Menu

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh

21688868144_18cc1131fb_b

Final Stride For Leaders On Campaign Trail

, , , , , ,

The federal election is heading into its final weekend, and leaders took the chance to speak to supporters on Friday.

In Ontario, Liberal leader Justin Trudeau spoke about COVID-19 vaccine and mandates at the University of Windsor.

“Mr. O’Toole has been very, very clear, he doesn’t think we should be doing everything we need to end the pandemic for good.”

Meantime, at a winery in London, Ont, Conservative leader Erin O’Toole called out Trudeau for calling a $600 million election in the middle of a pandemic.

“There’s a lot at stake in this election, Justin Trudeau wants you to stay at home on election day, he wants you to vote for smaller parties, he wants you to let him get away with his corruption.”

O’Toole will head to an event with supporters in St. Catharines on Friday night.

In Sherbrooke, Que, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh brought up the sexual assault allegations against a Liberal candidate in Toronto.

“(Liberals) don’t have the courage to take on men in positions of power, and that they allow candidates to come forward, but don’t act.”

Singh also talked about the environment and mentioned the party’s commitment to the climate.

“We have to fight this climate crisis with everything we have and to do that we have to take real action.”

4020195237_739f9c58c2

Day 31: Families, Cell Phones, Healthcare

, , , , , , , , , ,

Making the pitch to voters ahead of election day on Monday.

On Day 31 of the federal election campaign, Conservative leader Erin O’Toole made his pitch to families east of Ottawa, promising that if he’s elected Prime Minister, the Child Care Expense deduction will be converted into a refundable tax credit.

Screen capture of Conservative leader Erin O’Toole (CPAC)

“To help lower income families today, not five years from now, with up to 75 per cent of child care expenses covered,” remarked O’Toole. “Six years of inaction by Mr. Trudeau, now he’s telling families to wait another five or six years, we’re going to help them now.”

Liberal leader Justin Trudeau in British Columbia pressed that the Tories don’t believe in climate change.

“Do we continue and move forward even faster and harder in the fight against climate change or do we let Erin O’Toole take us back?” asked Trudeau.

Liberal leader Justin Trudeau image (CPAC)

“Mr. O’Toole says now he’s in favour of public health care but he told groups of Conservatives that he thinks there should be more, private, for-profit health care. These are the types of things we’re seeing from Mr. O’Toole, he’s not leading he’s misleading Canadians.

The NDP are promising to lower cellphone and internet bills if they’re the governing party.

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh in Toronto (CPAC)

Leader Jagmeet Singh said in Toronto that he wants to put a cap on telecom bills, implement mandatory unlimited data plans as well as break up monopolies that allow companies to charge higher prices.

“One of the proposals that we’ve put forward is looking at putting in place a publicly owned crown corporation to invest in the infrastructure necessary, to connect communities that don’t have access to the internet. That is a vital infrastructure piece.”

When it comes to voting before election day, you have until 6:00 p.m. Tuesday to vote at any Elections Canada office using a special ballot.

Election Day is Monday, September 20th.

new-project-5

Federal Election Campaign: Day 30

, , , , , , ,

Just days to go until Canada picks it’s next government.

The leaders continued to pound the pavement Monday, and also attacked their opponents.

Justin Trudeau of the Liberals in Vancouver vowed to introduce legislation to make it a criminal offence to obstruct access to any building providing health services.

The leader also re-iterated his promise to protect businesses and organizations from a legal challenge should they decide to require a proof of vaccination from employees or customers.

Trudeau also went after Tory leader Erin O’Toole, “He is defending his candidate who went to visit seniors in an old-age home without being fully vaccinated. That’s not the leadership we need.”

The candidate in question was Michelle Ferreri, who’s running in the riding of Peterborough-Kawartha.

Earlier in the day, Conservative leader Erin O’Toole promised that if elected, he’ll expand the Canada Child Benefit to start at the seventh month of pregnancy instead of at childbirth, as well as allow new parents the opportunity to earn up to $1,000 per month without it affecting their maternity or parental leave payments.

O’Toole also reminded Trudeau that he’s no longer campaigning in 2015, “I’m a different leader (than Stephen Harper) and although I disagreed with Mr. Trudeau, I could respect him. I agreed when he talked about what unites us rather than divides us. I could understand when he talked about a better future that Canada could have, and I appreciated when he talked about healing the country’s rifts rather than exploiting them.”

Federal maternity and parental benefits allow parents to receive a maximum of $595 per week, which is equal to 55 per cent of their earnings.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh took his tour to both Sioux Lookout and Neskantaga First Nation, the site of a 26 year boil water advisory.

“There are grown adults that have not been able to drink clean water ever,” Singh stressed. “This is wrong, this should not be what’s going on and our commitment is to make sure we clean this water and that every community has access to clean drinking water.”

Singh went onto acknowledge that despite the fact it’s hard to make progress on the issue, especially in remote communities, there is no excuse for this being a ongoing problem under six years of a Liberal government.

Monday is the last day to vote at an advance polling station until 9:00 p.m.

You also have until 6:00 p.m. Tuesday to vote at any Elections Canada office using a special ballot.

Election Day is Monday, September 20th.

new-project-5

Federal Leaders Make Pitches As Advance Voting Begins

, , , , , , , , ,

We are entering the final ten days of the federal election campaign as advance polls open across Canada.

