Opinion | Erin O’Toole is using an imaginary Liberal-NDP alliance to hide her own problems

Conservative leader Erin O’Toole had a hard time hiding her smile this week when she accused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of forcing a “radical liberal coalition-NDP deal” down the throat of Grit MPs.

This (alleged) Liberal-NDP coalition would be a disaster for the economy, O’Toole said. “It would threaten the livelihoods of millions of Canadians”, it would mean “billions of dollars in new spending to buy the silence of Jagmeet Singh”, “it would shut down the Canadian energy and resource sectors”, it would “divide Canadians”, “it would threaten our national unity “and make Canada” a poorer and less relevant nation, “suggested the Conservative leader.

First, there is no Liberal-NDP coalition. O’Toole may wish for one, but there is no evidence that a formal arrangement, such as the one we saw in 2008, is being contemplated. Back then, opposition liberals and the NDP agreed to share cabinet seats and Bloc Québécois agreed not to. overthrow the fragile coalition for 18 months.

On Tuesday, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh was clear. “That is a firm ‘no’ for me. There is not going to be a coalition, at all. But I am prepared to find ways to work together. ”

What that could mean ranges from agreeing to fast-track legislation that both parties agree to (federal paid sick leave, a ban on conversion therapy, housing affordability) to a kind of trust and supply agreement, such as It was experienced in British Columbia in 2017 between the NDP and the Greens. The talks are in their infancy.

Singh told reporters that Canadians sent MPs to Ottawa to “work for them,” and he wants Parliament to comply.

Federal Liberals would like more stability in the House of Commons. They want to avoid what they see as the toxic partisanship that characterized some of the Commons committees during the last session, where MPs held late-night meetings, attempted to call members of the prime minister’s family as witnesses, and dragged political staff to testify. . They would welcome the respite that a long-term cooperative arrangement could provide, where the NDP agrees not to defeat the Liberals on matters of trust like the throne speech or the budget.

During the last minority government, the Grits mainly secured the support of the NDP or Bloc Québécois, on a case-by-case basis, to pass the legislation. They have many points in common with both parties, especially with the NDP. But for now, Liberals and New Democrats remain far apart on key issues the NDP wants to see, such as Ottawa dropping its court appeal on Indian child welfare compensation.

So while both sides are willing to talk, what those talks lead to will be very different from what the coalition bogeyman O’Toole is painting for Canadians.

Second, O’Toole himself has shown no interest in cooperating with the government, even though conservatives share priorities with liberals on housing, mental health and the opioid crisis.

When asked twice what issues he raised with the prime minister as possible areas of agreement, O’Toole only mentioned reconciliation. The role of the opposition, he suggested, was to oppose, question, scrutinize, “ask questions about Justin Trudeau’s ethical conduct” rather than try to work with the government to influence policy.

For the record, the opposition can do both.

It is somewhat ironic that O’Toole now opposes a “coalition.” On election night, the Conservative leader misrepresented Trudeau’s words to suggest that another campaign was just 18 months away. He warned that Canadians would face a year and a half of perpetual campaigning. A formal coalition would certainly avoid an early trip to the polls. But back then, O’Toole was raising the specter of an election to help justify why he should remain the party leader.

Posing the threat of a “coalition” now serves O’Toole as a useful distraction from the gong show going on within his group.

On Tuesday, Sarnia-Lambton MP Marilyn Gladu agreed to publicly apologize for sharing “misinformation about the severity of COVID-19 and the safety and efficacy of vaccines.” (She had falsely suggested on CTV that polio posed a greater threat than COVID-19.)

Two other Conservative MPs can also be asked to walk the table. Global’s David Akin reported that MPs Ed Fast and Dean Allison filed petitions in the House of Commons opposing vaccination mandates, pushing for the use of ivermectin in Canada and questioning the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines.

Meanwhile, Sergeant-at-Arms and Commons staff are concerned that unvaccinated Conservative MPs will storm the West Bloc, where MPs meet, on November 22, when Parliament resumes.

O’Toole still declines to say how many members of his group are not vaccinated.

At his press conference, Singh defended his willingness to work with the Liberals, saying that all O’Toole had done since the election is fight for his unvaccinated members so they could put “other people’s lives at risk.”

It was an “abysmal leadership failure,” said the NDP leader.

“If all you are known for is fighting for special treatment for your employees, you are losing the plot.”

Althia Raj is a national policy columnist for the Star in Ottawa. Follow her on Twitter: @althiaraj