Parties' Issues

From the CBC:

“How do the main parties compare on these issues?”

Read the policies and promises of the six main parties on this election's pressing issues.

COVID recovery

Liberal The Liberals spent billions on pandemic aid during the crisis in the form of relief benefits and wage subsidies. They will extend the emergency wage subsidy to October and the Canada recovery hiring program to March 31. They have pledged to help the hard-hit tourism industry with a temporary wage and rent support for up to 75 per cent of expenses. In April, the government and Air Canada agreed to a $5.9 billion loan package.

Conservative Conservatives have said they will wind down emergency spending in a responsible way and help the hardest-hit sectors with a “Canada jobs surge plan,” paying up to 50 per cent of the salaries of new hires after the wage subsidy expires. They promise loans of up to $200,000 for small and medium businesses in the retail, hospitality and tourism sectors, of which 25 per cent could be forgivable. Tories pledge to help the airline sector rebuild.

Bloc Québécois The Bloc has not yet unveiled its policies on this matter.

Child care

Liberal The Liberals are investing $30 billion over five years for a national child-care system, a key part of the spring budget. They’ve signed multi-billion-dollar deals with eight provinces and territories to cut fees to an average of $10 per day in five years. Liberals say they want to see a 50 per cent reduction in average fees for early learning and child care by the end of 2022. The plan also pumps $2.5 billion into Indigenous early learning and child care.

Conservative Conservatives would cancel the Liberal program but allow provinces and territories that inked deals to keep the funds already paid out. The Tory plan would convert the existing child-care expense deduction into a refundable tax credit to cover up to 75 per cent of child-care costs for lower-income families. They say a family with an income of $30,000 would get up to $6,000 a year, while a family with an income of $50,000 would get $5,200.

Bloc Québécois The Bloc has touted Quebec’s existing child-care program and has raised concerns about Ottawa dictating to the provinces on the issue. They called for funding to be transferred to Quebec with “no strings attached.”  (The $6-billion over five years that the federal government announced for Quebec in August comes without conditions.)

Emergency preparedness

Liberal The Liberals launched a Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund in 2018 for infrastructure projects to support communities affected by natural disasters triggered by climate change. The spring budget included nearly $1.4 billion more for the fund over 12 years, and almost $2 billion over five years for Public Safety Canada to support provincial and territorial disaster response and recovery efforts. Liberals are promising to spend $500 million to train at least 1,000 firefighters “in targeted wildfire risk management strategies in communities across the country.”

Conservative The Conservatives are promising to appoint a national disaster resilience adviser to the Privy Council Office and to invest in technology to “improve the early detection of wildfires and better predict their behaviour.” Tories promise to bring forth a national action plan on floods, which includes establishing a residential high risk flood insurance program, and a national climate adaptation strategy.

Bloc Québécois The Bloc has pointed to forest fires and floods as proof that more must be done to slash greenhouse gas emissions.

Foreign policy

Liberal The Liberals have pledged to resettle 40,000 Afghan refugees and to continue to support Afghans who did not get out of the country, although it has not offered details on how that would happen. They say they plan to work with allies to respond to the behaviour of “authoritarian states'' such as China, Russia and Iran, and develop a coordinated response on matters such as arbitrary detention and foreign interference in elections. The party says it would increase Canada’s international development assistance and donate 200 million vaccine doses to vulnerable populations abroad by the end of 2022.

Conservative Conservatives have said they’d be open to resettling more than 20,000 Afghans. The Conservatives also promised to stand up to “China’s aggressions” with a “coalition of democracies,” and work with allies to address threats from China, Russia and Iran. It remains unclear how the Conservative policy would be different from the Liberal one. The Tories have promised an audit of all Canadian positions in multilateral institutions, including the UN, and say they will recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move Canada’s embassy there.

Bloc Québécois The Bloc has not released much details on where they’d like Canadian foreign policy to go. The party says it wants Canada to play a “leadership role” at the World Health Organization and for the province of Quebec to have more power to conduct its own international affairs.

Guns

Liberal Liberals passed Bill C-71 in 2019 to enhance background checks for firearms purchases and force retailers to keep records of sales. In 2020, the Liberal government immediately banned the use, sale and importation of 1,500 makes and models of what they dubbed military-grade "assault-style" firearms. Liberals are promising to make it mandatory for owners of barred firearms to sell them back to the government or have them rendered inoperable. They promise to “crack down on high-capacity magazines,” boost penalties for gun trafficking and smuggling, and spend $1 billion to help provinces and territories ban handguns in their jurisdictions.

