Poilievre and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh.
The Tories continue to enjoy 43% of the decided vote, with the Liberals in a statistical dead heat with the NDP at around 20%.
Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said he saw little point in a secret ballot, as he considers the matter closed.
“We had a pretty good conversation last week, and we’ll probably have some more conversations going forward,” he told reporters.
“It’s largely settled, we’re united and we’re going to move on.”
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