The day after the Liberals and NDP announced they’ve entered into a three-year deal to keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government in power in exchange for policy action on a suite of progressive issues, the major dynamic shift in the domestic political landscape is still the preoccupying focus for many on Parliament Hill.
The NDP are already starting to articulate how they’d like elements of the agreement to be enacted, the Liberals are touting the move as important for “stability” in a time without much of it globally, and the Conservatives continue to rail against the move as undemocratic, while expressing optimism over the window of opportunity it may provide their party.All party caucuses had meetings on Wednesday morning—a regular weekly occurrence on the Hill—and as MPs made their way in and out of these meetings, reporters dug into some of the current questions surrounding the deal. From what it’ll mean for each party’s long-term positioning to how realistic is it that the agreement will bring considerable change in the short-term, here’s what federal elected officials had to say.
THE LIBERALS
For the Liberals, the deal injects years of predictability—not having to find alliances on every confidence vote—but could also come with political risk that they alienate their more centrist supporters by progressing a left-leaning agenda. Will the agreement pay off by allowing Trudeau to hit a decade in power and secure some legacy items? Or will it backfire and open up ground for their opponents? And what does it mean for future leadership hopefuls?
Amid these big questions, multiple cabinet ministers and MPs referenced how they feel the deal is important for federal stability and responds to precisely what voters asked for in the 2021 election: cross-party co-operation.
“I am all for stability and certainty. One thing I’ve learned in this racket is that we’re all human beings. We only have so much time in a day. The more time you spend on what my grandmother used to call ‘old foolishness,’ you know, the less time you’re actually governing and moving policy forward. So I’m delighted for stability,” said Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan. “We as a country need stability while we’re facing many crises, definitely a war in Europe as well as the pandemic, so this is the time to make sure that we continue to deliver for Canadians while dealing with unprecedented challenges,” Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said.
Asked whether she thinks it will be difficult to sell the deal to more fiscally conservative Liberal voters, Joly didn’t directly answer, but went on to say that based on the Conservative Party’s current positioning, “clearly, you know, they’re not about occupying the centre right now.”……
Source: ucanwest.ca