OTTAWA -- New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh is accusing his Liberal and Conservative counterparts of doing the bidding of big business during the pandemic.

Singh takes the swipe at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole in a speech today that lays out the NDP's priorities ahead of next week's throne speech.

Singh is calling on the Liberals to do more to help working people cope with the economic hardship of the COVID-19 crisis.

That includes extending benefits for unemployed Canadians that he says the Liberals are planning to curtail.

He's also calling on the government to do more to help seniors, and address the crises in climate change and affordable housing.

But Singh is differentiating himself from Trudeau and O'Toole by telling his supporters his two main political rivals are essentially in the back pocket of big business and the "super-rich," who he says have profited massively during the pandemic at the expense of working people.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2020.