NDP leader Jagmeet Singh threatens to throw in the towel on the Liberals’ confidence-and-supply agreement if Prime Minister Justin Trudeau doesn’t address the country’s healthcare crisis.
During a press conference in Ottawa on Monday, Singh expressed displeasure with the Liberals’ lack of urgency on allocating additional healthcare funding to provinces. “If we don’t see action on health care, we absolutely reserve the right to withdraw our support,” he said. “This is at the level of seriousness that we could make that serious consideration. We need to see action.”
Back in March, the NDP promised to support the incumbent minority on a number of major issues at the House of Commons and prevent a snap election before 2025. In return, the Liberals agreed to push through on several key NDP votes, one of them being healthcare. However, progressing on Singh’s healthcare issues is rather vague, involving only “additional ongoing investments” rather than a specific timeline or a fixed dollar amount of spending.
Sigh’s distaste for the Liberal partnership comes at a time of a heightened crisis across Canada’s children’s hospitals. An alarming number of young patients and babies are being treated for respiratory illnesses, overwhelming health centres and healthcare staff. “We are at a breaking point,” Singh said. “Our children are at risk right now.” The Alberta’s Children’s Hospital is currently using a heated trailer to triage sick patients, while the Ottawa region children’s hospital is calling on the Red Cross to boost nursing staff in order to help treat a record number of children.
Citing such issues across Canada, Singh requested an emergency debate from the House of Commons Speaker, calling on immediate federal action. The NDP leader wants the prime minister to meet with premiers and rapidly devise a solution to the worsening problem. Provincial leaders last week called on Trudeau to have a sit-down and personally come to an agreement to increase provincial healthcare funding— something that premiers have been adamant about for over a year.
Trudeau, for his part, declined to meet with premiers, instead insisting that he communicates with them on a regular basis regarding healthcare. “I don’t think people care whether or not we sit down together. I think people care whether or not we can start fixing our health-care system, and that’s what I’m focused on,”Trudeau exclaimed.
Singh said that although the confidence-and-supply agreement is comprised of “flexible” language regarding healthcare, the federal government isn’t showing a sign of urgency on the matter. “This is not just about health-care transfers. This is about an immediate crisis that requires immediate action and a prime minister to step up and show that leadership.”
Information for this briefing was found via CBC News and the sources mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
