Throne speech passes House with NDP support
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s minority Liberal government survived a confidence vote tonight as the House of Commons voted 177 to 152 to pass the speech from the throne.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and his parliamentary caucus voted for the speech after winning some key changes to legislation last week.
Those concessions included extending benefits for workers left jobless or underemployed by the COVID-19 pandemic and introducing ten days of paid sick leave for any Canadian who has to stay off work because of the pandemic.
The Conservatives and Bloc Quebecois voted against the speech and the three MPs in the Green caucus joined them. Newly elected Green Leader Annamie Paul said earlier today that her party could not support the speech.
Paul said that while there were good things in the Liberals’ agenda-setting speech last month, the Green Party could not support it because it lacked a plan to protect those living in long-term care from COVID-19.
“I’m not just speaking of seniors. I’m also speaking of people with special needs and with disabilities,” Paul told a news conference on Parliament Hill. “Those people are not protected.”
Paul also said the speech should have committed to a guaranteed livable income which would make Canadians more resilient to economic shocks.