Conservative Conservatives have vowed to repeal C-71 and the Liberal order-in-council on outlawing 1,500 firearms. They plan to introduce a simplified classification system and new safe storage provisions, and to target gun smugglers with more support for the RCMP and CBSA. Tories say they would go after criminals and respect law-abiding gun owners and are proposing some new mandatory minimum sentences for the criminal use of guns.

Bloc Québécois The Bloc has argued the Liberals’ buy-back program for so-called assault-style firearms should be mandatory. The party also wants Quebec to have its own buy-back program.

Health care

Liberal The Liberals rejected the provinces’ request to increase federal health-care spending by $28 billion a year. They have, however, offered $10 billion in new funding for the 2021-22 budget year, with $4 billion of that already announced in the federal budget. In total $6 billion would be used to cut waitlists for treatment and $3.2 billion would be used to hire 7,500 doctors and nurses, with the rest going towards virtual care improvements and rural health care. The Liberals have also promised $4.5 billion over five years to the provinces for mental health services and to move forward on a national, universal pharmacare program.

Conservative Within the first 100 days of forming a government, the Tories say they would meet with premiers to strike a new health-care agreement. They pledge to boost the annual growth rate of the Canada Health Transfer to six per cent [it’s now tied to how much the economy grows in a given year, with a floor of three per cent]. The party says the increase would inject an additional $60 billion into the health-care system over 10 years and will help fund mental health services. Conservatives also promise $325 million for drug treatment beds and recovery centres. The platform makes no mention of pharmacare.

Bloc Québécois The Bloc has called on the federal government to increase its share of health-care funding to 35 per cent of its cost from the 22 per cent it currently sends to the provinces. The party is also calling for a Canadian pharmaceutical strategy to facilitate access to drugs at reduced costs.

Housing

Liberal The Liberals introduced a 10-year, $40-billion National Housing Strategy in 2017 to build 100,000 affordable housing units and cut homelessness. The spring budget included $2.5 billion to create 35,000 affordable housing units. During the campaign they have promised to build, preserve or repair 1.4 million homes in four years, double the first-time home buyers tax credit from $5,000 to $10,000, and force the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation to cut mortgage insurance rates by 25 per cent. Liberals are also promising $1 billion in funding for a rent-to-own program, a Home Buyers’ Bill of Rights to ban blind bidding, and a first home savings account to allow Canadians up to age 40 to save up to $40,000 for their first home and withdraw it tax-free when it’s time to buy. They also want to ban foreign ownership of new homes for the next two years.

Conservative The Conservatives have promised to build one million homes over three years, launch an Indigenous housing strategy and convert 15 per cent of federal government property into housing. They want to ban foreign investors not living in or moving to Canada from buying homes in Canada for a two-year period. They say they will “encourage a new market” in seven-to-10-year mortgages and tweak the stress test and insurance requirements to help more Canadians qualify for financing.

Bloc Québécois The Bloc is calling for Ottawa to devote one per cent of its annual income to social, community and affordable housing. It wants surplus federal properties to be used for the development of these homes, with money from the national housing strategy to help co-ops buy buildings and convert them into affordable housing.

Income supports

Liberal The Liberals increased the federal minimum wage to $15 and say they would enhance the Canada Workers Benefit to support about one million more Canadians in low-wage jobs. They promise to create the Canada Disability Benefit, a direct monthly payment for low-income Canadians with disabilities between the ages of 18-64. Though the idea is popular among some grassroots party members, Liberals have not committed to a universal basic income.

Conservative Conservatives say they will double the disability supplement in the Canada Workers Benefit from $713 to $1,500, and make it easier to qualify for the Disability Tax Credit and Registered Disability Savings Plan. The Tory platform also says the party would double the Canada Workers Benefit up to a maximum of $2,800 for individuals or $5,000 for families. Tories do not support universal basic income.

Bloc Québécois The Bloc supported raising the federal minimum wage. The party does not appear to have a position on the issue of universal basic income.

