(Hamilton) The New Democrats will not settle for half-measures to establish a drug insurance program, even if it means tearing up their agreement with the Liberals. Their leader Jagmeet Singh and his caucus left the New Democratic Party (NDP) convention on Sunday with a resolution passed unanimously the day before for the Liberal bill to lay the groundwork for a “universal, comprehensive and entirely public” program. “.
This is a show of force, according to NDP national director Anne McGrath, even if this resolution is not binding.
“It’s like when you’re in a union and you get a strong strike mandate, it gives you a better balance of power,” she compared.
The Liberals will therefore have no choice but to take into account the wishes of NDP members to continue to operate Parliament, argues the party’s deputy leader, Alexandre Boulerice.
We are going to put them up against the wall and they will have a choice to make, either they respect the agreement that they themselves signed or they tell us that they no longer need us and, in this case – there, they will work things out.
Alexandre Boulerice, deputy leader of the NDP
The Liberals promised to table a bill to create a drug insurance program this fall, but the New Democrats rejected a first version deemed unsatisfactory. “They are running away,” denounced the party’s health spokesperson, Don Davies, when the resolution was debated on Saturday.
The cost of such a program would amount to 13.4 billion after five years and the savings it would generate would amount to 2.2 billion since it would make it possible to obtain a better price for drugs, according to the most recent update. day of the Parliamentary Budget Officer.
The NDP is opposed to a system intended only for people who do not already have private drug insurance because it would not allow a wholesale price to be negotiated.
“The Liberals will have to decide if they want to take the side of pharmaceutical companies and their profits or if they want to take the side of Canadian patients who pay the third highest price in the world,” said the MP in an interview.
“The reality is that the Liberals only act when the New Democrats force them,” Jagmeet Singh repeated in his speech Saturday, recalling the legacy of Tommy Douglas, the first leader of the NDP. “That’s how we got health insurance and that’s how we will win drug insurance.” »
Poilievre targeted
The victories of the New Democrats across the country were highlighted, starting with that of Wab Kinew against the Progressive Conservatives in Manitoba. The New Democratic leader recently made history by becoming the first Indigenous person from a First Nation elected premier of a province.
“Across the country, New Democrats are fighting against the Conservatives and winning,” exclaimed Mr. Singh, triggering a round of applause.
One of these gains is the Doug Ford government’s rollback on the construction of residences in the Greenbelt, 800,000 hectares of land supposed to be protected from urban sprawl. The RCMP recently opened an investigation into the actions of the Progressive Conservative government.
“If you think Pierre Poilievre is different? No chance,” said Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles in her speech.
Attacks against the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada continued throughout the weekend. Jagmeet Singh presented him as a member of the elite, disconnected from the reality of Mr. and M.me Everyone. “He wants to cut the dental care program when he himself has had coverage paid for by the public for 20 years,” he exclaimed.
The New Democrats intend to confront the Conservative leader with his record in Stephen Harper’s cabinet, recalling his positions against workers’ rights and the cuts made by the government at the time.
Delegates excluded
The congress was, however, overshadowed by the withdrawal of the accreditations of four delegates after the disruption caused by a pro-Palestinian demonstration on Saturday. Among them, the president of the NDP socialist caucus, Barry Weisleder, who calls for sanctions against Israel and an end to the agreement with the Liberals.
He had to set up his table with his flyers outside in front of the Hamilton Convention Centre. Security agents refused him access on Sunday. “They don’t tolerate political differences very well,” said the longtime activist.
Was the party’s anti-harassment policy used to muzzle dissidents? “People felt as if they were not safe,” defended Anne McGrath, who made the decision to exclude them. Many people were upset that people were protesting loudly in the lobby. »
The disruptions failed to convince delegates to take a tougher stance against Israel. The emergency resolution adopted almost unanimously on Saturday condemns both “all acts of anti-Semitism and anti-Palestinian hatred”.