The chair of the federal NDP caucus said he is not afraid that ending the political pact with the Liberals would jeopardize an agreement still before Parliament.
While the Confidence and Supply Compact has produced many policy victories, not all of them have become law: the Affordable Care Act is still pending in the Senate, and the Expanded Voting Opportunity Act is still pending in the House of Representatives.
Alister MacGregor told reporters on his way to take up his NDP caucus chair in Montreal on Tuesday that walking away from the agreement is not a gamble, adding that “there should be plenty of time” for the Pharmaceutical Benefits Plan to pass the Senate.
“I think it’s fair to say that in my community, people are happy to move away from the Liberal party,” said MacGregor, who represents the Cowichan-Malahat-Langford electorate in British Columbia.
“[Prime Minister] Justin Trudeau’s name is very dangerous where I live.”
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has acknowledged that an early election is likely because the NDP has withdrawn from the agreement, but insists his party will consider each vote in the House of Commons separately, including a possible confidence motion.
Still, some party members have warned that calling elections early could jeopardize outstanding legislative matters.
“The only way we can lose our pharmaceutical benefits and dental care gains is to elect Pierre Poirierbre,” said Don Davis, MP for Vancouver-Kingsway.
“No matter what we do, there will be an election next year. And of course, [confidence-and-supply-agreement]This simply puts us back in a normal minority parliamentary position, able to vote on individual issues.”
Polara reporter Dan Arnold opines on how the end of the NDP-Liberal support agreement could raise the stakes as early voting begins in the LaSalle-Emaar-Verdun and Elmwood-Transcona by-elections.
“Better Leverage”
The balance of power in the House of Commons has now shifted to the Bloc Québécois, who are seeking to use their influence to gain government support for a bill to raise pensions for people aged 65 to 74 to the same level as those over 75.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh declined to say Tuesday whether he thought his party had lost influence by walking away from the deal with the Liberals.
“This is really Justin Trudeau’s choice. What does he want to do?” Singh told reporters.
“He has the ability to push through pharmacare reform. If he really wants to, he can. So we’ll be watching to see what Justin Trudeau does.”
Still, some NDP lawmakers feel withdrawing from the agreement puts the party in a better position to advance its priorities.
“I think this deal needed to be ended so that we could have more influence,” said Blake Desjarlais, MP for Edmonton-Griesbach.
“The Liberals don’t have the partner they need in the Bloc Québécois. There are no guarantees. A strong, progressive bill needs to be brought forward, so I hope the Bloc Québécois will do the same.”
