Canadian Politics

[the watcher]

Just now, JCon said:

NDP can pull out at any time. Think about this as a map for co-operation. If they can't co-operate, it breaks down. 

At least they can try to move dental care forward. I don't see pharmacare working out. 

Like I said, I'm not sure yet. I mean cooperation is usually a good thing.  But it makes me nervous. I also need to see more details about it. As they say, the devils in the details

[JCon]

Just now, the watcher said:

Like I said, I'm not sure yet. I mean cooperation is usually a good thing.  But it makes me nervous. I also need to see more details about it. As they say, the devils in the details

True enough but they've co-operated during the entire minority gov't. 

It's about time this gov't got to work passing bills and establishing a foreign policy. 

It's not sexy but it needs doing. 

[Wideleft]

Fort Whyte bye-election today.  I am reasonably pessimistic that a centre/left split will see Khan getting elected.  I would really like to see the Liberals getting official party status.  Lamont is solid in the Legislature and I'd like to hear more from him.

Edited March 22, 2022 by Wideleft

[Noeller]

I personally love it. A true collaboration of the NDP and Libs is exactly what I'd like to see in a Canadian government. 

[JCon]

1 minute ago, Wideleft said:

Fort Whyte bye-election today.  I am reasonably pessimistic that a centre/left split will see Khan getting elected.

Worse case scenario for the NDP is the Libs winning. 

[WildPath]

7 minutes ago, JCon said:

Worse case scenario for the NDP is the Libs winning. 

Say more. You mean in terms of likelihood to split the vote in other ridings if the Liberals establish themselves more?

[JCon]

8 minutes ago, WildPath said:

Say more. You mean in terms of likelihood to split the vote in other ridings if the Liberals establish themselves more?

Exactly. And, Liberals get official party status, which means mo' money, mo' problems for the NDP. 

The NDP don't need to win the PC vote to win, they need to convince Liberal voters that it's in their best interest to vote for them.

Edited March 22, 2022 by JCon

[FrostyWinnipeg]

Not surprised. Polling is not strong for Libs and the NDP probably cant afford an election anytime soon.

[JCon]

2 minutes ago, FrostyWinnipeg said:

Not surprised. Polling is not strong for Libs and the NDP probably cant afford an election anytime soon.

There is no change in polling.

The NDP can't afford an election. The CPC can't afford an election and don't even have a leader. The Liberals definitely don't want one. And, well, there's the Bloc who always want an election. 

Edited March 22, 2022 by JCon

[WildPath]

5 minutes ago, JCon said:

Exactly. And, Liberals get official party status, which means mo' money, mo' problems for the NDP. 

The NDP don't need to win the PC vote to win, they need to convince Liberal voters that it's in their best interest to vote for them.

Yeah, the vote splitting would suck, but having a legit third party and less majority governments would be so much better for Manitobans. The way the PCs have behaved the last few years with no way to reign them in is disgusting. The way they tabled the hidden bills and just tried to push through extremely unpopular legislation was undemocratic.

NDP have also had issues with majority governments.

[blue_gold_84]

The official statement from the PMO: https://pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2022/03/22/delivering-canadians-now

Quote

The Parties agree to prioritize the following actions, while continuing to work on other possible shared priorities through the oversight group.

1. A better healthcare system

• Launching a new dental care program for low-income Canadians. Would start with under 12-year-olds in 2022, then expand to under 18-year-olds, seniors and persons living with a disability in 2023, then full implementation by 2025. Program would be restricted to families with an income of less than $90,000 annually, with no co-pays for anyone under $70,000 annually in income.
• Continuing progress towards a universal national pharmacare program by passing a Canada Pharmacare Act by the end of 2023 and then tasking the National Drug Agency to develop a national formulary of essential medicines and bulk purchasing plan by the end of the agreement. 
• Recognizing that health systems have been stretched because of COVID, the parties realize that additional ongoing investments will be needed in the immediate future to address these pressures. We will work with the provinces and territories to determine how together we can deliver better health outcomes for Canadians, including more primary care doctors and nurses, mental health support, aging at home, and better data.
• Tabling a Safe Long-Term Care Act to ensure that seniors are guaranteed the care they deserve, no matter where they live.

2. Making life more affordable for people

• Extending the Rapid Housing Initiative for an additional year.
• Re-focusing the Rental Construction Financing Initiative on affordable units (under 80% AMR) and use 80% AMR or below as definition of affordable housing.
• Moving forward on launching a Housing Accelerator Fund.        
• Implementing a Homebuyer’s Bill of Rights and tackling the financialization of the housing market by the end of 2023.  
• Including a $500 one-time top-up to Canada Housing Benefit in 2022 which would be renewed in coming years if cost of living challenges remain.
• Through introducing an Early Learning and Child Care Act by the end of 2022, ensuring that childcare agreements have long-term protected funding that prioritizes non-profit and public spaces, to deliver high quality, affordable child care opportunities for families.

