COLUMN: Think Again – Time for Singh to put up or shut up

Federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh was in Winnipeg recently to campaign in the Elmwood-Transcona byelection. At an event with NDP candidate Leila Dance, Singh took direct aim at big corporations.

“The rules have been written to allow these big corporations to rip off folks,” stated Singh. “And in the next election we’re saying we’ve got to change the rules.”

After complaining about high grocery bills and exorbitant cellphone fees, Singh blasted the federal Liberal government for failing to act. He further claimed that the Liberals have “disappointed” Canadians.

Indeed, it’s true that the Liberals have disappointed Canadians. You’ll get no argument from me on that one. But Singh is ignoring one simple fact; the Liberals remain in power only because Singh props them up on every confidence vote.

Two years ago, Singh entered into a supply-and-confidence arrangement with the Liberal government. This means that his party pledged to support the Liberals until October 2025.

Because the Liberals hold only a minority of seats, they need support from one other party to pass their legislation. Obviously, the Conservatives are voting against the government on nearly every item. While the Bloc Quebecois are taking more of a case-by-case approach, they too have voted against the government multiple times over the last two years.

In contrast, the NDP have voted with the government on every single matter of confidence. Thus, you can thank the NDP for the carbon tax which increases every year. The NDP have also remained in lockstep with the Liberal government’s hostility to Canada’s natural resources sector.

Thus, Singh is being disingenuous when he complains about big corporations taking advantage of lax federal regulations. If Singh truly wanted to do something about this problem, he would make changing these regulations a condition of his support for the government. But Singh won’t do that since he is desperate to avoid a federal election.

There once was a time when the NDP stood up for the working class. They used to believe in protecting the jobs of people working in factories and in the natural resources sector. Now they are too busy appeasing woke ideologues in Toronto who have no problem supporting policies that will cripple our economy.

Why should any union member working in a mine or an oil field vote for the NDP when that party shows such obvious hostility to their industries? How does it make sense for someone who can barely afford to fill up his gas tank to support the NDP when that party keeps voting to jack up gas prices every year?

The reality is that Singh already has the power to force a change but consistently fails to do so. If Singh can’t convince his buddy Justin Trudeau to change course, then he should withdraw his support from the Liberals. The fact that Singh won’t do that tells us everything we need to know about whose interests he is putting first.

Most Canadians aren’t impressed with the NDP or with Singh’s leadership. In fact, polls show that the NDP continues to lose support. Singh knows that if an election took place tomorrow, there’s a good chance that nearly half of his caucus will go down to defeat. As a result, he continues to delay an election by propping up the Liberals in vote after vote.

Singh can complain all he wants about how disappointed Canadians are with Justin Trudeau. However, until he acts, no one should take Singh seriously.

It’s time for Singh to put up or shut up. He needs to put his votes where his mouth is.

Michael Zwaagstra is a high school teacher and a Steinbach city councillor. He can be reached at mzwaagstra@shaw.ca.