In Ottawa before heading home to his British Columbia riding to vote, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh believes his party offers the best option for voters.

“We’re saying we’re not going to cut the help you need. We’re not going to put the burden back on you. We’re going to offer a third option which is to make the billionaires pay their fair share.”

Liberal leader Justin Trudeau made another pitch for his party’s $10 per day child care plan in Hamilton, Ontario.

“To save families across the country, thousands and thousands of dollars per year.”

During a stop in Mississauga, Erin O’Toole says the Conservatives have the only viable pandemic recovery plan.

“To recover a million jobs… to tackle Canada’s mental health crisis with a new mental health action plan… to protect the health of Canadians.”

During a rare campaign stop outside of her Toronto area riding, Green Party leader Annamie Paul was in Ottawa where she told supporters her party will not forget about Canadians who were thrown into financial crisis when the pandemic began.

People’s Party of Canada leader Maxime Bernier is campaigning in the West with a public rally and a meet and greet planned in Edmonton on Saturday.

Meantime, the advance polls will be open this weekend and on Monday.

5653240459_7f6371837d_b

Infrastructure, Housing And Platforms On Day 18

, , , , , , , , , ,

Housing, infrastructure and platforms on Day 18 of the federal election campaign.

Speaking in Montreal on Wednesday, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said his party is dedicated to fighting the housing crisis which forces young people to leave home.

“Leaving the place where they have family, friends and connections to go somewhere else because they can’t afford to stay. That has to stop,” Singh said.

The leader of Conservative party, Erin O’Tooole, said his party will scrap the Canada Infrastructure Bank and unlock money to get infrastructure projects built.

“We’ll review the ‘Investing in Canada’ plan and other infrastructure programs to make sure they work for local priorities, for our municipalities and First Nations communities,” O’Toole said.

Justin Trudeau laid out the 82-page Liberal party platform in Toronto.

“We’ll make sure you can find a family doctor or a family health team and while we’re at it we’ll make a historic dedicated investment in mental health care because mental health is health and
it’s time it was treated that way,” Trudeau said.

The platform also focuses on helping businesses getting back on their feet after lockdowns.

jagmet-singh

Singh Supports Homegrown Solutions For PPE

, , , , , , , , ,

If the NDP are elected in September, they will commit to manufacturing personal protective equipment at home.

Campaigning in B.C. on Tuesday, leader Jagmeet Singh said when the pandemic hit, Canada couldn’t get the PPE needed because it wasn’t being produced here.

He said we are lucky to have Canadian companies that shifted their operations to start producing it.

“But it shouldn’t have to be that people scramble to solve this problem. What we need to do is make sure we are investing and supporting local manufacturing in Canada particularly manufacturing equipment that will keep workers safe,” Singh said.

Singh said the Liberals and Conservatives dismantled the manufacturing industry in Canada allowing money and jobs to be shipped overseas.

The NDP leader and his Liberal counterpart agree on one thing, the Taliban is a terrorist organization.

Singh described the events in Afghanistan as “horrifying”.

“We’ve seen just incredibly scary images coming out of people in desperation trying to flee what they know is likely death or severe persecution,” Singh said.

Singh said seeing people clinging to airplanes and so desperate to leave shows how dangerous the situation is.

On the subject of vaccinations, Jagmeet Singh was asked if he’s concerned about the debate surrounding vaccinations becoming politicized.

He said he is concerned about it but said he knows Canadians just want to keep each other safe.

“‘Would you do whatever it takes to take care of your neighbours? Would you be a part of an initiative to make sure we keep kids are safe? People want to do that. So I think we need to put more emphasis on trusting that Canadians want to do what’s best but we need to provide people with more education, more awareness and more transparency,” Singh said.

23690121909_a81b6d2fcb-1

Politicians Speak Out Against President

, , , , , , , , , , ,

Both the former leader of the federal Green party and the current leader of the NDP are speaking out against racism.

Elizabeth May called out President Donald Trump’s behaviour recently, saying it has become clear that if a person is Muslim, Black, Latin X or Indigenous, the United States is not a safe place to live.

“And our safe country agreement with the United States, which means we turn away people that in other circumstances would have a claim for refugee status, simply can’t stand anymore,” May said.

May is calling on the federal government to change the agreement with the United States so those seeking refuge can get help after they’ve been screened for COVID-19.

While NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said yesterday that the Prime Minister needs to stop using “pretty words” and fix racial profiling, May compliments our Prime Minister for his “pretty words” compared to those of President Trump’s.

“Pretty words are so much better than vile language so bad that Twitter decides to put a warning that it incites violence. That Facebook employees quit because Facebook won’t take down comments that are incendiary, and those comments are from the President of the United States,” May said.

The NDP’s Singh reiterated today that the Prime Minister should have spoken up about the President’s actions, rather than stay silent.

“What President Trump is doing is reprehensible, what President Trump is doing is inflaming hatred, it is divisive, it is wrong. He is acting in a way which is fueling racism, he is acting in a way that will put people’s lives at risk,” Singh said.

Both Canadian politicians are reacting to Trump’s many statements and actions involving clashes between law enforcement and Black Lives Matter protesters.

The NDP leader says our federal government can take immediate action to help end racial profiling by police and an over-incarceration of Black and Indigenous people.