Latest news with #DonDavies
Toronto Star
2 days ago
- Politics
- Toronto Star
NDP says government needs to be more transparent in trade talks with the U.S.
OTTAWA - Prime Minister Mark Carney should honour the Liberal government's past promises to the NDP and table information about any U.S. trade talks in the House of Commons, the party's interim leader says. The request from Don Davies comes ahead of this month's gathering of G7 leaders, where Carney will once again meet with U.S. President Donald Trump and the two will continue to work out a new economic and security relationship between the two countries.
CTV News
2 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
NDP says government needs to be more transparent in trade talks with the U.S.
New Democratic Party interim Leader Don Davies speaks with media in the Foyer of the House of Commons, Monday, May 26, 2025 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld OTTAWA — The NDP's interim NDP leader is calling on Prime Minister Mark Carney to honour the government's commitment to table information about any U.S. trade talks in the House of Commons. The request from Don Davies comes ahead of this month's meeting of G7 leaders, where Carney will once again meet with U.S. President Donald Trump and the two will continue to work out a new new economic and security relationship between the two countries. A letter from Davies to Carney, dated May 29, says the NDP is concerned the government has entered 'preliminary' discussions with the Trump administration about renegotiating the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, which is up for review next year. Davies writes that in Feb. 2020, then deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland committed to tabling notice of intent for trade talks in the House at least 90 days before they begin, sharing talk objectives at least 30 days before negotiations start, and providing an economic impact assessment alongside implementation legislation. Davies says there's no indication these steps are currently being followed. In a May 27 interview with CBC's 'Power & Politics,' Carney said there needs to be more progress on the U.S. tariff issue before trade talks can begin. David Baxter, The Canadian Press
Hamilton Spectator
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Interim NDP leader says party will play important role despite loss of status
OTTAWA - Interim NDP Leader Don Davies said Monday the party will still play a 'profoundly important role' in this Parliament, even though it won't be granted official party status. Government House leader Steven MacKinnon said Monday morning the NDP will not be granted official party status because the law says a party needs at least 12 seats to be recognized. The NDP was reduced to just seven seats in last month's election. Without official party status, the NDP will not be allowed to ask daily questions in question period, will not be guaranteed seats on standing committees and will lose out on financial resources provided to recognized parties. Speaking to reporters on Parliament Hill, Davies said that, in a minority government situation, any party that has seven seats 'obviously has a balance of power.' 'I think that we're going to be able to play a profoundly important role in this Parliament,' he said. 'I think that there is, as in every minority Parliament, a real opportunity for us to push and promote progressive policies and hold this government to account in a way that you can't do in a majority Parliament.' Asked if the NDP will get seats on committees, Davies said the party is having 'fruitful discussions' with other parties about that right now. Davies added that the NDP is focused on securing resources and said it will keep its offices. 'One of the arguments I've made is we're a national party, 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,' he said. Davies has told The Canadian Press he spoke with the Prime Minister's Office about obtaining official party status for the NDP in the House of Commons. He cited several past instances of provincial legislatures granting party status to an opposition party. Davies said the threshold for official party status has been adjusted in the past to reflect the makeup of the Parliament. 'We inquired about that, the government doesn't seem interested in that. But what we're most interested in is just getting resources that we need that will allow us to carry the voices of Canadians more effectively to this House of Commons,' he said. The NDP lost official party status in the 1993 election but managed to regain it in the 1997 vote. This report was first published by The Canadian Press on May 26, 2025.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Newsroom Ready: NDP request for official party status denied
Liberal House leader Steven Mackinnon says the Parliament of Canada Act requires a party to have 12 seats to be granted official party status and that requirement won't be waived for the NDP, which only won seven seats in the last election. Interim NDP Leader Don Davies says even with only seven seats the party holds the balance of power in the minority Parliament and should have the tools it needs to fulfil that function.(May 26, 2025)
National Post
26-05-2025
- Politics
- National Post
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. Article content Article content 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. Article content Article content 'We've already made some progress,' Davies told reporters on Monday. Article content Article content 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. Article content 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. Article content 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. Article content 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. Article content Article content 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. Article content 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. Article content 'One of the arguments I've made is we're a national party.' Article content '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.'
