Interim NDP leader pushing for resources after party loses status in Parliament
OTTAWA — The interim leader of the federal NDP says that while the door may be shut to the party being granted official status in the House of Commons, he hopes other parties will grant it resources.
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Don Davies says that while he has not spoken to Prime Minister Mark Carney, federal New Democrats are having 'fruitful discussions' and looking to see what is possible through the Board of Internal Economy, which manages the House of Commons' resources.
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These 'little privileges,' as Davies puts it, are what the federal party now considers as wins after a general election, where the party was reduced to a mere seven seats, down from its previous 24.
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It was the worst showing the federal party has had in a Canadian election. The last time it lost official party status was in 1993, when the NDP came away with only nine seats.
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Besides reeling from the political blow that voters dealt the party, which saw Jagmeet Singh, its former leader, resign after placing third in his riding, the fact that New Democrats are returning to Parliament with only seven seats means it has lost many of the resources afforded to parties based on the size of their caucus.
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Losing official party status means NDP MPs will be limited in how often they can ask the governing Liberals a question in the House of Commons, and will not automatically be reserved a place on parliamentary committees, where legislation flows before it is passed in the House of Commons.
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While Davies said on Monday that it was 'possible' for the governing Liberals to relax some of the rules around what constitutes official party status, as has been done at the provincial level across different legislatures, House Leader Steven McKinnon appeared cold to the idea.
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Davies said the NDP is now looking to see what may be decided by the Board of Internal Economy, which has not yet been struck.
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Even if no NDP MP ends up on that governing committee, it nonetheless has the power to dole out resources, said Davies.
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'One of the arguments I've made is we're a national party.'
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'We had 1.2 million Canadians vote for us, and it's important that we have the tools we need to function and discharge that responsibility.'
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