Carney promises funds to train workers, Poilievre declares war on scammers. Capital gains taxes, Singh against the two leaders. Blanchet: “Secularism first”

by Marzio Pelù

MONTREAL – Another day of campaigning for the leaders in the race, another series of promises. Today the leaders of Canada’s major political parties spent the day in the Montreal area, where they will square off this week in two televised debates: tomorrow (Wednesday) at 8 p.m. in French and the day after tomorrow (Thursday) at 7 p.m. in English (both live on CTV, including YouTube). 

Liberal Party leader Mark Carney today has promised a new training and retraining subsidy for mid-career workers who need access to new skills. The subsidy would provide up to $15,000 to workers in priority sectors, including manufacturing, healthcare, construction, artificial intelligence and technology. “To build the fastest-growing economy in the G7” Carney said in St. Eustache, Quebec, “we need a skilled workforce. That means training and education for everyone, and for all time”. He added that “in the face of the economic uncertainty and volatility that many Canadian companies are facing” due to tariffs, Liberals will work with employers to support professional retention and upskilling within their companies (in the video here below, his announcement).

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre announced, in Montreal, his plan to crack down on financial scammers targeting seniors, called the “Stop Scamming Seniors Act”.

“A new Conservative government will ensure that Canadian banks and mobile phone companies do a better job of spotting scams, warning victims before they are scammed, and reporting and blocking suspected fraud in real time” he said. “We will also increase fines and prison sentences for ruthless criminals who defraud vulnerable Canadians…”.

The Conservative plan (described in a video – here below – produced by the party) includes mandating fraud detection systems for banks and telecommunications companies, especially for high-risk accounts such as those held by seniors over 65; real-time reporting and blocking of suspicious activity such as large wire transfers; mandatory minimum sentences of one year in prison for fraud over $5,000, three years for fraud over $100,000, and five years for fraud over $1 million; and minimum fines of 10 times the amount defrauded.

“Imagine spending your life working hard, saving, carefully, preparing for your retirement, only to see it all disappear seconds after a scammer comes in and takes over, one call, one click and it’s gone” said Poilievre. “Unfortunately, this is the experience of thousands of Canadians who have fallen victim to increasingly sophisticated frauds in recent years…”.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, in Montreal, attacked the Liberals and Conservatives for their plans to scrap the capital gains tax hike introduced in the latest federal budget, saying it means the federal government will lose $19 billion that could be used to fund things like hiring more doctors and expanding pharmacies.

Then he added on Twitter X: “The NDP is fighting to protect what makes Canada, Canada. Our public health care. Homes you can afford. And the belief, that no one gets left behind. If you stand for fighting for working Canadians – this movement has a place for you”.

In the pics above: Jagmeet Singh (from his Twitter X profile – @theJagmeetSingh) and, at the top, Mark Carney (from his Twitter X profile – @MarkJCarney) 

The Bloc: “Ban the Use of Religious Symbols by Federal Employees”

“In Quebec we have chosen secularism. A clear choice, which the Liberals want to contest. It doesn’t matter, we will continue to move forward…”. Yves-Francois Blanchet’s Bloc Québécois (in the pic above, from the Twitter page @BlocQuebecois) continues its secular battle in the institutions, relaunching two of the proposals that are part of the party’s program for these federal elections: to ban the use of religious symbols by federal government employees in positions of authority who work in Quebec and to abolish the religious exception in the Criminal Code that authorizes incitement to hatred under the aegis of faith.

“Violence and hate speech are crimes, period. The religious exception for hate speech must be abolished” wrote leader Blanchet on Twitter X, where he also posted a video outlining the Bloc’s “secular” proposals (you can watch it here below).

“We’ve reached the point where we must defend, promote and put forward the value of the separation of church and state as two things that are not only different but fundamentally incompatible” Blanchet said, then, to the Montreal Gazette.

“In any modern society — any society that claims to believe in equality — must accept that the wearing of religious symbols, at least for people in positions of authority, is not acceptable…”.

Blanchet said that Canada should also do the following:

  • Exempt Quebec from federal multiculturalism policies.
  • Require people taking the Canadian citizenship oath in Quebec to do so with their faces uncovered.
  • Change the citizenship oath to emphasize the French language, and remove references to the monarchy and religion.
  • Require that the citizenship oath be taken in French when in Quebec.
  • Abolish the position of Canada’s Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia.
  • Replace the House of Commons daily prayer with a secular moment of reflection.

Marzio Pelù