'I will not listen to you': Singh hits back at Poilievre ahead of return to House – DiscoverMooseJaw.com

Ahead of the return of the House of Commons next week, the battle between Pierre Poilievre and Jagmeet Singh is heating up as the Conservatives challenge the NDP to help them bring down the government.

Singh said Wednesday he would not seek advice from Poilievre and dodged questions about whether the NDP would vote for a no-confidence motion, as Poilievre had urged.

“I tell Pierre Poilievre directly: I will not listen to you,” Singh said, accusing Poilievre of wanting to take away Canadians' health insurance for dental treatment, among other things.

“I will not listen to your advice. You want to destroy people's lives, I want to build a better future.”

Poilievre had earlier promised the same day that he would table a motion of no confidence in the Liberal government in the House of Commons “at the earliest possible opportunity” – and directly called on Singh to vote with him.

“I call on Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to make a clear commitment before Monday's by-election: Will they call a vote of no confidence to bring down the costly coalition and create a carbon tax election, or will Jagmeet Singh betray Canadians again?” Poilievre said.

“For the NDP, it's either keeping quiet or not letting up.”

A motion of no confidence would likely trigger a general election if the majority of MPs voted in favour. The autumn session of Parliament begins on 16 September, which will be the first opportunity for the Conservatives to table such a motion.

While Singh dismissed the idea of ​​ever listening to Poilievre, he did not say for sure how the NDP would vote.

“I have said at every vote that we will look at the result and then make our decision. I will not announce our decision in advance,” he said.

Singh's top adviser said Tuesday that the NDP leader was not particularly keen on calling a new election.

Anne McGrath, Singh's principal secretary, said there would be more volatility in Parliament and the likelihood of an early election had increased.

“I don't think he can't wait to bring one to market or that he can't wait to have one, but it can happen,” she said in an interview.

New Democrat MPs are in Montreal for the second day to work out a plan for how to proceed in the minority parliament. The assembly session comes a week after Singh announced that the party had pulled out of the supply and confidence agreement with the ruling Liberals.

The election will take place in the very city where the New Democrats are hoping to win a seat on Monday, when voters go to the polls in Montreal's LaSalle—Émard—Verdun district. A second by-election will be held the same day in Winnipeg's Elmwood—Transcona district, where the NDP hopes to defend a seat against strong competition from the Conservatives.

Now that the NDP has abandoned its deal with the Liberals, Singh hopes to convince Canadians that his party can defeat the federal Conservatives in the next federal election.

Singh attacked Poilievre as someone who would again cut programs important to Canadians, such as the national dental care program that was part of the Care and Confidence Agreement, bringing a representative of the Harper movement into the picture.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made similar arguments at his own Liberal caucus meeting in British Columbia on Wednesday, suggesting that he sees the next election as a choice between his government, which invests in the people of Canada, and the Conservatives, who he believes would cut programs.

The Canadian Press asked Poilievre's office whether the Conservative leader plans to keep the dental care program if he forms a government after the next election. The question was not answered.

Instead, Conservative health critic Stephen Ellis said in a statement that the government had “botched” the program.

“Although the vast majority of Canadians do not even qualify for this program, those who do may have to pay the cost out of pocket, despite Trudeau's claims,” ​​Ellis said, adding that a Conservative government would curb “inflationary waste” so families could afford dental care.

Health Minister Mark Holland announced on Monday that nearly 650,000 people have taken advantage of the dental care program so far and four-fifths of all dentists are participating.

On Wednesday, Singh announced that the NDP would introduce a MP's bill that would prohibit companies from buying up social housing where rent is no more than 30 percent of a household's gross income.

The NDP is also keeping an eye on how other parties plan to capitalize on the new composition of the House of Commons.

The Bloc Québécois has already indicated that it has drawn up a list of demands for the Liberals in exchange for their support in the electoral vote.

The next federal election must take place no later than October 2025.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published September 11, 2024.