Indigenous services

Liberal The Liberals did not fulfil a promise to lift all long-term boil-water advisories in First Nations by March 2021, but poured $1.5 billion more last year into completing the project. Their spring budget promised $18 billion over five years to improve the quality of life for people in Indigenous communities through things like education and health care. They are promising to spend an additional $1.4 billion over five years for a mental health and wellness strategy to be developed with Indigenous communities.

Conservative Conservatives say they will recognize safe drinking water as a fundamental human right and end all long-term drinking water advisories on reserves. They pledge to increase economic partnerships with First Nations communities and to provide $1 billion over five years to boost funding for Indigenous mental health and drug treatment programs.

Bloc Québécois The Bloc wants to replace the Indian Act with a set of negotiated nation-to-nation treaties. The party is also proposing for an independent entity to replace the federal government’s comprehensive land claims resolution policy.

Jobs

Liberal Liberals pledged in last September’s throne speech and the spring budget to create one million jobs. In their election platform, they promise to go “beyond” one million jobs. They’ve proposed to extend the Canada Recovery Hiring Program to March 31 and provide the hard-hit tourism industry with temporary wage and rent support of up to 75 per cent to see them through the winter. They promise to extend COVID-related insurance coverage for media stoppages to support 150,000 jobs.

Conservative The Conservatives are also committed to creating one million jobs, if elected. Their platform includes a “Canada Job Surge Plan” to pay up to 50 per cent of the salary of new hires for six months once the emergency wage subsidy is phased out, and promise to provide loans of up to $200,000 for small and medium businesses in the hospitality, retail and tourism sectors. They are also promising to double the Canada Workers Benefit.

Bloc Québécois The Bloc has called for a study of the impact of bankruptcies on small and medium-sized businesses and is pushing for reforms to employment insurance to better support all workers, including seasonal and gig workers.

Long-term care

Liberal The Liberals are promising to introduce legislation, the Safe Long-Term Care Act, that would set national standards. The Liberals have also promised $9 billion in funding over five years to improve wages for care workers and hire 50,000 new ones. They would also double the Home Accessibility Tax Credit, improve the quality and access to long-term care beds and increase federal inspections for infection prevention. Only about two thirds of this money is new, with $3 billion having already been announced in the budget. Some extra money is already flowing to provinces through the $1 billion Safe Long-term Care Fund announced in the fall economic update.

Conservative The Conservatives oppose national standards for long-term care but say they will establish a set of “best practices” that the party would encourage provinces to adopt as law. They are also promising $3 billion over three years to upgrade facilities. They also pledge to introduce a Canada Seniors Care Benefit that would pay $200 per month per household to people living with and caring for a parent over age 70. They also want to amend the Home Accessibility Tax Credit, increasing the limit from $10,000 per dwelling to $10,000 per person, and promise to boost staffing numbers through immigration incentives.

Bloc Québécois The Bloc vigorously opposes national standards in long-term care, seeing it as an unacceptable encroachment on provincial jurisdiction.

Mandatory vaccines

Liberal The Liberals announced before the election call that the government would make COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for federal public service employees this fall, as well as some workers in federally regulated industries, including airlines and railways. Commercial air travellers and passengers on interprovincial trains and large marine vessels with overnight accommodations will also have to be vaccinated. They are promising to spend $1 billion to help provinces and territories bring in proof-of-vaccination credentials in their jurisdictions for non-essential businesses and public spaces.

Conservative Conservatives would not demand that federal civil servants and travellers are vaccinated against COVID-19. Instead, unvaccinated public servants would need to pass a daily rapid test. Canadian travellers would also need to pass a rapid test or present a recent negative test result before boarding a plane, train, bus or ship.

Bloc Québécois The Bloc supports people getting vaccinated but has questioned the constitutionality of the government’s policy on mandatory vaccinations.

Racial inequality

Liberal The Liberal government launched a $291.3 million Black Entrepreneurship Loan Fund last September, offering loans of up to $250,000 to businesses that are majority Black-owned, though some have found the funds difficult to access. The Liberals’ spring budget included $200 million for Employment and Social Development Canada to establish a Black-led philanthropic endowment fund to improve social and economic outcomes in Black communities and combat anti-Black racism. It also earmarked $100 million for the Supporting Black Canadian Communities Initiative, which supports Black-led non-profit organizations, and $172 million over five years for Statistics Canada to enact an action plan to improve the collection of disaggregated, race-based data. The Liberals promise a national action plan on combating hate by 2022 as part of a broader anti-racism strategy, and a “Black Canadians justice strategy” to address anti-Black racism in the justice system.