3. Tackling the climate crisis and creating good paying jobs

• Advancing measures to achieve significant emissions reductions by 2030 compared to 2005 levels. Continuing to identify ways to further accelerate the trajectory to achieve net-zero emissions no later than 2050.
• Moving forward in 2022 on the creation of the Clean Jobs Training Centre to support workers retention, redeployment and training.
• Moving forward with Just Transition legislation, guided by the feedback we receive from workers, unions, Indigenous peoples, communities, and provinces and territories.
• Developing a plan to phase-out public financing of the fossil fuel sector, including from Crown corporations, including early moves in 2022.
• Moving forward in 2022 on home energy efficiency programs that both enhance energy affordability for Canadians and reduce emissions, with investments to support multiple streams including low-income and multi-unit residential apartments. We will also ensure that this funding includes support for creating Canadian supply chains for this work to ensure the jobs stay in Canada and that we create the skills to export these valuable energy efficiency products around the world.

4. A better deal for workers

• Ensuring that the 10 days of paid sick leave for all federally regulated workers starts as soon as possible in 2022.
• Introducing legislation by the end of 2023 to prohibit the use of replacement workers, “scabs,” when a union employer in a federally regulated industry has locked out employees or is in a strike.

5. Reconciliation

• Making a significant additional investment in Indigenous housing in 2022. It will be up to First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities to determine how housing investments are designed and delivered.
• Accelerating the implementation of the Federal Pathway to Address Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People with Indigenous partners.
• Creating a standing Federal-Provincial-Territorial table on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People to facilitate and coordinate this work.
• Providing the necessary supports for First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities who wish to continue to undertake the work of burial searches at the former sites of residential schools.

6. A fairer tax system

• Moving forward in the near term on tax changes on financial institutions who have made strong profits during the pandemic.
• Implementing a publicly accessible beneficial ownership registry by the end of 2023.

7. Making democracy work for people

• Recognizing our shared commitment to maintaining the health of our democracy and the need to remove barriers to voting and participation, we will work with Elections Canada to explore ways to expand the ability for people to vote, such as:
  • An expanded “Election Day” of three days of voting.
  • Allowing people to vote at any polling place within their Electoral District.
  • Improving the process of mail-in ballots to ensure that voters who choose this method of voting are not disenfranchised.
  • We commit to ensuring that Quebec’s number of seats in the House of Commons remains constant.

 

[JCon]

7 minutes ago, WildPath said:

Yeah, the vote splitting would suck, but having a legit third party and less majority governments would be so much better for Manitobans. The way the PCs have behaved the last few years with no way to reign them in is disgusting. The way they tabled the hidden bills and just tried to push through extremely unpopular legislation was undemocratic.

NDP have also had issues with majority governments.

I don't see how splitting the centre and centre-left vote helps hold the PCs accountable. 

When's the last time the Liberals were relevant outside of Winnipeg? They have a few winnable seats in the city but not many. 

[blue_gold_84]

Anyone else at least mildly entertained by the childish meltdowns of Murphy Brownshirt et al. on the conservative side in response to this agreement between the LPC and NDP?

And true to form. she recklessly intentionally uses words dogwhistles like socialist and leftist in her vitriolic rhetoric.

[Noeller]

disappointed that it's not a true universal dental care program. Only for "low income" and not for everyone. Meh. Would have liked to have seen that made truly universal, but whatever. Cheaper this way, I suppose...not many households fall under the limits listed.

[WildPath]

28 minutes ago, JCon said:

I don't see how splitting the centre and centre-left vote helps hold the PCs accountable. 

When's the last time the Liberals were relevant outside of Winnipeg? They have a few winnable seats in the city but not many. 

Even NDP is hardly relevant outside of Winnipeg and the north. A legit third party holds any government accountable. They can't push through policies without having consensus. We are seeing what that means on the federal level right now.

If the provincial PCs needed to play nice with another party we would have seen a much different government the past few years.

On the other hand, I agree, vote splitting could majorly suck with a third party that is left of centre and potentially rolls out the red carpet for an incredibly unpopular PC party. That would mean they could cozy up even closer to their rural right wing base than they already have. I would argue that on many platforms the provincial liberals are even more left-leaning/progressive than the NDP. It seems like a lot of provincial voting goes by voting against a party that horrifies you and that really sucks.

[GCn20]

1 hour ago, Wideleft said:

Fort Whyte bye-election today.  I am reasonably pessimistic that a centre/left split will see Khan getting elected.  I would really like to see the Liberals getting official party status.  Lamont is solid in the Legislature and I'd like to hear more from him.

