HOUSE HOLDER — “We actually like each other,” Government House Leader KARINA GOULD says of the Liberal flock she oversees in the chamber.
— Pressure cooker: The governing caucus’ solidarity is facing its latest test as word leaks about a growing number of MPs willing to call on Trudeau to step down as party leader. But nothing unites Liberals like a fight with rabble-rousing Conservatives. Morale is strong in the chamber, Gould told Playbook in an interview last week. Take the current stalemate over a privilege motion that has snarled much of the work in the House chamber itself. “When times get tough and we're under pressure like this, [Liberals] pull together. We know why we're here. We have clarity of purpose and clarity of vision that we are doing this because we're fighting for Canadians, and we believe very deeply in the programs and the policies that we're putting forward,” she said. Gould spoke to Playbook before that latest bombshell scoop on anxious Liberals considering their options. So, y’know, there’s that. Still, here’s what else we learned about rumors in the fishbowl, how Gould works with a certain Conservative counterpart, and when the privilege debate could end. — On a key relationship: Does Gould get along with House foe ANDREW SCHEER, the Conservative architect of the current impasse? “I don't know if he’ll say the same thing, but I think we get along quite well, actually. I think we both understand where we're coming from, and what our objectives are, and where we’re going to find points of agreement. And we are going to acknowledge that we’re just going to disagree. “Our meetings are always cordial and professional. We don't have blow-ups in our meetings.” — How often they talk: “There have been days where it’s several times a day, and there’s other times where it’s once a week. It just kind of depends, but we don’t have any set schedule.” Gould does meet weekly as a group with every House leader. — On the chatter: Does she pay attention to the gossip about what’ll happen next? “Oh, I listen to all of it. Yeah, I think it’s really interesting.” — Signal-to-noise ratio: “There's a lot of Conservative spin out there. When I hear folks talk about prorogation, or when I hear folks talk about [how] we weren’t going to do any of the opposition day motions until the very end [of the year]. That’s all Conservative spin. They’re trying to get the upper hand.” — What cameras don’t capture in the House: “Often, MPs from other parties come over to talk to ministers, to talk about files that they care about, because they actually want to move things forward. It can sometimes be the more antagonistic people in question period who come over and are like, ‘Well, actually, I really want to work with you on this.’” LIGHTNING ROUND — House committee work is still humming along, but the chamber is at a standstill. Playbook quizzed Gould on what comes next as bills lay fallow on the order paper. She played coy about a tool that could end the debate. Where’s this headed? How many days can it go? Well, we’ll see. It truly is just a day at a time. But that’s how minority parliaments work, right? It’s day-by-day, vote-by-vote. I get that. But this is a very particular kind of procedural battle. Yes. And it is reducing House business, outside of various exceptions, to nothing — and time marches on. The Conservatives have another privilege motion. [Gould was referring to Conservative MP MICHAEL BARRETT’s attempt to admonish the former business partner of Employment Minister RANDY BOISSONNAULT.] They sure do. The Conservative objective right now is to try to muck up the House. They don’t want to get the business of Canadians done. They just don’t. They are going to try every procedural trick they can think of to try to grind Parliament to a halt. What we’re saying is we’re here to do the work. We’re going to stick it out. A closure motion could, if there were the votes, end this. Yes. But Conservatives seem to want to keep debating this. You can find another party in the House to pass a closure motion, conceivably. Conceivably, yeah. So that’s possible. It’s possible. — In related listening: Hill Times reporter IREM KOCA joins “The Hot Room” to explain the fight over documents that has led to a two-week-long filibuster in the House of Commons. | 