Conservative The Conservative platform does not spell out specific proposals to fight racial inequality, nor does it include the word “racism.” The document does say it is “time for Conservatives to take inequality seriously” and vows the party will appoint “Canada’s first Muslim Ambassador and first Ambassador to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.” Tories are also promising to double funding for the Security Infrastructure Program to address a rise in hate crimes.

Bloc Québécois The Bloc platform calls for the federal government to use anonymous resumes in the federal public service to address hiring discrimination.

Reconciliation

Liberal Liberals passed legislation to make Sept. 30 a federal statutory holiday — the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation — and changed the citizenship oath to recognize Indigenous rights. They recently provided $320 million in new funding to help Indigenous communities search burial sites at former residential schools and help survivors with trauma. Liberals previously promised to enact all 94 calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). They say they would build a monument in Ottawa to honour residential school survivors.

Conservative Conservatives promise a plan to implement the TRC’s calls to action 71 through 76 — dealing with uncovering missing children and searching burial sites — and fund searches at all former residential schools for unmarked graves. They would also build a monument in Ottawa to honour residential school survivors and the children who were lost.

Bloc Québécois Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet tabled a motion in the House of Commons in June calling for a national residential school monument in Ottawa and more funding for Indigenous communities to identify unmarked burial sites. It was adopted unanimously. The Bloc has also proposed more funding for the preservation of Indigenous languages, traditions and cultures, as well as more funding for Indigenous schools.

Seniors

Liberal The Liberal budget included a 10 per cent increase to Old Age Security benefits for pensioners 75 or older, starting next July. In August, the government provided a one-time payment of $500 to OAS pensioners who will be 75 or older as of June 30, 2022. Liberals are now promising to spend $9 billion over five years for seniors and to permanently increase the Guaranteed Income Supplement by $500 annually for single seniors and $750 for senior couples over 65.

Conservative The Conservatives are promising a Canada Seniors Care Benefit paying $200 per month, per household, to any Canadian living with and taking care of a parent over the age of 70. They would also allow seniors or their caregivers to claim the Medical Expense Tax Credit for home care.

Bloc Québécois The Bloc wants the Old Age Security benefit boosted by $110 a month for those aged 65 and up. They also blasted the Liberals for not having provided the one-time $500 payment to seniors under the age of 75, calling it “unacceptable discrimination.”

Small business

Liberal Liberals have promised to extend the Canada Recovery Hiring Program until March to help small employers make new hires. The program covers 50 per cent of the wages of new employees, but that will decrease to 20 per cent in November and that is the rate at which the program will be extended into March. Liberals are promising a refundable tax credit for small businesses to help cover 25 per cent of the costs of eligible ventilation upgrades, up to $10,000 per building and with a maximum of $50,000 per company. They promise to boost the Canada Small Business Financing Program to increase the maximum loan amount to $500,000 from $350,000.

Conservative The Conservative platform includes a “Rebuild Main Street Tax Credit” to provide a 25 per cent tax credit on amounts up to $100,000 that Canadians personally invest in a small business over the next two years. They also are promising loans of up to $200,000 for small- and medium-sized businesses in retail, hospitality and tourism, with up to 25 per cent forgiven. The party wants to provide a five per cent “investment tax credit for any capital investment made in 2022 and 2023,” with the first $25,000 to be refundable for small business. The Conservatives say a promised one-month “GST holiday” in December would help small retail stores, and want to provide a 50 per cent rebate for food and non-alcoholic beverages purchased for dine-in from Monday to Wednesday for one month.

Bloc Québécois The Bloc is committed to pushing for more government assistance for small businesses, including those in Quebec’s tourism and hospitality sector badly hurt by the pandemic. The party is also promoting a strategy to support local purchasing and help small businesses make the digital shift. They want to cap transaction fees from credit card issuers.

^ It’s important to know where the different Parties stand on different issues – not just their words, but in their actions (where possible.) Because of the sheer length I took some of the Political Parties and the Analysis out, but you can see them by clicking on the link. ^

https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/elections/federal/2021/party-platforms/