NDP talking to the Carney government about getting official party status: Davies

Interim NDP leader Don Davies said Friday his party is in "very early" discussions with the government of Prime Minister Mark Carney about being granted official party status in the House of Commons.

The NDP was reduced to seven seats in the recent general election, below the 12-seat threshold for official party status in the Commons.

The Prime Minister's Office declined to comment on any discussions with the NDP.

Parties that lack official status lose out on financial resources provided by Parliament, get to ask fewer questions in question period and don't have guaranteed spots on standing committees.

"I think one of my primary objectives is to make sure that our caucus has the resources we need to discharge our functions in Parliament, but more importantly, to advocate effectively for the 1.2 million Canadians who voted for us," Davies said Friday.

"So, we are actively working to try to make sure we get those resources for our caucus."

Davies said parties at the provincial level have been granted official status in the past after failing to meet the threshold.

Many federal NDP employees have been laid off since election day due to the party's loss of parliamentary funding. They include people in senior leadership positions, communications staff and researchers.

Davies said that he and his caucus are looking at ways to use their remaining staff effectively and could look for resources outside the party.

"There's other ways that we can tap into public resources. We may have to engage civil society in ways that can help us in ways we haven't before," Davies said. "So it's actually kind of exciting to reimagine how we can open up a process and actually get more input into our parliamentary caucus."

Davies said the party is still setting up the framework for a leadership contest to choose a permanent replacement for former leader Jagmeet Singh.

He said he stepped up to serve as interim leader in part because he's the longest-serving MP in the NDP caucus, with 17 years' experience.

The party is also beginning the process of reviewing its election campaign and planning to rebuild.

While he acknowledged that the work of MPs in Parliament is important, Davies said most Canadians pay little attention to day-to-day operations in the Commons. He said he and his caucus will emphasize community outreach in their efforts to rebuild the party's grassroots support.

"I think the challenge for us is also an opportunity, and that is, we're going to have to get out of Parliament and go meet Canadians where they're at, talk to them and start engaging in the dialogue that is not only so essential to our work, but I think is actually something that's going to be a strength for the NDP moving forward," he said.

Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld