The Bloc Québécois Announces it Will Run a Carbon-Neutral Campaign
The Bloc Québécois announced by media release on Saturday that it would run a carbon-neutral campaign. At the end of the campaign, Carboneutre Québec will calculate the Bloc Québécois's carbon footprint, and the party will pay for a carbon offset. The offset, according to the release, will include investments in tree planting and university research.
Trudeau Focuses on Assault Weapons Ban
Liberal leader Justin Trudeau was in Markham on Sunday highlighting his government's assault weapons ban, the Regulations Amending the Regulations Prescribing Certain Firearms and Other Weapons, Components and Parts of Weapons, Accessories, Cartridge Magazines, Ammunition and Projectiles as Prohibited, Restricted or Non-Restricted, SOR/2020-96, made May 1, 2020, by Order-in-Council P.C. 2020-298. The May 2020 regulations prohibit 1506 makes and models of assault weapons, including rocket launchers, mortars, grenade launchers and anti-tank guns. Trudeau stated: "In May of 2020 we banned fifteen-hundred different models of military-style assault weapons in this country." The Liberal leader continued, "We're moving forward with a mandatory buy-back program that gives people the choice of either selling their guns back to the government, or rendering those guns permanently unusable."
Also on Sunday, Conservative leader Erin O'Toole announced that his party would not implement its campaign platform pledge to rescind the May 2020 ban. "We're going to maintain the restrictions that were put in place in 2020," he told the news media.
O'Toole Supports Vaccine Passports and Will Partner With Provinces to Make Them National; Other Leaders Also Support National Vaccine Passports
Conservative leader Erin O'Toole travelled to British Columbia over the weekend to outline a plan to fight the fourth COVID-19 wave driven by the Delta-variant. On Saturday, O'Toole expressed support for provincial vaccine passports and said he would partner with provincial governments to make them national: "The provinces have a series of systems of proof of vaccination QR codes, of vaccine passports; we will respect what the provinces are doing, [and] partner with them to make sure that we have that for foreign travelling by Canadians." O'Toole also outlined a four-point plan that includes: regular national public health briefings; ensuring political parties and campaigns follow all national, provincial, and local public health restrictions and guidance; persuading every Canadian that vaccines are safe and effective; and working with the provinces, delivering more vaccines and rapid tests, tracking outbreaks, and managing PPE stockpiles.
On Sunday, in Ottawa, New Democrat leader Jagmeet Singh reiterated his support for a national vaccine passport, promised funding to provinces and territories promote vaccination of the unvaccinated, and pledged to amend the Criminal Code to make it an aggravated offense to "in any way, impede or assault, or in any way threaten a healthcare worker in the course of their duties."
Liberal leader Justin Trudeau has already promised a national vaccine passport, saying on Friday that it would be introduced "in the coming months or a year" and that, meanwhile, the federal government would "add a federal level of certification" to provincial vaccine passports.
The Bloc Québécois has for many months supported vaccine passports for international travel.
Singh Outlines Dental Care Plan
On Saturday, New Democrat leader Jagmeet Singh was in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, highlighting the NDP's dental care plan. Singh stated that the NDP plan would provide full coverage to uninsured families earning less than $60,000 a year, and partial coverage to families earning up to $90,000 in annual income. The NDP stated that its proposed 1% tax on Canadians with a net worth of $10 million or more would generate $11 billion in revenue in the first year, enough to fund dental care and other NDP platform initiatives.
A Statistical Tie, According To Abacus
According to a new poll by Abacus, the Liberals and Conservatives are in a statistical tie heading into the final two weeks of the federal election. The poll, conducted from September 1-4, found that if an election were held, the Conservatives would win 33% of the vote, the Liberals 32%, the NDP 21% and the Green Party 3%. The Liberals and Bloc Québécois are both deadlocked at 31% in Quebec, with the Conservatives trailing in the province at 18%.
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