“The tone of this is to get down to business, get the job done and deliver for Canadians these big things that they expect from us and are also our priorities,” a senior government official told CBC News. “We have those commitments and we will keep them.” Keeping those commitments once Parliament reconvenes on Sept. 19 will involve balancing the priorities of both Liberal backbenchers and the party’s NDP parliamentary partners. Earlier this year, the Liberals and New Democrats struck a deal committing the NDP to vote with the minority Liberal government in the House of Commons on confidence votes by June 2025, in exchange for the government meeting certain benchmarks along the way. The New Democrats say at least two of those pledges must be met before the Christmas break if the Liberals want the deal to remain intact. The NDP wants to see the first stage of a universal dental care plan rolled out, which would initially cover families with children under 12 who earn a family income of less than $90,000. The party also wants a one-time top-up to bring the Canada Housing Benefit up to $500 and says it wants that increase rolled over in the coming years if cost-of-living challenges persist. The Canada Housing Benefit, developed by the federal government and the provinces, launched in 2020 with $4 billion in shared funding over eight years. The benefit is intended to provide immediate financial support to Canadians struggling with housing needs. An NDP official speaking previously said up to two million Canadians could benefit from means-tested payments, with the federal government committing $475 million in the budget for the initiative.
A floor, not a ceiling
The agreement between the NDP and the Liberals set the end of this year as the deadline for both initiatives. The New Democrats say that, so far, it looks like those pledges will be met on time. “On both of those items, we’re very close to where we want to get to in the negotiations,” a senior NDP official told CBC News. “I’m sure we’ll have something to say to the media by the end of the month.” The NDP sees the first phase dental care commitment as only a first step. If the Liberals want their deal with the NDP to remain in place, New Democrats say, they must extend dental care to under-18s, seniors and people with disabilities by the end of 2023, before the program is fully implemented until 2025. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visits St Boniface University in Winnipeg. His cabinet is in retreat over the next three days. (The Canadian Press/John Woods) The NDP says those two pledges are a floor, not a ceiling, and will use opposition days, in-person meetings and members’ bills to push for other measures this fall to help Canadians deal with the rising cost of living. Among those initiatives, the party says, will be a push to help families with one-time boosts to the GST rebate and Canada Child Benefit, a call for more funding to transition workers into green jobs and a call for further action for the climate. .
Helping Canadians cope with inflation
While it’s unclear what approaches the Liberal cabinet might discuss beyond boosting the housing benefit, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said last week that his government is always looking for ways to ease the burden of inflation. “We have historically low unemployment right now, a lot of people have jobs, but there are still real challenges and we will continue to do what is necessary to support vulnerable Canadians as we go forward,” Trudeau said. The prime minister added that, whatever his government does to tackle the cost of living, “it will be careful not to do things that will accelerate or worsen the inflationary crisis we are facing”. A proposal in the NDP/Liberal accord would refocus the Rental Construction Financing Initiative (RCFI) on affordable units. RCFI is a government program that provides low-cost financing to developers to help them build rental units in areas where supply is low. The government official said Canadians should expect some British Columbia-focused housing and cost-of-living announcements before, during and after the caucuses retreat.
Building a green future
In the media release announcing the cabinet retreat, the PMO said ministers will also discuss how the government can build “a green, healthy future for all”. The government official said this discussion will be extended to all ministries as the government tries to ensure that there are well-paid jobs in both the electric vehicle and oil industries. The New Democrats said they are meeting with oilpatch workers who fear for their children’s financial future as the economy moves away from fossil fuels. The NDP said that while it will continue to push the Liberal government to act in this area, it will not threaten the deal — even though there are some 2022 timelines that require action in the text of the deal. The deal requires the Liberals to “move forward” with the creation of a Clean Jobs Training Center to support, retrain and reassign workers by this year, but the text of the deal is not specific about what needs to happen for the deal to survive. agreement.
