OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal government used an obscure parliamentary maneuver to sidestep its first major test of confidence on Wednesday, adopting its reply to the throne speech by division.

The measure sailed through the House of Commons without a vote after Liberal MP Kevin Lamoureux, the parliamentary secretary to government House leader Steven MacKinnon, moved without objection for the government reply to be sent to the King via Governor General Mary Simon.

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Conservative Leader in the House of Commons Andrew Scheer was one of the MPs on hand to watch the motion carry.

Ian Brodie, a political scientist and former chief of staff to ex-prime minister Stephen Harper, said that the procedural set piece likely reflected a tacit agreement between t

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