National Post

NDP willing to ‘withhold votes’ on Liberal bills

Singh wants ‘concrete action’, not promises

- Marie Woolf

OTTAWA • Jagmeet Singh warned Thursday that he is willing to “withhold votes” for Liberal legislatio­n he does not agree with, including the budget.

The NDP leader signalled a tougher stance on co-operation with the minority Liberal government, stating he will “not take pretty or nice words for granted” from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Singh said promises from Trudeau would not be enough to win NDP support. The price would be “concrete action” on NDP priorities, such as extending COVID-19 benefits that are set to expire this month.

At a news conference in Ottawa, Singh said he wants to see a “positive signal” from Trudeau that he is willing to work with the NDP.

He revealed that Trudeau had not yet picked up the phone to discuss co-operating in Parliament on policies they agree on, or to negotiate.

“They haven’t reached out and they haven’t signalled they want to negotiate or talk so far — that’s fine,” Singh said. “I am not concerned because they know where we stand.”

As in the last Parliament, Trudeau’s minority government will rely on votes from other parties to push his legislativ­e program forward.

Singh made clear that Trudeau could not take NDP support for granted.

“We are prepared to withhold our votes and that is why we are calling on the government to show that they are interested in working together,” he said.

The “concrete action” Singh is demanding includes guaranteed paid sick leave for workers and a halt to clawbacks of financial supports for low-income pensioners who collected pandemic benefits. Ensuring Indigenous communitie­s have clean, safe drinking water is another priority.

“I look forward to them signalling their interest (in working together) by doing any of these things we have talked about,” he said.

The NDP leader said he is “very skeptical of the words and the promises of Mr. Trudeau and the Liberals. Because they don’t follow through.”

However, the NDP leader added that if he sees evidence from the Liberals that “they are really interested in working for people” they could “count on my support.”

“We withheld our votes in the past and we are prepared to do that again,” he warned.

The NDP returned 25 MPS to Parliament — only one more than at the last election, despite spending $25 million on their campaign.

Singh announced on Wednesday a review would look at whether the party should have campaigned harder on the ground. It will also look at whether Singh’s tour of the country, which saw him visiting more than 50 target ridings, paid off.

 ?? JUSTIN TANG / THE CANADIAN PRESS ?? NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said he wants to see a “positive signal” from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that the latter is willing to compromise.
JUSTIN TANG / THE CANADIAN PRESS NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said he wants to see a “positive signal” from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that the latter is willing to compromise.

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