NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Wednesday he warned Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a recent closed-door meeting that there will be “repercussions” if the government misses the March 1 deadline for tabling pharmacare legislation.
Singh meets with Trudeau occasionally to discuss the terms of the supply and confidence agreement between their two parties, which sees New Democrats support the government on key votes in the House of Commons in exchange for movement on policy priorities. Singh described the Monday meeting as “tough.”
“I made it clear to the PM that we expect legislation, and we expect the government to take steps to go beyond that, and we expect that by the first of March,” Singh told reporters on Parliament Hill.
“I put him on notice … If not, there will be repercussions.”
According to the terms of the 2022 NDP-Liberal agreement, the party is expecting legislation outlining the principles of pharmacare and a plan to start covering some drugs by 2025.
In November, the government admitted it would not meet the deal’s original timeline, which called for passage of pharmacare legislation before 2024. New Democrats said that missing the deadline would cost the Liberals.
“We said that since they missed their deadline, we expect more, and we will let you know in the coming days what that more is,” Singh said Wednesday.
WATCH | Jagmeet Singh describes meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Jagmeet Singh warns of repercussions if Liberals miss another pharmacare deadline
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NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says there will be consequences for the Liberals if they miss the new deadline to table pharmacare legislation on March 1.
A senior NDP source who is not authorized to speak publicly told CBC in January that the NDP has asked the Liberals to fast-track coverage of some several life-saving drugs for conditions like diabetes as it works on pharmacare legislation.
The source said the Liberals agreed to cover fewer than five drugs. Health Minister Mark Holland’s office would not confirm that report.
The NDP source said the coverage is expected to begin sooner rather than later but could not say precisely when.
On Wednesday, Singh accused the Liberals of seeking a plan that pleases the pharmaceutical industry and “big insurance.”
While the agreement between the Liberals and NDP does not define pharmacare, New Democrats have insisted on a universal system that is publicly delivered and administered, with the federal government as the single payer.
The insurance industry has warned against adopting the NDP’s preferred model, saying it would disrupt workplace health insurance plans. New Democrats have not called for an end to workplace insurance programs.
Holland did not immediately respond to Singh’s comments. He has said in the past that the government is operating in a “restrained fiscal environment” and the “ambition has to be tempered.”
NDP health critic Don Davies said negotiations with the government have been productive.
“I think we’re quite close, actually, on coming to legislation that meets both of our needs,” Davies said.
Davies said he will be meeting with Holland as early as Friday or next week.
In 2019, a federal advisory council led by former Ontario health minister Eric Hoskins urged Canada to implement universal, single-payer public pharmacare.
Its report estimated such a program would cost the federal government $3.5 billion annually if it started by covering essential medicines. The same report found that insuring a more comprehensive list of drugs would cost $15.3 billion annually, but Canada would save $5 billion on prescription drug spending.
Tabling pharmacare legislation would not necessarily require spending billions of dollars up front. The NDP is calling for an incremental approach that would phase in national drug coverage.
That’s basically the way medicare was rolled out across the country. In 1957, Ottawa first offered to cover hospital visits, following in the footsteps of the Saskatchewan government. Canadians still needed to pay for physician visits.
The Lester Pearson government introduced the Medical Care Act in 1966, offering to share the costs of physician services. It wasn’t until 1972 that all provinces and territories had universal public insurance for physician services.
Decades later, though, Canada is the only developed nation in the world with a publicly funded universal system that does not include prescription drugs.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he will not be taking advice from Pierre Poilievre after the Conservative leader challenged him to bring down government.
“I say directly to Pierre Poilievre: I’m not going to listen to you,” said Singh on Wednesday, accusing Poilievre of wanting to take away dental-care coverage from Canadians, among other things.
“I’m not going to listen to your advice. You want to destroy people’s lives, I want to build up a brighter future.”
Earlier in the day, Poilievre challenged Singh to commit to voting non-confidence in the government, saying his party will force a vote in the House of Commons “at the earliest possibly opportunity.”
“I’m asking Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to commit unequivocally before Monday’s byelections: will they vote non-confidence to bring down the costly coalition and trigger a carbon tax election, or will Jagmeet Singh sell out Canadians again?” Poilievre said.
“It’s put up or shut up time for the NDP.”
While Singh rejected the idea he would ever listen to Poilievre, he did not say how the NDP would vote on a non-confidence motion.
“I’ve said on any vote, we’re going to look at the vote and we’ll make our decision. I’m not going to say our decision ahead of time,” he said.
Singh’s top adviser said on Tuesday the NDP leader is not particularly eager to trigger an election, even as the Conservatives challenge him to do just that.
Anne McGrath, Singh’s principal secretary, says there will be more volatility in Parliament and the odds of an early election have risen.
“I don’t think he is anxious to launch one, or chomping at the bit to have one, but it can happen,” she said in an interview.
New Democrat MPs are in a second day of meetings in Montreal as they nail down a plan for how to navigate the minority Parliament this fall.
The caucus retreat comes one week after Singh announced the party has left the supply-and-confidence agreement with the governing Liberals.
It’s also taking place in the very city where New Democrats are hoping to pick up a seat on Monday, when voters go to the polls in Montreal’s LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. A second byelection is being held that day in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood—Transcona, where the NDP is hoping to hold onto a seat the Conservatives are also vying for.
While New Democrats are seeking to distance themselves from the Liberals, they don’t appear ready to trigger a general election.
Singh signalled on Tuesday that he will have more to say Wednesday about the party’s strategy for the upcoming sitting.
He is hoping to convince Canadians that his party can defeat the federal Conservatives, who have been riding high in the polls over the last year.
Singh has attacked Poilievre as someone who would bring back Harper-style cuts to programs that Canadians rely on, including the national dental-care program that was part of the supply-and-confidence agreement.
The Canadian Press has asked Poilievre’s office whether the Conservative leader intends to keep the program in place, if he forms government after the next election.
With the return of Parliament just days away, the NDP is also keeping in mind how other parties will look to capitalize on the new makeup of the House of Commons.
The Bloc Québécois has already indicated that it’s written up a list of demands for the Liberals in exchange for support on votes.
The next federal election must take place by October 2025 at the latest.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is defending her decision to turn off comments on her social media accounts — with an announcement on social media.
She posted screenshots to X this morning of vulgar names she’s been called on the platform, and says comments on her posts for months have been dominated by insults, to the point that she decided to block them.
Montreal’s Opposition leader and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have criticized Plante for limiting freedom of expression by restricting comments on her X and Instagram accounts.
They say elected officials who use social media should be willing to hear from constituents on those platforms.
However, Plante says some people may believe there is a fundamental right to call someone offensive names and to normalize violence online, but she disagrees.
Her statement on X is closed to comments.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
