Close X
Thursday, November 28, 2024
ADVT 
National

Singh threatens to end political pact

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 07 Feb, 2024 05:03 PM
  • Singh threatens to end political pact

If the government doesn't make good on pharmacare legislation by March, that would kill the Liberal-NDP political pact, New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh said Wednesday.

But he made it clear that any collapse in the deal, which is meant to hold off a federal election until next year, would be the Liberals' fault.

Singh has been talking tough this week about the looming deadline to table a bill, and met with the prime minister Monday to lay out his expectations. 

"It was a tough meeting," he said. "I made it clear that this is something we're very serious about. We're not going to extend this any further."

Reporters lobbed questions at Singh Wednesday about what consequences he's willing to bring down on the Liberals.

He said if the government doesn't deliver a bill by March 1, that would mean the Liberals are turning their backs on the parties' agreement.

The deal originally said a bill should be passed by the end of 2023, but after months of negotiation over what the legislation should say, the two parties punted the due date.

The Liberals and the NDP originally struck their deal in 2022, months after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was elected with a minority mandate for a second time in a row. 

In the so-called supply-and-confidence agreement, the NDP promised to support the minority government on key votes in exchange for movement on shared priorities, including pharmacare.

The agreement only calls for "progress toward a universal national pharmacare program," and offers no other specifics.

Singh told reporters Wednesday that the parties have fundamental differences of opinion about how that should actually work. 

The NDP is looking to see legislation that would underpin a future universal, single-payer system, and the grassroots of the party voted at a policy convention in October to settle for nothing less. 

The Liberals, meanwhile, have pushed for a model that would serve people who don't have existing insurance coverage, Singh said of the discussions. 

Health Minister Mark Holland has said little of the inner workings of the negotiations, except to say they are "progressing concretely."

"The challenge on these things is that as you get closer to thinking you have an agreement there are always additional details and additional pieces that come into play," he said Tuesday. 

Cost is also a factor, he said.

"We can't afford this to be a massively expensive program. We're not in a time when the fiscal framework can absorb massive costs."

Singh said he told the prime minister there would be repercussions for missing the pharmacare deadline. But he wouldn't tell reporters Wednesday what the consequences would be.

If the deal does fall apart, that doesn't mean the NDP will necessarily bring down the government. 

Since the agreement was struck, polls have shown the Opposition Conservatives rising in popularity across the country under the leadership of Pierre Poilievre. 

That leaves the Liberals and NDP at risk of losing seats the next time Canadians go to the polls. 

They can hold one off until fall 2025 at the latest, when a vote must take place according to fixed election date law.

 

MORE National ARTICLES

South Asian communities grapple with extortion threats in B.C., Ontario, Alberta

South Asian communities grapple with extortion threats in B.C., Ontario, Alberta
In early December 2023, police in Abbotsford, B.C., revealed that extortion letters had been circulating among businesses in the city and that its major crime unit was looking into them.  Abbotsford police said at the time that social media posts depicting an extortion letter were consistent with what they'd been seeing.

South Asian communities grapple with extortion threats in B.C., Ontario, Alberta

Vancouver Police say man posed as dad, trying to take five-year-old girl from daycare

Vancouver Police say man posed as dad, trying to take five-year-old girl from daycare
Police in Vancouver say a man posing as a parent tried to take a five-year-old girl from a home daycare, in what they call a "troubling" case. They say the incident happened on Dec. 13, when a man showed up at the East Vancouver after-school daycare at about 3:30 p.m. and asked for the girl by name.

Vancouver Police say man posed as dad, trying to take five-year-old girl from daycare

Homicide team takes over case of a missing man from Chilliwack

Homicide team takes over case of a missing man from Chilliwack
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team has stepped into a missing person case involving a B.C. man whose disappearance police now say is suspicious. The team says in a news release that foul play is suspected in the disappearance of 41-year-old Jamie Bristol of Chilliwack, B.C.

Homicide team takes over case of a missing man from Chilliwack

Canada's first conflict of interest and ethic commissioner, Mary Dawson, dies

Canada's first conflict of interest and ethic commissioner, Mary Dawson, dies
Former conflict of interest and ethics commissioner Mary Dawson has died. The commissioner's office posted a statement on its website today announcing it is saddened to learn of Dawson's death on Dec.24.

Canada's first conflict of interest and ethic commissioner, Mary Dawson, dies

Conservation group buys out hunting rights in B.C. rainforest to protect wildlife

Conservation group buys out hunting rights in B.C. rainforest to protect wildlife
A conservation group says its latest purchase of exclusive hunting rights in a British Columbia rainforest is a major step toward protecting the area's wildlife, but hunters say the move is an "abuse" of the licensing system. 

Conservation group buys out hunting rights in B.C. rainforest to protect wildlife

Christmas Day assault at NewWest SkyTrain

Christmas Day assault at NewWest SkyTrain
Police in Metro Vancouver say they're investigating a Christmas Day assault at a SkyTrain station that left the victim with serious injuries. They say officers were called to the New Westminster station at about 5 P-M.  

Christmas Day assault at NewWest SkyTrain