NDP caucus will use every tool possible to deliver relief this fall

As New Democrats wind down their summer of door knocking and hearing from constituents, the NDP caucus is gearing up to head back to Ottawa to fight for everyday Canadians this fall. After decades of Liberals and Conservatives writing the rules for the ultra rich, regular Canadians deserve for the scales to be tipped in their favour. Over the summer, we heard from people that grocery prices are weighing heavily on their budgets. They know they’re being gouged by the big grocery chains, and that the Liberal government has done nothing to stop it. They’re frustrated that their rent is so expensive, and instead of fixing it, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is using their tax dollars to reward billionaires for building luxury homes regular people can’t afford. Canadians have been badly let down by Trudeau’s Liberals. They’re done with the government that has spent nine years making life harder for them. NDP House Leader Peter Julian is the MP for New Westminster-Burnaby, B.C. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade But folks are also deeply worried that the Conservatives will take things from bad to worse, making them pay for health care, and cutting their hard-earned pensions to fund more handouts to large corporations. It is why the New Democrats will work this fall to go after corporate greed and the politicians that fuel it—and finally give working families a chance to not just catch up, but also to get ahead. Our goal is relief for Canadians. Last spring, Leader Jagmeet Singh and the NDP forced the government to finally launch the NDP’s dental care plan. Already, 2.3 million Canadians have joined the NDP dental care plan. This fall, the caucus will be holding Trudeau’s feet to the fire over his bungled implementation of the plan, and making sure every Canadian who is eligible for the dental care program gets the care they need, when they need it. When fully implemented, millions of Canadians will save thousands of dollars through dental care. Last spring, the NDP also laid the foundations of a long-needed national pharmacare program. The Liberals were brought to this point only by NDP pressure, as the Liberal government seemed to be fighting back against the idea of universal prescription drug coverage. Our work is far from over. We need to get pharmacare up and running, starting with birth control and diabetes medications, and then expanding to other drugs. There’s no doubt in our minds Trudeau will continue to push back, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre will continue to oppose free medicine for Canadians, and the NDP will keep fighting until the job is done. Canadians take care of each other—it's just who we are. That’s why, on top of our dental care and pharmacare victories for Canadians, we also secured funding for Indigenous housing, and more. We’re horrified that Poilievre wants to do less of that. Conservative cuts are the greatest threat Canadians face to getting the kind of relief they need to build a good life. They want to take dental care away from seniors who will finally be able to afford to fix their smile. They want to scrap the relief we’ve given parents who can now afford to go to the dentist and get their child’s cavity fixed. Why do the Conservatives and Liberals fight so hard against dental care, pharmacare, and other supports or financial relief for people? It’s because they want to keep shovelling that money into corporations. In the spring, the Liberals and Conservatives gutted Singh’s bill to take on price-gouging and mergers that drive prices up. But we will not give up on the plan to crack down on corporate greed, including pushing for a price cap on essential goods. Families should not have to put baby formula back on the shelf because prices have nearly doubled in order to increase corporate profits. The NDP caucus will use every tool possible this fall to give people relief: to tackle corporate greed, and finally address the housing and affordability crisis; to get the historic anti-scab legislation implemented so workers have more power instead of big corporations; to fight to protect Canadian workers’ pensions from Conservative attacks, and more. Despite the tough times both Liberals and Conservatives have created for people over the last two decades, there’s hope. We’re hopeful because Singh has a clear vision for how to rewrite the rules to finally tip the scales in favour of working people. We’re hopeful because people are rising up to stand with us in the fight against corporate greed. Canadians could not be more ready for a government that fights for them. Peter Julian is the MP for New Westminster-Burnaby, B.C., and currently serves as NDP House leader. The Hill Times

NDP caucus will use every tool possible to deliver relief this fall

For one, we need to get pharmacare up and running, starting with birth control and diabetes medications, and then expanding to other drugs.

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NDP caucus will use every tool possible to deliver relief this fall

For one, we need to get pharmacare up and running, starting with birth control and diabetes medications, and then expanding to other drugs.

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