Hello,
Jagmeet Singh says his NDP won’t necessarily bring down the government if it doesn’t come up with pharmacare legislation by an expected March 1 deadline.
During a news conference on Parliament Hill today, the NDP Leader said if the Liberals don’t make the deadline, his party would shift from its current confidence agreement with the Liberals to taking votes as they come.
“If the agreement is not in place, we’re saying none of our votes should be taken for granted,” Singh said. “We will negotiate every vote at a time.”
As the deadline approaches, Singh used his news conference to step up pressure on the Liberals.
In 2022, the Liberals and the NDP signed an agreement to support the government on major votes in return for progress on such priorities as pharmacare. Under the agreement, the NDP would support the Liberals through to an election expected in the fall of 2025.
Singh noted the NDP is looking for legislation laying the foundation for universal or single-payer pharmacare. “We’re saying: Now do it. Lay the foundation for it.”
Late last year, a source with direct knowledge of the Liberal-NDP negotiations said a national pharmacare program is not an option because of the massive cost of a universal, single-payer drug insurance plan, which would shift the financial burden from employers and people with private plans to the government.
The NDP Leader noted the government missed a deadline on this issue last year. “We agreed to an extension. If they don’t make this deadline again, they would have broken the agreement and we can’t continue with the agreement.”
He said he would not commit to the NDP voting against the pending federal budget, noting his caucus members would look at the actual document and make a decision on whether to support it once they have reviewed it.
Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon said the Liberals and the NDP are engaged in “very healthy, open communication” with positive discussion. “We continue to move in positive directions with respect to the supply and confidence agreement.”
This is the daily Politics Briefing newsletter, written by Ian Bailey. It is available exclusively to our digital subscribers. If you’re reading this on the web, subscribers can sign up for the Politics newsletter and more than 20 others on our newsletter signup page. Have any feedback? Let us know what you think.
BREAKING
RCMP say they have arrested and charged an Alberta Mountie they accuse of gaining access to a “non-top secret” police records system “in order to assist a foreign actor” they later identified as the African republic of Rwanda.
TODAY'S HEADLINES
Poilievre asks RCMP to expand investigation into ArriveCan: In a letter dated Tuesday to RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre asks the RCMP to “immediately expand your existing criminal investigation” in light of Monday’s report by Auditor-General Karen Hogan.
Ontario to require referendum on any future carbon pricing plan: Premier Doug Ford and his Finance Minister were at a gas station in Mississauga today to announce the plan, one of a list of measures they say will be included in an omnibus bill to be labelled the Get it Done Act. Also, Ford announced a plan to make licence plate renewals automatic.
Federal Court orders Ottawa to appoint more judges: The unprecedented order by Federal Court Justice Henry Brown does not specify what he would accept as reasonable, but he said the court is entitled to expect that the Prime Minister and Justice Minister will obey the law.
Long-serving Halifax mayor announces he won’t run in next election: Mike Savage said today that after almost 12 years in the office, he wants to leave on his own terms.
Conservatives would renegotiate free-trade deal with Ukraine, Manitoba MP says: MP James Bezan says his government would ensure the agreement contains no mention of carbon pricing – and that no other trade deals do either.
Fraser announces $176-million in housing deals with more than 60 rural communities: Housing Minister Sean Fraser said the deals will help build more than 50,000 housing units over the next decade.
For those living on Belleville’s streets, the Ontario city’s overdose emergency is nothing new: It had been a rough week for the Ontario city of 55,000. Authorities reported a rash of drug overdoses, 13 of them within the space of two hours one afternoon.
Ottawa leery of approving Globalive Capital takeover of Wealth One Bank of Canada: Federal banking regulators and national-security agencies will insist on a high bar before Ottawa approves the sale of Wealth One Bank of Canada to Globalive Capital Inc., one that must entail the removal of a trio of Wealth One’s founding shareholders, according to a source with direct knowledge.
Most immigrants with deportation letters are still in Canada, border services figures show: The figures show that 14,609 people were sent letters informing them they are facing deportation between 2016 and May last year. But 9,317 of those were still living in Canada last year.
Bill focused on ‘powerful oil lobby’ amounts to needed debate, NDP MP says: Charlie Angus said he welcomed the debate and pointed to Canadians being increasingly concerned about the climate crisis. That’s why he put forward a private member’s bill focused on the issue of corporate accountability of the “powerful oil lobby,” he said in a statement.
TODAY’S POLITICAL QUOTES
“Folks. Get some decency. Have common sense. These hospitals are there to save lives. Mount Sinai did everything they could to save my brother’s life. He was in there. They are an incredible hospital, along with all the hospitals around the province. They are there to help people. Do not, do not break the law because that’s exactly what happened: You broke the law.” – Ontario Premier Doug Ford on protests outside Mount Sinai Hospital on Monday. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the protests at the Jewish-founded hospital a “display of antisemitism.”
“He’s pretty thin-skinned” – Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge on Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre lashing out at a Canadian Press reporter during a Parliament Hill news conference this week, asking her where she worked, and accusing her of articulating the Prime Minister’s talking points.
“I’m not Pierre Poilievre. Pierre Poilievre would not let you have any follow-ups, would not let you ask any questions like this. I am down to answer your questions.” – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh during a news conference on Parliament Hill today.
