Poilievre says 'everything seems broken,' Trudeau hits back
PM calls Poilievre an 'irresponsible' leader bent on exploiting anger for political gain
"What's happening in our country? Seriously. Look around you," Poilievre said in a Friday speech to the Conservative caucus. "You told us better is always possible and yet everything is worse and you blame everyone else."
A Poilievre government, the Conservative leader said, would restore order and bring the economy back from the brink.
Trudeau, meanwhile, delivered a pointed speech of his own Friday. The PM argued that by courting radical elements, peddling misinformation, ignoring science and pitching questionable investments like cryptocurrency, Poilievre has placed himself outside the political mainstream.
"Mr. Poilievre has no real solutions. He's just trying to exploit people's anger and concerns," Trudeau said. "When you twist the facts or make things up for political gain, that's not responsible leadership."
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks to caucus on Parliament Hill, Friday, January 27, 2023 in Ottawa. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)
Poilievre's speech to Tory MPs and senators and Trudeau's response Friday reveal how the two leaders plan to approach the next sitting of Parliament, which resumes next week after the holiday break.
Poilievre is intent on blaming the Liberals for the country's hardships while painting a bleak picture of the future under a Trudeau-led government.
Trudeau is promising what he calls a "positive vision" for the country while also blasting his opponent as a far-right leader who won't adequately address the big challenges of our time: fighting climate change, building a more inclusive economy, fixing a health-care system on the ropes and pursuing Indigenous reconciliation.
Poilievre, Trudeau argued, doesn't offer any "constructive or positive solutions," while Liberals will "meet the moment."
WATCH | Poilievre says 'everything is worse' under Trudeau:
Poilievre accused Trudeau of ducking his responsibilities as prime minister. He linked a rise in violent crimes and drug overdoses to Liberal changes to the federal Criminal Code and a more permissive approach to drug enforcement.
Citing a spate of violent attacks on Toronto's transit system, Poilievre said people are scared to ride the subway because they might get stabbed.
Between January 2016 and December 2021, nearly 30,000 Canadians died of opioid overdoses, according to federal data. There are crime-ridden homeless encampments in Canada's big cities, Poilievre said, because of Liberal policies.
"Justin tied the hands of our police and failed to hold the scumbag corporations who brought these drugs to our streets accountable," the Conservative leader said.
'Get out of the way'
Poilievre said big spending during the pandemic has pushed the national debt over the $1 trillion mark, fuelling inflation. The federal price on carbon emissions, Poilievre claimed, has left seniors in the cold.
"If you're not responsible for these things and you can't do anything about it, why don't you get out of the way and let somebody who can," Poilievre said.
"Everything seems to be broken," he added in French.
Trudeau has pushed back against Poilievre's claim that the country is in disarray.
In a speech at the Liberal Christmas party last month, Trudeau said that when Poilievre says Canada is broken, "that's where we draw the line."
"Let me be very clear for the record: Canada is not broken," he said in the Dec. 14 speech, citing post-Fiona hurricane relief and a new national child care program as examples of recent progress on his watch.
At the Liberal cabinet retreat in Hamilton this week, ministers also touted a return to normal at Canada's passport offices, a promise to fix to the air passenger bill of rights and meaningful progress on an increase to health-care funding as proof that the country is headed in the right direction.
Poilievre dismissed Trudeau's defence Friday.
"Justin says I should never mention these problems because Canadians have never had life so good," he said.
For some people, Poilievre said, the prime minister is right — the people at the Liberal Christmas party are doing just fine. "Lobbyists and Liberal political assistants here in Ottawa, they've never had it so good," Poilievre said.
The government's use of outside advisers has made people at consulting firms like McKinsey rich, Poilievre said, while working-class people skip meals to save money.
Trudeau said his government is laser-focused on rebuilding Canada's middle class.
He pointed to new investments in the automotive sector, clean technology, mining, rare earth metals and manufacturing as signs that Ottawa's industrial policy is paying off with high-paying jobs in industries of the future.
The prime minister said Poilievre can't be trusted to lead a major economy like Canada's when he was pushing bitcoin — an investment that has tanked in recent months, wiping out tens of billions of dollars in value.
"Mr. Poilievre was out talking about how we should all invest in bitcoin to opt out of inflation after he watched YouTube videos about it," Trudeau said. "Now, we all like YouTube, but it matters what content you watch and what you choose to amplify."
He also condemned Poilievre for recently speaking to the Frontier Centre for Public Policy — a group that has said it's a "myth" that the residential school system robbed Indigenous children of their childhood.
