NDP to have ‘tough conversations’ about its deal with Liberals at coming retreat: MP

The NDP’s supply-and-confidence deal with the Liberals in Ottawa will get heavy scrutiny when leader Jagmeet Singh meets with his caucus in Montreal next week — and the Liberals’ decision last month to force binding arbitration to end a work stoppage at the country’s major railroads could end up triggering the end of the pact.

Liberal House leader Karina Gould insisted last week that the deal will last until its planned end point next June.

But NDP labour critic Matthew Green said the NDP has been re-evaluating the deal since Labour Minister Steve MacKinnon directed the Canada Industrial Relations Board to impose binding arbitration less than 24 hours after Canadian Pacific Kansas City and Canadian National Railway locked out their workers after failing to reach a contract deal at the bargaining table.

Singh called it “a line in the sand that was crossed.”

It’s now clear the future of the agreement will be front and centre when NDP members of Parliament meet in Montreal to plan their fall strategy before the House of Commons resumes on Sept. 16.

“When it comes to our caucus retreat there’s going to be some tough conversations around the table about the future of that agreement and about the needs of Canadians in a move-forward basis,” Green said in an interview with The Canadian Press.

Green said that as Canada’s only labour party, the NDP has a responsibility to take “bold steps” to ensure there’s support for workers and their families, and others who are “struggling in this economy.”

“Everything is on the table,” he said. “And I would aggressively say everything is on the table.”

Singh and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau forged the confidence-and-supply agreement more than two years ago. The New Democrats agreed to keep the minority Liberal government in power until June of next year in exchange for movement on key priorities.

Many of the affordability measures the Liberals have brought in over recent years — including dental-care benefits, one-time rental supplements for low-income tenants and a temporary doubling of the GST rebate — were NDP priorities.

New Democrats have also used the deal to push forward items such as pharmacare and a ban on replacement workers during a strike or lockout at federally regulated workplaces.

The two parties also negotiated a housing accelerator fund that allocated billions of…