View from the Hill is a monthly series in which Newmarket-Aurora MP Tony Van Bynen answers questions about the major federal issues of the day in a video format.
Newmarket-Aurora Liberal MP Tony Van Bynen said a new agreement with the NDP will mean more effectiveness for the government’s agenda.
The two federal parties agreed last month on a new deal to keep the Liberals in power until 2025 in exchange for advancement on NDP priorities.
In this week’s View From the Hill, NewmarketToday asked Van Bynen about the deal and what it could bring about. The regular video series offers updates from Ottawa. NewmarketToday provides topics of discussion before the interview but not specific questions.
A summary of the interview is below:
Q: Some, particularly in Conservative circles, have expressed concern that the Liberal-NDP deal is undemocratic. What would you say to some of the outcries that this has garnered, considering the deal could see your party remain in power significantly longer than previous minority governments?
“We have an aggressive agenda. We got a lot of things we need to see go forward. What this does is it gives us a runway,” Van Bynen said.
He said the deal helps the Liberals keep campaign promises and makes the government more effective by focusing on areas of agreement rather than disagreement.
“It lets us move important things forward, promises we made and promises that advance some of the progressive ideas the New Democrats have as well,” Van Bynen said.
Q: One of those ideas is pharmacare. The Liberals featured it in its 2019 platform, and it has been the subject of reports. We are now several years into the Liberal government, and it hasn’t come into place. It is part of this deal with the NDP. Will this deal finally bring pharmacare, and why has it taken as long as it has to bring this to fruition?
“When I look back on the last three years, I think we’ve had a lot of urgent things present themselves to the government,” Van Bynen said.
Van Bynen sat on the health committee in the last term and said “there was always an intent to advance pharmacare.” But he said they had to work through how to phase it in and avoid “sticker shock.”
“There was also a lot of agreements that need to be made with the provinces,” he said. “To the New Democrats' credit, they've added some impetus to make this a priority.”
Q: Today (April 1) you and the York Region Liberal caucus announced you would be donating your pay increases to charity. Can you speak to why you are doing that and why you have a salary increase in the first place?
Van Bynen said most elected offices have a cost of living increase built into compensation programs.
But the regional caucus has decided to donate those increases to help agencies impacted by COVID-19. Van Bynen said he would donate his pay increase to Southlake Regional Health Centre.
“They’ve certainly seen a lot of pressure,” Van Bynen said. “Everybody (in the caucus) makes their own decision, but everyone is agreed on the principle we should return some of that back.”