If the Liberals win the seat both they and the CONs come out ahead. Yes, the CONs lose the seat and short term it is bad but a strong Liberal party only favors them in the long run. That being said I suspect that Obby will win comfortably. The NDP has the most to lose today if they don't win the seat.

I agree that a strong third party would be beneficial to Manitoba.

Edited March 22, 2022 by GCn20

[JCon]

3 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

If the Liberals win the seat both they and the CONs come out ahead. Yes, the CONs lose the seat and short term it is bad but a strong Liberal party only favors them in the long run. That being said I suspect that Obby will win comfortably. The NDP has the most to lose today if they don't win the seat.

I agree that a strong third party would be beneficial to Manitoba.

NDP only lose if the Libs win. Nothing changes, otherwise. 

[Tracker]

1 hour ago, the watcher said:

As someone who supported the NDP in the last 2 elections and has a dislike for our current PM, I don't know what to think of this. It's not a true coalition. The NDP will have no members in positions of control and power. They will also be giving up their biggest stick, the threat or ability to bring down the current government in non- confidence votes. A  government that has been prone to scandals and ethics issues. On the plus side possibly they get some programs that have been long time NDP goals. But those programs will be held up as Liberal trophys which may affect hopes for more gains for the NDP next election. For those who think this is wonderful think about the future if you get a Conservative gov doing the same. It might benefit the Libs and NDP right now but there are alot of  unseen ,possible ramifications for the future. One of the reasons I 've always liked minority governments is that threat of non confidence puts a leash on them. Like I said, I'm not sure what to make of this.

Singh got pretty much everything on the NDP platform last election, so a win for them. Liberals get a chance to fumble through another term and try to resurrect their fortunes and favour in voters' eyes. Some of the best legislations have gotten through when the Liberals were in a minority government.

[17to85]

36 minutes ago, Noeller said:

disappointed that it's not a true universal dental care program. Only for "low income" and not for everyone. Meh. Would have liked to have seen that made truly universal, but whatever. Cheaper this way, I suppose...not many households fall under the limits listed.

Babysteps 

Edited March 22, 2022 by 17to85

[Tracker]

7 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

If the Liberals win the seat both they and the CONs come out ahead. Yes, the CONs lose the seat and short term it is bad but a strong Liberal party only favors them in the long run. That being said I suspect that Obby will win comfortably. The NDP has the most to lose today if they don't win the seat.

I agree that a strong third party would be beneficial to Manitoba.

I am not sure this is a bellweather byelection for all three parties concerned. Obby shot himself in the foot with his incredibly thoughtless and lame "shoulda, coulda, woulda" comment. Otherwise, he would have been a credible candidate. The riding has been non-NDP both federal and provincial for quite a while, so a Liberal win is the likeliest outcome.  And maybe the most desirable. The PCs will soothe themselves with the thought that at least it didn't go to the NDP, but I can foresee the PCs suffering a massive defeat in the next election, much as the Devine administration did in Saskatchewan.

[Mark F]

If there is a way to do it.... the Federal government should stop Ford/Conservative effort to divert public money into private hospitals.
 

And other attempts to get two tier healthcare.

Edited March 22, 2022 by Mark F

[Bigblue204]

the fake outrage and "Otoole was right" **** birds are incredibly annoying right now. They very clearly know their audience though, I'll give them that. 

[JCon]

13 minutes ago, Mark F said:

If there is a way to do it.... the Federal government should stop Ford/Conservative effort to divert public money into private hospitals.
 

And other attempts to get two tier healthcare.

There is a way to do it but it wouldn't be politically savvy to do so. Hold up transfer payments and see who blinks first? Only the public would feel the effects, not the politicians. 

They need to work it through the health transfer (CHT) agreement. 

[rebusrankin]

1 hour ago, Tracker said:

Singh got pretty much everything on the NDP platform last election, so a win for them. Liberals get a chance to fumble through another term and try to resurrect their fortunes and favour in voters' eyes. Some of the best legislations have gotten through when the Liberals were in a minority government.

Pearson from 63-68. One of the best governments ever. Brought us Auto Free Trade, CPP, Canada Flag and eventually Medicare (although believe PET had taken over by then).

[GCn20]

2 hours ago, JCon said:

NDP only lose if the Libs win. Nothing changes, otherwise. 

If nothing changes that is a loss for the NDP as well. Things changing for the Liberals is a worse loss. Unless the NDP win the seat this will be a bad day for them. 

2 hours ago, Mark F said:

If there is a way to do it.... the Federal government should stop Ford/Conservative effort to divert public money into private hospitals.
 

And other attempts to get two tier healthcare.

It is not the federal governments jurisdiction and it would be a politically boneheaded thing to do.