NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he believes Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s only options to pass legislation in a minority parliament are to work with his New Democrats or the Conservatives, dismissing the idea the Liberals could work with the Bloc Quebecois because the Bloc isn’t concerned with national interests.
Singh met with Trudeau in Ottawa on Thursday to try to leverage his party’s position in a minority government. The Liberal leader is meeting opposition leaders one by one to assess what he’ll have to do to gain and maintain the confidence of the House of Commons.
It appears part of Singh’s strategy is to suggest that the votes of Bloc Quebecois MPs aren’t enough, even though they and the Liberals together hold more than half the seats in the Commons.
Speaking to reporters following the meeting, the New Democratic leader said he believes his party is in a good position to get Liberal buy-in for NDP priorities in part because of the two parties’ shared progressive perspective on many key issues.
But he also suggested Trudeau does not have many other options.
“If they want to pass something national that really benefits all Canadians, they’ve got really two options for a national party. They can choose to work with the Conservatives or they can work with us,” he said.
When asked why he doesn’t believe Trudeau could seek support from the Bloc Quebecois, Singh said the Bloc is not a national party.
During their meeting, Singh listed the top three priorities he hopes will make it into the throne speech in December, the primary one being the immediate creation of a universal, single-payer Pharmacare program.
He also pressed Trudeau to drop the government’s legal challenge of a recent Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruling that ordered Ottawa to pay $40,000 each in compensation to Indigenous children who were wrongly placed in foster care after 2007, as well as to their parents or grandparents.
He said dental care, affordability and housing were discussed, and that Trudeau acknowledged that Singh would continue to oppose the Trans Mountain pipeline project. Singh would not say whether Liberal backing for the Alberta-B.C. pipeline could lead him to vote against the Liberals in a confidence vote.
During a photo-op before their official meeting, the two leaders shared a warm handshake and appeared friendly and at ease with one another.
Trudeau said it was a pleasure to welcome the NDP leader to his office, adding that it would offer “an opportunity to talk about the many things we have in common in our perspectives.”
Singh has said he’s not issuing ultimatums, but his party would be willing to vote against the throne speech if it doesn’t acknowledge the NDP’s requests somehow.
READ MORE: Jagmeet Singh says he’ll vote against throne speech if NDP requests not met
The Canadian Press
