NDP leader Jagmeet Singh suggested that the cozy NDP-Liberal coalition could be broken unless the Liberals fix health care.
“If we don’t see action on health care, we absolutely reserve the right to withdraw our support,” Singh said Monday, as reported by the Canadian Press.
“This is at the level of seriousness that we could make that serious consideration. We need to see action.”
In March, Singh and the Liberals forged a Supply and Confidence Agreement. The agreement is set to last for three years or until 2025.
The NDP promised to protect the Liberals from confidence votes and support the Liberals’ fiscal policies.
In exchange, the Liberals promised to take action on NDP policies like climate change, affordable housing, childcare and health care.
Singh now says the agreement will be scrapped unless the federal government acts quickly on improvements to Canada’s health care system.
Singh called Canada’s health care situation a “national crisis.” He said the long wait times in hospitals require “immediate action.”
“It is a disaster right now. Frankly, the Liberal government is failing to show leadership,” Singh told The West Block’s Mercedes Stephenson.
“The crisis we’re seeing in our country, the Red Cross being called into children’s hospitals in Ottawa, trailers being set up because of the overflow of children’s hospitals in Alberta – children dying because of the flu.”
Singh said Trudeau must meet with Canada’s premiers to figure something out. But, when pressed, Singh wouldn’t give a date for ditching the agreement.
Last week, the premiers all met virtually, without Trudeau, to discuss the state of their respective provincial health care struggles.
Ontario’s Premier Ford called out Trudeau for “running from sitting down with all the premiers.”
“Early this year, coming up, someone in January, nothing should be more important to the Prime Minister than meeting with the 13 premiers. That’s the bottom line,” Ford said.