“I do not think we’ll be in an election in a few weeks” – Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault on challenges in the relationship between the governing Liberals and the NDP.
“I used to be a journalist. It is heartbreaking for me as a journalist and now as an elected leader to see that announcement. And it’s heartbreaking because Canadian journalism is foundational for Canadian democracy.” – Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland on Bell Media job cuts.
THIS AND THAT
New Senator: Quebec lawyer Manuelle Oudar has been appointed to the Senate, serving as an independent senator to fill a vacancy in the Senate in Quebec. Oudar has been president and chief executive officer of the Quebec government’s Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité au travail, responsible for enforcing labour laws in Quebec. The Prime Minister’s office announced the appointment today.
Viersen son arrives: Alberta MP Arnold Viersen has announced the birth of a son, who has been named Gideon. “Mom is doing great and Gideon’s siblings are excited to welcome him home,” Viersen wrote in a posting on social media platform X.
Today in the Commons: Projected Order of Business at the House of Commons, accessible here.
Deputy Prime Minister’s day: Chrystia Freeland provided an update on the government’s economic plan.
Ministers on the road: Health Minister Mark Holland, in Yellowknife, with the territory’s Health Minister, Lesa Semmler, made an announcement. Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is in Washington today to attend an expert panel event held by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars on the international security dimensions of hostage diplomacy. Joly will also meet with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, in Paris, is attending and serving as a vice-chair of the International Energy Agency ministerial meeting, participating in a panel and ministerial dialogue.
Commons committee highlights: H.E. James Cunningham, board chair of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, was scheduled to attend the subcommittee on human rights on the detention of Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong. Housing Minister Sean Fraser attended a finance committee meeting on policy decisions and market forces that have led to increases in the cost of buying or renting a home in Canada. Jen Gerson, co-founder of The Line and independent journalist, April Lindgren, a professor at the Toronto Metropolitan University journalism school, and Annick Forest, national union president of the Canadian Media Guild, are among the witnesses appearing before the Canadian heritage committee. Auditor-General Karen Hogan appears before the public accounts committee on her ArriveCan report along with Heather Jeffrey, president of the Public Health Agency of Canada. Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon attended a procedure and house affairs committee meeting on parliamentary protocol related to an incident in the Speaker’s Gallery on Sept. 23, 2023.
Senate committee highlights: Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux was among the witnesses appearing before the national finance committee on Bill C-59. Senator Donald Plett, leader of the opposition in the Senate, appears before the rules committee to consider possible amendments to the rules of the Senate.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
Justin Trudeau chaired the weekly cabinet meeting, and attended Question Period.
LEADERS
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet held a news conference in the foyer of the House of Commons, and then attended Question Period.
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May attended the House of Commons.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, in Ottawa, held a news conference on pharmacare, spoke at the 2024 Rally for Public Healthcare and participated in Question period.
No schedule provided for Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.
THE DECIBEL
On today’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, personal finance reporter Erica Alini and independent business reporter Chris Hannay talk about the rising costs of taking care of pets, and what pet owners can do to keep costs down. The Decibel is here.
TRIBUTE
Jodi White: The first woman to lead a national election campaign in Canada has died. White ran the campaign for the Progressive Conservatives under leader Jean Charest in 1997. Her death was noted by the Public Policy Forum, where she was a past president, and by Carleton University where she was an alumnus.
OPINION
In praise of (gentler) business bankruptcy rules.
“Pruning weakened branches helps a tree to grow. That’s as true in the human world as it is in the natural one. Business death and rebirth is a sign of a healthy and innovative economy. Economists call it “creative destruction:” Obsolete businesses should die to make room for innovative companies to thrive, the capital and workers freed up flow to more productive enterprises. Unfortunately, Canada’s economy right now is doing a whole lot of destruction without much creation.” – The Globe and Mail Editorial Board
The ArriveCan tale gets worse, but the mystery remains.
“When the Auditor-General’s news release starts with words “glaring disregard,” you know it won’t be good news for the government. Still, it was hard to imagine that there would be too many more revelations in Karen Hogan’s value-for-money report on the ArriveCan app. Yet somehow there was still a litany of distressing reading about the way the Canada Border Services Agency handled it all – a compendium of rules broken, records missing and shifty contracting.” – Campbell Clark
On immigration, the sum of Canada’s special interests is not the national interest.
“The day after Adolf Hitler invaded Poland and started the Second World War, the British government was still puzzling over its response. On the evening of Sept. 2, 1939, Conservative prime minister Neville Chamberlain rose in the House of Commons. It was by then clear to Parliament, and the country, that Britain had to go to war. But the PM delivered a short and prevaricating statement, whose weakness stunned MPs, not least those on his own side of the aisle.” – Tony Keller
Trudeau’s both-sides games on the war in Gaza are repugnant.
“Last week, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly announced that Canada was sanctioning 11 Hamas leaders for their participation in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel – a redundant and pointless gesture, since Hamas is considered a terrorist entity by the Canadian government. The ministry’s own news release acknowledged the superfluous nature of the announcement, noting that members of terrorist organizations are inadmissible to Canada and that their property is subject to forfeiture” – Robyn Urback.
Got a news tip that you’d like us to look into? E-mail us at tips@globeandmail.com. Need to share documents securely? Reach out via SecureDrop.
Ian Bailey