(Ottawa) The Liberal Party of Canada (PLC) and the New Democratic Party (NDP) have embarked on “informal” talks that would give Justin Trudeau’s minority government three years of parliamentary tranquility.
The goal: to give the Liberals the necessary support in the House of Commons to stay in power during confidence votes during the session. Behind the scenes, we do not want to advance on the parameters of the discussions led by the upper echelons of the two parties or on the chances of reaching an agreement.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh each gave their blessing to these discussions which could have implications for the balance of power in the House of Commons.
The Liberals must have the support of at least one opposition party to ensure passage of bills in the Commons.
According to our sources, the Prime Minister’s chief of staff, Katie Telford, and Mr. Singh’s chief of staff, Jennifer Howard, had discussions on this delicate political operation which would provide political stability in Ottawa for the next three years.
On average, a minority government rules the country for a period of 18 to 24 months.
Mistrust
The magazine Maclean’s first reported that these discussions were held last Friday. Press was able to confirm that these discussions were taking place with independent sources.
It was Justin Trudeau’s Liberals who started the discussions.
“There is a long way to go from the cup to the lips”, insisted on underlining a source in the NDP camp, insisting to say that there is a certain mistrust of the Liberals, who make campaign promises for better to dismiss them once in power. The reform of the voting system and the creation of national drug insurance are two examples.
According to Maclean’s, the goal of the talks is not to reach a formal coalition that would lead to the appointment of an NDP MP to cabinet, for example, but to come to an agreement that would allow the Trudeau government to advance the priorities that shares the NDP.
The Liberals want to take inspiration from the 1985 agreement in Ontario between David Peterson’s Liberals and the NDP, which was then led by Bob Rae. The agreement would be for three years and would see the NDP provide the necessary support to the Liberals to pass the annual budgets and the Speech from the Throne, in particular.
For the “stability of Parliament”
Known for supporting leftist policies within his party, Toronto-area Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith has said he unequivocally supports such a move.
“When I talk to people who are more influential than me, I say we should sort of work on a deal with the NDP,” he told Maclean’s.
“There are so many priorities that we share. […] We should establish an agreement for stability in Parliament, and ensure that we implement our common priorities over the next three years, ”he added, referring to the fight against climate change, reconciliation with the First Nations and drug insurance.
In return, the Trudeau government would commit to resuming some of the NDP’s priorities in terms of affordable housing, the fight against climate change and helping low-income families, among others.
These are informal talks. But the objective is to respect the mandate given to us by the Canadian people. And that mandate is to work with the government to achieve real results for Canadians.
An anonymous NDP source, speaking to Press
These talks are taking place just as Justin Trudeau’s government is due to draft a Speech from the Throne in which it will set out its top priorities for the new parliamentary session. The Speech from the Throne will be read in the Senate presumably on November 23 by Governor General Mary Simon.
Parliamentary work will officially resume on November 22, but the first day of the session will be devoted to the election of the Speaker of the House of Commons, as is always the case after a general election.
In the last ballot, voters essentially opted for the parliamentary status quo by giving the Liberal Party a second consecutive minority term. The Liberals won 160 seats, 10 less than the required majority. The NDP won 25 seats, while the Conservative Party won 119 seats, the Bloc Québécois 32 seats and the Green Party 2 seats.