"It's just plain wrong," Trudeau said.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Canadians don't have to choose between the red and the blue team.
He said New Democrats are best placed to save a faltering health-care system and criticizing some provincial plans to send more surgeries to private clinics to help clear mounting hospital backlogs.
"That's the wrong way to do it because it will only make things worse and cannibalize workers from our existing system," he said. "We'll defend public health care."
Singh also criticized Trudeau's performance on the housing file, saying too many Canadians can't afford their rent.
"He has to invest massively to build more housing and ensure major corporations are not making huge profits because that hurts families," he said. "So far, Justin Trudeau hasn't taken this seriously."
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Trudeau government dropped the ball on fighting abuse in sport, former minister says
Kirsty Duncan says the government failed to follow through on her work after she left the post
A Liberal MP and former sport minister is again calling for a public inquiry into abuse in sport — and is accusing her own government of not doing enough to tackle the problem.
Kirsty Duncan said the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau failed to build momentum behind her efforts to prevent harassment, abuse and discrimination in sport in the years after she left cabinet — despite knowing a lot about the problem well before Hockey Canada's handling of sexual assault allegations exploded in the news last year.
Duncan said she even faced "pushback" from people within her own government when she made tackling abuse a top priority of her time as sport minister.
Duncan said she would not identify the individuals who resisted her efforts, or state whether they were in her own office or other government departments.
"It should not be a fight. I'm asking for the protection of athletes and children. There should never have been pushback," Duncan told CBC News in an exclusive interview.
"I will not stand idly by while there are athletes, children and young people hurting in this country. And I do not accept the status quo. And if I do not push for an inquiry, it means accepting the status quo. And I will not be complicit."
On Thursday, Duncan announced she's taking medical leave effective immediately on the advice of doctors to deal with a physical health challenge.
Duncan was not re-appointed to cabinet by Trudeau after the 2019 election. She was instead appointed deputy House leader for the government.
Trudeau dropped the position of sport minister from cabinet at the time and folded Duncan's responsibilities into the portfolio of the heritage minister, Steven Guilbeault.
Guilbeault's ministerial mandate letter — which outlined his key policy objectives — charged him with fostering a culture of safe sport.
'Other priorities'
In response to questions from CBC about the progress Guilbeault made on that mandate, his office pointed to a Sport Canada timeline of safe sport initiatives in the country.
The department launched a call for proposals to implement a new independent safe sport mechanism in 2020. In July 2021, Guilbeault announced that the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada (SDRCC) would receive up to $2.1 million to set up a new mechanism to oversee implementation of a new universal code of conduct in sport.
Then-minister of Canadian Heritage Steven Guilbeault responds to a question in the House of Commons on Nov. 3, 2020. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)
A senior government source with knowledge of Guilbeault's portfolio concedes "other priorities required more attention" when he was heritage minister. Guilbeault's legislative priorities at the time including confronting online abuse, digital streaming regulation and copyright reform.
The source, who spoke to CBC News on the condition of confidentiality, said the department's priorities shifted when the pandemic hit in March 2020, just four months after Guilbeault was appointed minister. The source said they "totally understand" Duncan's claim that more could have been done on safe sport.
"Since 2016, our government has worked with the sport community to advance a respectful sport culture and respond to calls for action," Guilbeault's office wrote in an email to CBC News.
WATCH | Duncan says sports leaders 'want to do better' on protecting athletes:
Duncan said she felt her safe sport initiatives were not given the attention they deserved after she left the office.
"There was nothing in place. There was literally nothing. There didn't even seem to be policies. Some had policies, some didn't," she said. "Where was the oversight? Where was the accountability?
"I think what we've seen over the last four years, and we've certainly seen this summer, is that there remains a hugely disappointing resistance to change."
Current Sport Minister Pascale St-Onge was asked about Duncan's claim that the government isn't doing enough to protect athletes in the country.
"I can tell you that we're taking it extremely seriously," she told CBC News.
"That's why we've invested $16 million in the last budget just to create the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner, because we felt it was so important to have that independent mechanism. I'm also making it mandatory for all nationally funded organizations to sign up with those before the next funding cycle.
"So any organization that hasn't protected their athletes by signing up with OSIC will no longer receive the whole funding. That's the strongest tool that I have. So yes, we are taking this extremely, extremely seriously."
WATCH | Pascal St-Onge says the government takes safety in sport 'seriously':
Just weeks after Duncan was named sport minister in January 2018, an investigation by CBC News revealed that at least 222 coaches involved in amateur sports over 20 years had been convicted of sex offences involving over 600 victims under age 18.
Duncan — a former gymnast who said she experienced emotional and psychological abuse herself as an athlete — said she was shaken by that report.
She introduced a number of measures — "broad strokes," she calls them now — such as a third-party investigation unit and a national toll-free confidential helpline for victims and witnesses of abuse in sport. She also brought territorial and provincial sport ministers together in February 2019 to sign a declaration aimed at tackling and preventing harassment, abuse and discrimination in sport.
"I knew I had to address the grassroots. That's where most athletes will spend their life," Duncan said.
"Safe sport needs to be on every federal, provincial, territorial meeting year after year after year, with real goals and deliverables. I talked a lot about numbers. How can we address a problem if we don't know what that problem looks like?"
Reluctance in government
In the 2019 federal budget, the government committed $30 million over five years "to enable Canadian sports organizations to promote accessible, ethical, equitable and safe sports."
But Duncan says there was a climate of resistance to policies she was introducing, both within and outside the government.
"I don't think people understood the problem. There wasn't a lot of interest in Parliament. I asked what we were doing and I was told that we had to stop this safe sport stuff and get back to what sport was really about," she said, referring to celebrating sporting achievements.
"My answer was, 'So not protecting children?'"
CBC News reached out to the Prime Minister's Office but they declined to comment.
WATCH | Kirsty Duncan describes 'pushback' by Hockey Canada:
Duncan said a three-page letter sent by Hockey Canada to one of her senior policy advisers reflects the tone of the opposition she faced.
The letter, first reported by the Canadian Press, was written by Glen McCurdie, then Hockey Canada's vice-president of insurance and risk management. In it, McCurdie expressed concern about some of the policies Duncan was pursuing, including the third-party investigation unit.
Glen McCurdie, Hockey Canada's former vice-president of insurance and risk management, appears as a witness at the standing committee on Canadian Heritage in Ottawa on July 27, 2022. The committee was looking into how Hockey Canada handled allegations of sexual assault and a subsequent lawsuit. (The Canadian Press)
Duncan said she never saw the letter four years ago and only read it for the first time this past summer, when the Hockey Canada controversy was playing out.
"Hockey Canada does not wish to be encumbered by a system or process that ties our hands and does not allow us to manage a situation as we deem necessary. We are simply asking that you keep this in mind as you continue to lead us in a collective Safe Sport strategy," McCurdie wrote in the letter, which was also obtained by CBC News.
Duncan said she was frustrated in 2019 by Hockey Canada's reluctance and remains just as frustrated today.
"Hockey Canada pushed back against a third party investigator and a safe sport helpline. Who would do that?" she said. "Who wouldn't want a child to be able to pick up a phone and say, 'I've had a problem'?
"I think people want to sweep this under the rug. I think people want to move on. And we can't."
In an email to CBC, Hockey Canada said the 2019 letter does not reflect the organization's current thinking or direction.
"Hockey Canada recognizes that we need to do more to foster a safe and positive environment for all participants on and off the ice," the organization wrote.
Hockey Canada said the organization participated in the government's safe sport helpline and hired third-party investigators to look into the claims it received. Hockey Canada became a full signatory in October 2022 to the Office of the Sport Integrity Commission, which is now responsible for overseeing and investigating allegations of abuse in sport.
Corrections
- This piece originally stated that the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada was established in 2021. It was launched in 2004.Jan 27, 2023 2:56 PM ET
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https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/ndp-caucus-retreat-1.6716591
Canada's health-care system under threat from both Liberals and Conservatives: Singh
Federal NDP meets for 3-day caucus retreat in Ottawa
Addressing a room filled with MPs, political staffers and party members, Singh accused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of winking at efforts by conservative premiers to radically change their health-care systems.
"While (Ontario Premier) Doug Ford, (Alberta Premier) Danielle Smith and (Manitoba Premier) Heather Stefanson launch a mission to privatize public, universal Canadian health care, Justin Trudeau does nothing and (Conservative Leader) Pierre Poilievre cheers them on," Singh said on Parliament Hill.
Ontario's Progressive Conservative government on Monday announced its plan to expand the number and range of surgeries offered at for-profit clinics in the province. Both the Alberta and Manitoba governments have mused recently about boosting private sector involvement in health care.
WATCH: NDP threatens to kill deal with Liberals over health-care crisis
After Ontario's announcement, Prime Minister Trudeau said he was open to ideas to "deliver better services to Canadians in health care."
