With NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh putting the Liberals “on notice” that it could be a deal breaker if they don’t deliver on a pharmacare framework by March 1, the weekly panel of political strategists on CTV’s Question Period weigh in on the future of the parties’ confidence-and-supply agreement.
The deal — inked in the spring of 2022 — sees the NDP prop up the Liberals until 2025 in exchange for progress on key policy issues, such as pharmacare.
The parties had initially set the deadline for tabling pharmacare framework legislation for the end of last year, but in December, they pushed back that cut-off date to March 1.
This week, Singh said there will be “repercussions” if the government doesn’t follow through by the set time, and that he considers it to mean they’ve “walked away” from the confidence-and-supply pact.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Mark Holland told CTV’s Question Period host Vassy Kapelos, in an interview airing Sunday, he has “every confidence” the federal government can deliver on a pharmacare framework by the deadline.
He also said the confidence-and-supply deal “absolutely” continues to serve the government, and he doesn’t believe Canadians want them “pulling that fire alarm.”
But Scott Reid — a CTV News political analyst and former communications director to former prime minister Paul Martin — told Kapelos and the rest of the CTV’s Question Period strategists panel that the potential end of the supply-and-confidence deal doesn’t necessarily spell the end of the Liberal government.
“So If I were the Liberals, I think there’s an opportunity to divorce themselves from this deal, get themselves away from the agenda, which I think is actually starting to harm them over time,” he said.
“Maybe it’s to say ‘listen, you know what, pharmacare is a fine idea, but at this point in time, we just can’t afford it’,” he added. “And it becomes a definitional issue for the Liberals, they separate someone from the NDP, they move themselves back toward the middle, they say no to a big spending program, and instead talk about focusing on core health care.”
Kory Teneycke, who was Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s campaign manager and former director of communications for former prime minister Stephen Harper, told the panel he agrees with Reid.
Teneycke had also predicted last December that 2024 could be the year of the Liberals and NDP redefining the parameters of their agreement to be more of an “à la carte” partnership, and he still believes it’s “an advantage” to both parties to have that happen.
“But I especially think it’s good for the NDP to play a little bit harder to get,” he said. “And I’ve always been perplexed at them focusing on pharmacare, because when you look at all the different issues that you could be going on if you were the NDP, in many ways, it’s the least likely one to me, because the amount of support from voters for it is tepid at best.”
“So I think it’s a weak issue to tie this much of your agenda to if you’re the NDP, but hey, they would be higher in the polls if they were smarter,” he also said.
However, Kathleen Monk, a former NDP strategist and director of communications to the late Jack Layton, said it remains “very important for a number of Canadians” that the pharmacare deal move forward.
“These are things that will matter on the ground, and whether they boost popularity or pump the polls, or if they’re just the right policy, those are two different questions,” Monk said.
She pointed to the Liberal’s child care policy as another issue that may not necessarily spur massive polling numbers, but that was the right thing to do.
“So how this goes forward, the New Democrats are playing a bit more tough,” Monk said. “They are saying ‘hey, we’re not going to help you move forward your agenda with things like time allocation, with cooperation on committees, until we see a bill that we think will satisfy our needs on pharmacare.”
You can watch CTV’s Question Period’s full Sunday Strategy Session in the video player at the top of this article.
With files from CTVNews.ca’s Senior Digital Parliamentary Reporter Rachel Aiello
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.
