Singh lays out NDP’s first steps in Parliament, vows hard work in Quebec
OTTAWA — NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says his party’s first act when Parliament returns will be to introduce a private member’s bill to create a universal pharmacare system.
The New Democrats campaigned on creating a single-payer system where the government covers the costs of prescription drugs, but want to spend more — and more quickly — than the Liberal pharmacare plan proposes.
Singh is hoping to use any leverage his party might have with the minority Liberals to deliver a program that he says has widespread support from Canadians.
Speaking after a caucus meeting today, Singh says he will also ask Trudeau’s government to drop an appeal of a human rights tribunal ruling that ordered the government to pay what could be billions in compensation to Indigenous children and families hurt by the child welfare system.