Childcare, reconciliation, sick leave among NDP demands to support minority Liberal government
Posted October 7, 2021 11:52 am.
Last Updated October 7, 2021 11:59 am.
OTTAWA (NEWS 1130) — The House of Commons won’t return at least for another couple of weeks, but the federal NDP is already laying out its priorities if the Liberal minority the government wants its support.
Party Leader Jagmeet Singh says he has no problem withholding support for Justin Trudeau’s government unless he sees concrete action.
“We’ve withheld their votes in the past. And we’re prepared to do that again,” he said.
Singh is demanding national childcare, reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, and a national paid sick leave program. These are all promises the Liberals made during the election.
While Singh says much of that has to wait for the House of Commons to return, there is a step the feds can take right now to show a willingness to cooperate and that is extending COVID-19 relief programs.
“Seeing an extension of the supports for people, and for workers, and for small businesses, would also go in the direction of securing our support for a potential throne speech,” he said.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has already indicated they’re working towards a possible extension.
Singh says the Liberals haven’t reached out to him or his party after the election. Says his party will not vote for a bad bill. They want to see concrete action on their priority issues #cdnpoli
— Cormac Mac Sweeney (@cmaconthehill) October 7, 2021
The NPD leader is also calling for more support for Alberta as it deals with the COVID-19 crisis.
“These are some concrete steps that we could do that would help us deal with the pandemic and would show that he’s interested in doing something that’s going to help people out and something that we would work together on,” Singh added.
According to Alberta Health Services, during the fourth wave, 80 per cent of hospitalized patients in July visited an emergency room within 30 days of being discharged, while 17 per cent of those patients were readmitted.
Singh also says he ran a good campaign but nonetheless, his party will hold a formal review of the election.
