The opposition hasn’t even had a chance to introduce a long-awaited non-confidence motion and already there are clear signals that the Parti Québécois is prepared to prop up the flagging Liberal government.But it comes at a cost.Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet has said he wants the government to increase pensions for all seniors over the age of 65. The party has a private member's bill before Parliament to do just that.That’s on top of a 10% boost the Liberals have previously enacted for seniors over the age of 75..According to the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO), the Bloc proposal would cost an additional $16.5 billion over five years at a time when the Liberals are struggling to reign in the debt while increasing military spending to meet NATO targets.But it appears to be a price Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is prepared to pay to keep his hold on power.And because money bills by definition are confidence votes, it involves a bit of procedural wrangling on the part of the government in order to get the bill before the Commons.Meanwhile, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre announced plans to table his own motion of non-confidence next Tuesday, to be followed by a vote the day after.The motion will simply read: "The House has no confidence in the prime minister and the government."“We need a carbon tax election so Canadians can vote to axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget and stop the crime with a common-sense Conservative government,” Poilievre told reporters Wednesday in Ottawa."The decision will be up to Jagmeet Singh and the NDP. Don't wait for the Bloc Québécois to bail you out — announce your position on this motion to trigger a carbon tax election now.".For his part, Singh has been non-committal on whether the NDP will support the motion after ripping up his party’s supply and confidence deal with the Liberals earlier this month.Instead, he vowed to consider such motions on a “case-by-case” basis.But even though the ruling party doesn’t need his support if it has the Bloc, Liberal House leader Karina Gould said this “tenuous situation” is Singh's fault for reneging on the deal."If he cares about climate change, if he cares about pharmacare, if he cares about dental care, if he cares about continuing to advance a progressive agenda for Canadians, he's going to have to demonstrate that to Canadians next week," Gould said."For Mr. Singh in particular, it's now going to be on his shoulders as to whether, yet again, another week, he does exactly what Mr. Poilievre asks or he stands up for the things Canadians care about."
The opposition hasn’t even had a chance to introduce a long-awaited non-confidence motion and already there are clear signals that the Parti Québécois is prepared to prop up the flagging Liberal government.But it comes at a cost.Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet has said he wants the government to increase pensions for all seniors over the age of 65. The party has a private member's bill before Parliament to do just that.That’s on top of a 10% boost the Liberals have previously enacted for seniors over the age of 75..According to the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO), the Bloc proposal would cost an additional $16.5 billion over five years at a time when the Liberals are struggling to reign in the debt while increasing military spending to meet NATO targets.But it appears to be a price Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is prepared to pay to keep his hold on power.And because money bills by definition are confidence votes, it involves a bit of procedural wrangling on the part of the government in order to get the bill before the Commons.Meanwhile, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre announced plans to table his own motion of non-confidence next Tuesday, to be followed by a vote the day after.The motion will simply read: "The House has no confidence in the prime minister and the government."“We need a carbon tax election so Canadians can vote to axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget and stop the crime with a common-sense Conservative government,” Poilievre told reporters Wednesday in Ottawa."The decision will be up to Jagmeet Singh and the NDP. Don't wait for the Bloc Québécois to bail you out — announce your position on this motion to trigger a carbon tax election now.".For his part, Singh has been non-committal on whether the NDP will support the motion after ripping up his party’s supply and confidence deal with the Liberals earlier this month.Instead, he vowed to consider such motions on a “case-by-case” basis.But even though the ruling party doesn’t need his support if it has the Bloc, Liberal House leader Karina Gould said this “tenuous situation” is Singh's fault for reneging on the deal."If he cares about climate change, if he cares about pharmacare, if he cares about dental care, if he cares about continuing to advance a progressive agenda for Canadians, he's going to have to demonstrate that to Canadians next week," Gould said."For Mr. Singh in particular, it's now going to be on his shoulders as to whether, yet again, another week, he does exactly what Mr. Poilievre asks or he stands up for the things Canadians care about."
