Last month in Sudbury, Michael Ignatieff couldn’t wait to take down Harper government. Today, he doesn’t seem to be in much of a hurry.
Speaking outside of his weekly caucus meeting, the Liberal Leader was asked about his recent statements about making Parliament work since Canadians do not want an election now.
“We said in Sudbury [at the summer caucus retreat] very clearly there are cases where just on national-interest grounds we can support legislation. For example, on some of this criminal justice stuff we have said from the beginning we can support it if we think there is some public interest justification for it,” he said.
However, what he neglected to say or did not answer was whether he and his Liberals will support the government on confidence motions.
The Liberal Leader was meeting with reporters as part of the launch of the Pink Book III. It is an action plan for Canadian women prepared by the Liberal women’s caucus. Its main recommendation is for the creation of a national child-care and early learning program.
Mr. Ignatieff did not say how much the action plan would cost.
The Pink Book also calls for changes to the eligibility requirements in the employment insurance system to a “temporary, uniform 360 hours during the economic downturn.” This is what the Liberals have been asking for from the government since the spring.
There are also recommendations for a federal poverty strategy and a “truly proactive pay equity system.”
“What we are trying to do is address the changing realities of women’s life, whether it’s in the workforce, whether it’s in the home. … But the realities of women’s lives are quite different than they were a generation ago or two generations ago,” said Winnipeg Liberal MP Anita Neville.
