NDP to put wealth tax on Commons agenda: Singh

Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says his party will use an upcoming chance to set the agenda in the House of Commons to push for a new tax on wealthy people and those who made massive profits during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking to reporters in Ottawa, Singh says people are worried about the cost of the pandemic because they don't want to carry the burden of increasing public debt.

He says those who have fortunes of over $20 million and those who have profited from the pandemic need to pay their fair share to fund health care and housing programs and to provide Canadians a guaranteed livable income.

The NDP will propose the new tax on its first "opposition day" of the new session of Parliament on Thursday.

Singh says Liberal and Conservatives governments have both cut programs that support the most vulnerable, which left Canadians unprepared for the pandemic.

He says his proposed wealth tax and a tax on excess profits would give the government new revenue to invest in social programs that will help Canada recover.