The Ontario and federal New Democrats are leaving no room for doubt about where they stand on public dollars going to the private system. They've argued expanding the private option would only intensify competition with the public sector for scarce human resources.
Singh called on the federal government to use the levers it has at its disposal to push back against provincial governments looking to private health-care institutions for solutions.
"In fact, the prime minister has the opportunity right now to protect medicare. While negotiating funding with the provinces, we all agree there should be strings attached," Singh said.
"I think one of those conditions has to be no privatization. No for-profit corporations taking over health care. No billing patients for anything. No cannibalizing hospitals, sending their nurses and doctors to for-profit clinics."
Staffing strategy needed, says labour group
What Canada needs is a national strategy for staffing the health-care system, says the country's largest labour organization, which has close ties to the NDP.
Bea Bruske, president of the Canadian Labour Congress, said such a strategy would help governments across Canada recruit, train and retain health-care workers.
"Our public system is in dire straits, and we're calling on all levels of government to work together to make sure Canadians right across this country can rely on strong public health care," Bruske told CBC before her address to the NDP caucus on Wednesday.
Singh did not mention the need for a strategy but he echoed Bruske's focus on staffing "solutions."
"Solutions like training more nurses and doctors," the NDP leader said in his Wednesday morning keynote address. "Getting licences for health-care workers from other countries who are already here and ready to work in our hospitals."
Speaking to reporters at an EV charger manufacturing plant in Shawinigan, Que., Trudeau said Wednesday there is "some very positive momentum happening" in the ongoing federal-provincial talks over the future of the Canada Health Transfer (CHT).
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks to the media after a visit to FLO, a maker of electric car chargers, in Shawinigan, Que. on Wednesday, January 18, 2023. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press)
Ottawa has demanded the provinces earmark any new federal money for five key priority areas — primary care, long-term care, mental health, virtual care and surgery backlogs.Trudeau said the two sides are "more and more in line" on the issues.
Trudeau said Ottawa's planned investments are not designed for short-term fixes to a system that has struggled in the wake of COVID-19.
The expected multi-billion cash injection should be used to spur "more innovation in the system to make sure we have the best health-care system in the world," he said.
"There's a distinction between short-term investments, the ones we need now to resolve immediate problems and what the federal government will continue to do in the coming years to build the future of the system," he said, adding that the provinces and territories already have sufficient fiscal capacity to address acute issues like labour shortages and capacity issues.
Budget will decide fate of NDP-Liberal deal, critic says
Before Singh delivered his keynote, several New Democrat MPs spoke about the state of the deal between the Liberals and the New Democrats to prop up Trudeau's minority government. All the MPs expressed optimism about where things stand, including NDP finance critic Daniel Blaikie.
In March 2022, the New Democrats signed a confidence-and-supply agreement with the governing Liberals to provide them with the votes needed to pass key legislation in exchange for the Liberals agreeing to advance a number of NDP priorities.
The upcoming 2023 federal budget will be a key factor in determining whether the NDP's agreement with the Liberals has been a success or a failure, he said.
"I think the budget is going to tell the tale about whether we're making that progress at a good rate," Blaikie told CBC News. "It's going to be a very interesting few months on the Hill here … when the budget is presented."
Blaikie was expected to brief his caucus colleagues Wednesday on negotiations he's been having with the federal government as a member of a bipartisan group formed to discuss progress on key commitments and priorities.
Pharmacare, dental plan expansion on NDP radar
While many of those priorities don't have stated timelines, some do.
For instance, the Liberal-NDP pact committed Trudeau's government to passing a Canada Pharmacare Act in 2023, and to introducing a bulk drug purchasing plan and a national formulary by the end of the agreement.
In 2022, federal dental care coverage was expanded to cover children under 12 years old in households earning less than $90,000. An expansion to that dental coverage to cover 18-year-olds, seniors and people living with disabilities in middle-income households was also supposed to happen this year under the Liberal-NDP agreement.
"We're expecting to see that at the beginning of 2024," Blaikie said.
NDP finance critic Daniel Blaikie is a member of a group that discusses progress on key commitments and priorities in the supply-and-confidence agreement between the Liberals and the NDP. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
Blaikie noted that because much of the work to prepare budgets happens months in advance, the 2022 budget was mostly assembled before the Liberal-NDP confidence and supply agreement was signed. So the upcoming budget should "tell a lot of the story" of how the NDP-Liberal agreement is holding up, he said.
"It's going to be an important moment of reflection for our caucus as we think about the next year ahead and whether the government is doing a good enough job," he said.
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