What's left to accomplish under the Liberal-NDP pact keeping PM Trudeau in power?

Heading into what could be a make-or-break year for the federal Liberal-NDP confidence-and-supply agreement, both Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh are meeting with their teams this week to plot out their priorities for the 2024 parliamentary sitting.

Looming over these planning sessions is the deal injecting stability into the minority government dynamics on the Hill — by seeing the New Democrats vow to back the Liberals on confidence matters in exchange for progressive policy action — and the outstanding promises within it.

Inked in 2022, the first two years have seen progress on some central planks of the two-party pact, from initiating a national dental care program and paid sick leave, to tabling "anti-scab" and "just transition" legislation. The government has also made good on some of its housing, tax fairness, child care and reconciliation commitments itemized in the deal.

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However, with the pharmacare legislation delayed, and other pledges unpursued, work remains to see the entirety of the agreement aimed at "delivering for Canadians" fulfilled before its June 2025 expiry.

Likely not fortuitously, several of the agreed-upon items within the deal speak in broad, general terms about action on policy areas such as improving the health-care system and advancing carbon emission reductions, so that both sides could agree that progress is being made without having to point to a specific action. 

That said, here are the main commitments within the deal where work is outstanding:

Pharmacare framework bill

Arguably the biggest outstanding commitment of the deal was supposed to come to fruition last year, but still hasn't: a national pharmacare framework.

While the agreement originally required the federal government to pass a "Canada Pharmacare Act" by the end of 2023, the Liberals and New Democrats agreed in late December — after being unable to even table a bill — to work towards a new deadline of March 1, 2024.

While talks remain constructive on following through with the plan, disagreements remain over what exactly the framework should include.

When the Liberals presented a first draft of the bill to New Democrats last fall, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh rejected it as missing the mark and offering "insufficient" coverage for Canadians.

Asked at the time of the extension where talks stood, Health Minister Mark Holland said there were "still additional details" the two parties were working through, but wouldn't offer specifics on what the outstanding sticking points were.

Homebuyer's bill of rights

Another promise that initially had an end of 2023 implementation deadline, but work remains ongoing, is the government's vow to implement a "Homebuyer's Bill of Rights."

An outstanding Liberal campaign pledge, the aim of this legislation would be to help level the playing field for younger, middle class and new Canadians by making the process of buying a home more open and transparent.

There have been steps taken towards this effort, first pledged in the Liberals' 2021 election platform.

In the 2023 federal budget, the government said it was working with provinces and territories on "the development" of the bill.

"The Home Buyers' Bill of Rights could include ensuring the legal right to a home inspection, requiring that real estate agents disclose whether they are representing both sides of a potential sale, and ensuring transparency on the history of sale prices," read the budget mention of this effort.

Long-term care act

The two parties have also committed to working together on ensuring Canadian seniors are "guaranteed the care they deserve, no matter where they live," after the COVID-19 pandemic shone an unflattering spotlight on the conditions in numerous facilities.

The Liberal-NDP plan to do this is through tabling a "Safe Long-Term Care Act." While it remains to be seen what kinds of protections this legislation will include, a discussion paper publicized last year as part of a now-closed consultation process offers some hints. 

In noting that more than 200,000 Canadians live in long-term care facilities — both older adults and persons living with disabilities — the government said this legislation would "build on" the national standards released in early 2023.

"Legislation will be respectful of provincial-territorial jurisdiction. That is, it won't mandate standards or regulate long-term care delivery," reads the discussion paper in part.

Re-exploring electoral reform

Lastly, the confidence-and-supply pact includes a series of electoral reform-related initiatives that have yet to be pursued.

While revisiting a full-scale overhaul of the federal voting system remains off the table, the two parties are interested in working with Elections Canada "to explore ways to expand the ability for people to vote."

This includes potentially allowing an "expanded" three-day voting period during general elections, allowing voters to cast their ballots at any polling place within their riding and improving mail-in balloting.

During a recent press conference, the prime minister said he remains "deeply committed" to the idea of electoral reform, but continues to want to operate on a consensus basis.

"It shouldn't be any one party even, with the majority, that gets to decide," Trudeau said.

"And rather than risk Canadian democracy for the sake of ticking off a box ... we're going to make sure we continue to work on building consensus. As I've said many times, including recently to Jagmeet, if they're willing to come to a consensus around improving our electoral system, I'm happy to revisit it anytime."