NDP says it will dissolve Parliament... after Singh's pension kicks in
'We simply cannot continue like this,' said NDP House leader Peter Julian. 'So yes, the NDP, as the adults in the room, would step up on that [confidence votes].'
A senior New Democrat claims his party will dissolve Parliament early next year should Justin Trudeau remain leader.
Conservative and Bloc Québécois MPs failed to pass several confidence motions in recent months, often wagging their fingers at New Democrats for propping up the increasingly unpopular Liberal minority government.
NDP House leader Peter Julian says that could change as early as “end of February and beginning of March.” Party leader Jagmeet Singh made similar calls but refused to clarify if voting non-confidence was in the cards.
Conveniently, Singh is set to be eligible for his parliamentary pension plan on February 25.
"All tools, all options are on the table," he said. When asked to clarify, Singh repeated that "all options are on the table, that means anything is possible."
Singh and Julian’s comments follow the shocking resignation of Chrystia Freeland as cabinet minister on Monday, who expressed criticism of Trudeau’s "costly political gimmicks."
A recent Leger poll revealed Canadians were unenthused by recent tax relief passed by the Liberals and New Democrats.
Freeland's remarks did not specify whether she opposed the two-month GST holiday, proposed rebates, or both. New Democrats held up the latter as it only targeted working Canadians, not seniors.
Singh said what is "clear" is that Trudeau and his party are "focused on themselves" and "infighting at a time when people cannot even do their groceries."
"And for that reason, I'm calling on Justin Trudeau to resign. He has to go."
New Democrats have refused to support confidence matters to date, voting against four motions tabled by the Conservatives. Singh formally repudiated his 2022 supply-and-confidence agreement on September 4.
At the time, he called the Trudeau government "too weak, too selfish" to work with. The first unsuccessful non-confidence vote came shortly thereafter.
In March 2022, New Democrats pledged support for Trudeau in confidence matters through June 2025. In exchange, the Liberals would prioritize pharmacare and dental care in the House of Commons, though cabinet reneged on the agreement last December 31 by failing to pass a pharmacare bill as promised. "I am going into this with eyes wide open," Singh said at the time.
"We simply cannot continue like this," Julian told CBC News on Monday. "So yes, the NDP, as the adults in the room, would step up on that [confidence votes]."
Singh's tune changed Monday afternoon, following Freeland’s departure from cabinet. Four votes thus far have failed, and Parliament is now on hold for the winter recess.
"Just to clarify, you're calling for him to resign, but you are not willing to vote with no confidence in his government. How do those two things connect?" a reporter asked. "There's no votes in front of us, but we will take each vote," replied Singh.
The NDP leader criticized Trudeau yesterday in the House of Commons, saying he has "failed to defend workers from rich CEOs."
"Will the prime acknowledge he has failed? He has to quit," Singh said. Government House Leader Karina Gould pointed out that several confidence motions failed to pass "just last week."
The most recent confidence motion quoted Singh’s criticism of the Liberals but still failed. Parliament resumes for the winter session on January 27, 2024. Trudeau has so far given no indication he intends to quit.
Alex Dhaliwal
Calgary Based Journalist
Alex Dhaliwal is a Political Science graduate from the University of Calgary. He has actively written on relevant Canadian issues with several prominent interviews under his belt.
COMMENTS
-
Bernhard Jatzeck commented 2024-12-18 19:55:06 -0500My editing skills left a lot to be desired. What I meant to say was “nothing says champion of the poor and oppressed than screwing the country until one’s pension kicks in first”. -
Bernhard Jatzeck commented 2024-12-18 19:53:31 -0500Yup. He’s a real champion of the poor and oppressed than screwing the country until one’s pension kicks in first.
-
Bruce Atchison commented 2024-12-18 18:33:46 -0500Singh doesn’t deserve his pension. He betrayed NDP voters and believed Trudeau would actually help him.
