The Member of Parliament for Provencher says his initial reaction to hearing Monday morning's announcement by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, was one of disappointment.
Trudeau has announced that he will be stepping down as Liberal leader as soon as a replacement has been selected by his party. He has also asked the Governor General to prorogue Parliament until March 24th.
"Initially I was disappointed," says Ted Falk. "I would have much preferred if the Prime Minister would have just called an election. I think that's what Canadians have been asking for the last year already."
Falk says it is time for a new direction in our country. He says the direction under Justin Trudeau is not working.
"Canadians want a reset, which is what prorogation does," explains Falk. "But they want more than just a reset of prorogation, they want a reset of government and that would require an election."
Falk explains that what Trudeau did Monday morning is he erased all of the legislation that was in progress but had not yet passed. He put a hold on Parliament. According to Falk, the Public Accounts Committee was scheduled to meet on Tuesday of this week to discuss a non-confidence motion which the House would have looked at on January 27th. However, with Parliament prorogued, the Public Accounts Committee cannot meet.
"The government and cabinet can continue to govern as they have been," says Falk. "But there's no legislation that can be passed and there's also no committees that can be held and all the existing legislation that was being debated, now dies."
With Parliament prorogued until March 24th, Falk says it seems that the earliest a federal election will happen is in early May.
"The Liberals will all come back at the end of March, they will have a new leader," explains Falk. "But it's going to be the same old Liberals that have unanimously supported all these failed Trudeau policies up until today. So really nothing will have changed, and I think all the parties are committed to voting non-confidence and shortly after that we'll see an election."
Falk says it is his opinion that the Liberals have led our country down a path that has seen the cost-of-living skyrocket, with respect to housing, food, and gas prices.
"We're completely committed, as Conservatives to axing the tax and again building houses, which the Liberal government has failed miserably at," adds Falk.
Meanwhile, Falk says it is an interesting time for politics in North America. At the same time as Trudeau announcing his resignation, the United States is gearing up for the inauguration of President Donald Trump. He notes this is a time when we need to have people in place to solidify our relationship with our neighbours to the south, ensuring the 25 per cent tariff threat does not materialize.
"It's going to be more difficult to do with kind of a lame-duck government," adds Falk.