A group of NDP supporters is calling on party leader Jagmeet Singh to vote down what they describe as the worst government in Canadian history.
A petition with more than 500 signatures is being presented to NDP MPs asking them to table it in the House of Commons.
The petition, organized by former party staffers from the Tom Mulcair and Jack Layton era, including Julien Newman, calls on the NDP to withdraw support for the Trudeau government.
Addressed to Jagmeet Singh, the petition states that:
The Liberal Party’s Government is considered to be one of the worst in Canada’s history;
Canada is now facing a dire potential trade war with the United States;
The Liberal Party’s Government is in disarray and cannot represent Canada;
We ask that you withdraw your support for the Liberal Party’s Government.
So far, Newman says that more than 500 people with ties to the NDP have signed the petition.
Will it make a difference?
It’s hard to say, Singh now says he will vote non-confidence in the Trudeau government, but he “ripped up” his coalition deal with Trudeau in September and then voted to support the Liberals eight times between September and December. Then, on Dec. 20, after the House had already shut down for their Christmas break, Singh released his “Letter to Canadians” saying he wanted to bring down the government.
“Justin Trudeau failed in the biggest job a Prime Minister has: to work for people, not the powerful. To focus on Canadians, not themselves,” Singh wrote. “We will put forward a clear motion of non-confidence in the next sitting of the House of Commons.”
It’s a bit rich for Singh to state on Dec. 20 that he’s ready to bring down the Trudeau government just days after he had voted to keep them in power. It’s also rich for Singh to put out that statement at a time when the House of Commons won’t be meeting for more than a month.
In response to questions about the petition, Singh’s office referred to his Dec. 20 statement and recommitted to voting down the Trudeau government, including by supporting a non-confidence motion from the Conservatives. Despite those words and assurances, Newman isn’t buying it.
“If Jagmeet meant what he said, the Liberals would no longer be in Government,” Newman said.
Newman makes a fair point; Singh has made claim after claim about the failings of the Trudeau government while supporting them time and again. It wouldn’t be out of character for Singh to find a reason, any reason, to support the Trudeau Liberals once again.
The Conservatives are attempting to bring in a non-confidence motion through a special meeting of the Commons Public Accounts Committee. If they can get a motion through the committee next week, it would put a motion of non-confidence before the House on Jan. 27 with a vote on Jan. 30.
The NDP have said they will back that effort while also questioning whether such a move is legitimate.
In 2005, the majority of MPs voted to amend a committee report that was being tabled in the Commons by adding a non-confidence to it. Despite passing, the Martin government ignored the vote claiming it was illegitimate.
This motion would be much more straightforward. It would see the committee declare they have lost confidence in the government followed by a full vote in the House.
It would be hard for the government to claim they hold the confidence of the Commons if both votes pass.
Still, to get to that point, we need the NDP to follow through on their threats to bring the government down. This petition circulating among NDP faithful shows that some party supporters have lost faith in Singh, given how often he fails to follow through.