New Democrats support help for Canadians in budget, commit to fighting Liberal failures

OTTAWA – On Wednesday, Canada’s New Democrats supported the budget where they fought to deliver: free birth control for 9 million Canadians and diabetes medication for 3.7 million Canadians; a national program providing free meals at school for hungry kids; protection for renters from losing their affordable homes to speculators; funding to create a Red Dress Alert; help for young Canadians to access the mental health care they need with a new Youth Mental Health Fund.
“Canadians need a government that doesn’t ignore the challenges they’re facing in their daily lives,” said NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh. “That’s why New Democrats fought tirelessly to lower cost for hardworking people. We know the Liberals wouldn’t have taken action without us forcing them and that the Conservatives want to block free birth control, diabetes medication and affordable childcare. That’s going to make life much harder for people.
“While we’ve worked hard to get help for Canadians, there is still a lot of work to be done. An NDP government would do things very differently than the Liberals.”
The NDP deliberated about supporting the budget for over two weeks due to the Liberals’ failures for Canadians living with disabilities and Indigenous communities. Singh committed to holding the government’s feet to the fire on the Canada Disability benefit, upholding Jordan’s principle which guarantees care for Indigenous children, the massive gap in funding for infrastructure and housing for Indigenous communities.
“There is so much more the federal government needs to do to uphold its obligations to Indigenous peoples,” said Singh. “This government is failing to honour Jordan’s Principle almost 70 per cent of the time. This means Indigenous children are still being denied access to the care and services they deserve—it’s unacceptable. Despite promising to repair the relationship with Indigenous peoples, this government is underfunding crucial infrastructure and suitable housing and Indigenous peoples are living with the consequences – a lack of clean drinking water and mouldy, overcrowded homes are jeopardizing people’s health. And Indigenous peoples know that the Conservatives will make things even worse, they remember the deep cuts made by the last Conservative government.
“While we believe strongly in the supports that we secured for Canadians, the NDP will keep fighting to ensure Indigenous peoples get the government investments that they deserve in order to thrive.”