This article was sourced through an original cheat sheet written by Pressed News – to read the full guide click here.
Notable Life with the help of Pressed News is here to help you decipher the complex issues at the forefront of this election and where each party stands on them. For a more in-depth explanation of each topic, Pressed News has developed a very helpful guide.
Climate Change
Liberals
The liberals recently implemented a carbon tax compelling provinces to 10 dollars per tonne of carbon dioxide starting in 2019, and 50 dollars a tonne by 2022. They have also pledged to ban the use of single-use plastics by 2021. However, many view Trudeau’s approach as somewhat hypocritical, seeing as he is still vying to get the Trans Mountain pipeline built.
Conservatives
Andrew Scheer has promised to reduce emissions by setting emission limits for significant emitters rather than taxing Canadians and compelling anyone who goes over those limits to pay cold hard cash into a fund for government-sanctioned cleantech companies.
NDP
The NDP also wants to ban single-use plastics and hopes to do so by 2022. Singh and his party also want to confront transit by supporting low-carbon transit projects. The party aims to have Canada powered by carbon-free electricity by 2030 as well as have pre-existing buildings retrofitted by 2050.
Green Party
It goes without saying that the Green Party of Canada is quite ambitious with its climate plan. They vow to put a complete end to all new fossil fuel development projects and imports, a transition to non-nuclear renewable energy sources and plan to hit zero emissions by 2030 with a 60% reduction by 2020.
The Refugee Crisis and Immigration
Liberals
Justin Trudeau is passionate about the settlement of refugees and immigration in Canada, as long as it is fair for everyone. Trudeau uses this logic to justify his efforts to alter a loophole in the “Safe Third Country Agreement.” The agreement enables refugees to claim asylum in Canada after passing from the US through unofficial border points. Trudeau wants to change the law so that refugees are allowed by border officials to be returned to the first ‘safe’ country they entered, which is often the US. However, some human rights advocates believe that changing the loophole isn’t fair. Trudeau also wants to increase admission rates for permanent residents and increase funding to the enforcement of Canada’s border.
Conservatives
Andrew Scheer released an outline of his plan that also seeks to renegotiate the ‘Safe Third Country Agreement,’ and put an end to illegal border crossings. Additionally, he aims to ensure that individuals facing real persecution are labelled a priority and that all skilled workers have easier access to residency as well as access to language training.
NDP
The NDP’s plan is similar to the Liberals and Conservatives. However, the NDP has issues with the ‘Safe Third Country Agreement,’ and want to suspend it altogether. They also want to remove the caps on the number of people permitted to apply to sponsor parents and grandparents to come to Canada. Singh and his party also vowed to address the backlog of resettlement claims and improve recognition of foreign qualifications.
Green Party
Elizabeth May and the Green Party have not clearly stated a new plan on how to address issues relating to immigration. However, May has been adamant that she is not in support of any party closing the ‘Safe Third Country Agreement’ loophole. She is upset at the idea that anyone in need would be turned away from Canada.
Housing Affordability
Liberals
Between 2016 and 2018, Trudeau and the Liberals brought in the mortgage stress test to ensure that anyone buying a home could afford it. They also laid out a national housing strategy where they would invest $55 billion over ten years to create 125,000 new homes and repair over 300,000 homes. Trudeau also promises to assist struggling families in paying for homes through the Canada Housing Benefit.
Conservatives
Scheer sees housing as a primary issue for Canadians and claims that his party would increase the supply of homes by making it more accessible for units to get built as well as make things easier for people to qualify for mortgages.
NDP
Singh and his party are hoping to assist Canadians to get into the housing market through vowing to build 500,000 affordable homes in the next ten years, eliminate the federal GST/HST on the construction of new rental units, and re-enact 30-year mortgage terms to ensure that first-time buyers can pay a smaller monthly amount.
Green Party
The Green Party views affordable housing as a massive issue facing most Canadians. The party wants to establish a Guaranteed Livable Income for all Canadians to keep them out of poverty and get them into affordable housing, implement a National Housing Strategy, confront housing for the homeless, put more money into boosting co-op housing, as well as increase housing availability to Indigenous people living on and off reserves.
Women’s Issues
Liberals
The current Liberal government claims to be supporting women’s issues by ensuring that women have ‘safe and legal access to reproductive and abortion services.’ Liberals also vow to continue assisting female entrepreneurs and women in trades as well as encourage young girls and women to pursue careers in STEM (Science, Tech, Engineering, and Math).
Conservatives
Pro-choice Canadians are hesitant about Scheer when it comes to protecting women’s abortion rights, as he has a past of supporting anti-abortion laws. However, he claims that he will not reopen the debate. Conservatives plan to help women by supplying new parents with more money and promising to make maternity benefits tax-free.
NDP
The NDP is appealing to voters by promising to tackle gender-based issues such as the wage gap. Singh and his party promise to prioritize equal pay by requiring employers to be transparent regarding compensation and through enforcing strict pay equity laws. Additionally, the NDP also plans to support the implementation of domestic violence leave for victims as well as combat violence against Indigenous women.
The Green Party
Elizabeth May has claimed in the past that she identifies as a feminist and fully endorses and supports a woman’s right to access safe abortion. She also advocates that support must be in place for both men and women who require childcare services, as well as information on birth control.
This article was sourced through an original cheat sheet written by Pressed News – to read the full guide click here.