NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says his party will not support the Bloc Québécois and Conservatives in their bid to topple the Liberal government.
Singh told reporters during an Oct. 30 press conference that he would not vote in favour of a non-confidence motion to force an early election, citing concerns that such a move could result in the reduction of programs that benefit Canadians.
He accused the Tories and the Bloc of wanting to do away with programs Canadians rely on like the national dental care plan.
“I’m not going to let them cut the things that people need. So no, I’m not going to play their games,” Singh said.
Declining to work with the Bloc and the Conservatives does not mean he wants Justin Trudeau to continue being prime minister, Singh said, adding, “there will be an election, and when that election comes, people will have an important choice.”
Singh’s comments come a day after Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet said his party would begin talks with the other parties to bring down the Liberal government.
Blanchet
said his party had given the Liberal government five weeks to pass two private member’s bills, with one related to raising pensions and the other to keeping supply management out of trade negotiations. He said his party is ready for an election and “might be expecting that with enthusiasm.”
The Bloc leader had in September
called on the minority Liberal government to pass Bill C-319, to amend the Old Age Security Act, and Bill C-282, which is related to supply management, before Oct. 29. Bill C-319 would give seniors aged 65 to 74 the same 10 percent increase in Old Age Security benefits previously granted to those aged 75 and older. C-282 would make dairy, poultry, and egg quotas non-negotiable in any future trade negotiations.
The Liberals
opposed a Bloc motion introduced Oct. 1 calling for a royal recommendation for Bill C-319, with Liberal House leader Karina Gould saying it was “not appropriate for an opposition day motion to set the precedent of getting a royal recommendation.” Bills proposing to increase government spending must be accompanied by a
royal recommendation, which can only be obtained from the government and presented by a minister.
Bill C-282 is still before the Senate, and several
senators have expressed concern about the legislation potentially tying the government’s hands in future trade negotiations.
The Liberal government has faced two unsuccessful confidence votes since the House of Commons returned in
September. In
both cases, the Conservative motion failed after the Liberals, Bloc Québécois, and New Democrats voted against the motion.
A collaboration between the Conservatives and the Bloc to support future non-confidence motions will still
lack the necessary votes to topple the government and trigger an election.
Even with 119 MPs from the Conservatives and 33 from the Bloc, the 152 total would still fall short of the 169 votes needed to win. The Liberals’ 153 MPs combined with the NDP’s 25 would give them a majority of House votes.
The federal ballot tracking data from the latest
poll by Nanos Research, released Oct. 29, suggests that the Liberal Party is supported by 26 percent of Canadians, while the Tories lead with 39 percent. The NDP is at 20 percent.
