A minister in New Zealand’s Labour government has abruptly quit the party, saying she will contest the upcoming election for the minor Māori party – roiling colleagues who were blindsided by her defection.
Meka Whaitiri’s resignation from Labour “effective immediately” appeared likely to bolster the electoral fortunes of Te Pāti Māori (the Māori party), which recent polls suggest could be the kingmaker after October’s general election.
In a speech on Wednesday at her marae (ancestral meeting place) in Hastings, Whaitiri did not cite any specific disagreement with Labour as the cause of her departure.
“I intend to be seated with Te Pāti Māori when we return to parliament, joining an unapologetic Māori political movement to achieve what was promised to us 183 years ago,” she said, referring to New Zealand’s founding treaty signed between the British crown and Māori leaders in 1860, and the nearly two centuries of struggle over Māori sovereignty and land ownership that followed. Whaitiri, who was at times emotional as she spoke, did not take questions from reporters and has not elaborated on her remarks.
But her move stunned the Labour prime minister, Chris Hipkins, who was travelling to London for King Charles’ coronation when speculation emerged in the media on Tuesday night. He said Whaitiri had not told him she intended to quit.
Carmel Sepuloni, the acting prime minister, told reporters in Wellington on Wednesday that she and her Labour colleagues “haven’t had a reason either” for Whaitiri’s defection. But Sepuloni was measured in remarks about a former colleague on whom Labour may soon rely for a governing deal after the election – saying only that the party was “disappointed” but “moving on” from the news.
Labour will contest Whaitiri’s electorate seat in October’s vote, its leaders added.
Whaitiri – who was the minister of customs, food safety and veterans, and the lead minister on recovery efforts following Cyclone Gabrielle – entered parliament in 2013 and handily won the Māori electorate seat of Ikaroa-Rāwhiti for Labour at the 2020 election with nearly double the votes of her nearest rival. Her electorate covers some of the areas most profoundly devastated by the cyclone in February.
John Tamihere, president of Te Pāti Māori, hinted at tension between Whaitiri and Labour when introducing her on Wednesday. She was crossing the floor “to cross a bridge to her own emancipation, from being controlled by others to a party that she controls”, he said.
Whaitiri was overlooked for promotion this year when Hipkins took office, languishing in the ministerial rankings as Māori caucus colleagues advanced. She had been stripped of her ministerial portfolios in 2018 after allegations of bullying after an altercation with her press secretary, but was reappointed as a minister outside the cabinet in 2020.
Sepuloni said on Wednesday that Whaitiri was removed as a minister upon her resignation, but Labour would not seek her expulsion from parliament despite a law that would permit such a move. The speaker of New Zealand’s parliament ruled on Wednesday that while Whaitiri could sit with Te Pāti Māori and its two lawmakers in the house until it dissolves for the election, she would be considered an independent MP rather than a member of her new group.
A Curia poll in April showed Labour and the main opposition party, centre-right National, tied at 37% of the vote each, with the left-leaning Greens – who support Labour – on 7% and the libertarian ACT party (traditionally aligned with National) on 10%. Both major parties would need the support of Te Pāti Māori to form a government.
“We haven’t made a choice of who we would go with and deliberately because we may not go into relationships like have been done in the past,” Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, co-leader of Te Pāti Māori, told TVNZ in March.
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.
Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.
On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.
Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.
Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
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.
