Trudeau was Reelected. Now What?

CHRISTINNE MUSCHI/REUTERS

Back in September, Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government was elected once again as a minority government. Since then, much has happened in Trudeau’s third term.

During the 36 day campaign, the Liberal Party made dozens of promises that they vowed to keep if they were re-elected. 

One of their major proposals regarding the pandemic would be their promise to put vaccine mandates in place for interprovincial travel on planes, trains, and in the federal public service. This proposal has been put into action by the Liberal government. 

They also promised to reduce Canada’s carbon emissions by 40-45% below 2005 levels by 2030. 

They also stated that they were going to bring $10 a day childcare to middle class families  in the next four to five years working with the provinces. This promise seems to be going to schedule, as the government has already signed agreements with eight provinces and territories that have covered the childcare of almost half of the children in Canada under the age of six. 

To combat Canada’s housing crisis, the party has pledged that they will build, preserve, or repair 1.4 million homes in the next four years. The government has promised they will work towards this goal by directing funds to cities to entice them into increasing their yearly housing builds. They also claimed that they will double the resources given to the National Housing Co-investment fund, which offers forgivable or low-interest loans to build new developments or affordable housing units. Additionally they claimed that they are going to double the budget for converting empty office and retail space into housing, including federal and commercial buildings. Currently, not much information has been released relating to whether or not this is being done. 

They also vowed to build reconciliation between themselves and the Indigenous Peoples of Canada, to quote a line that the Liberals have stated on their official website, they will, “(take) action to confront systemic racism against Indigenous Peoples, especially in the justice system and health care” and “ protect the wellbeing of Indigenous children and families.  

It is important to note that there are a great deal of promises that are not covered in this article.

Moreover, in an interview with Ken Hardie, a Liberal MP for Fleetwood-Port Kells, he revealed a few things about the current happenings inside of Ottawa. To him, it is seen as “very transformational (since) cutting daycare costs in half now and down to $10 per day within four or five years will allow more single parents (particularly women) to go back to work, contributing to a better situation for their families and improving the national economy.”

On the other hand, Ken Hardie, also pointed out some negative things that he believes have occurred due to the party taking a minority government in Canada as he said, “Many have argued that our party’s move to put vaccine mandates in place has offended personal rights and has divided the country. Another (negative effect) would be the growing divide between urban/suburban Canadians and those who live in rural areas.” 

Since their election in September, the Liberals have introduced three new bills into parliament: Bill C-4, which bans conversion therapy, Bill C-2, which adjusts pandemic supports, and Bill C-3, which would make intimidating or obstructing health-care workers or patients seeking health care illegal.

On September 30, Trudeau went on a vacation to Tofino on the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Even though it had been made clear that the statutory holiday Trudeau’s government set up was meant to be a day to reconcile with Indigenous Peoples, Trudeau elected to surf with his family. Many Indigenous leaders criticized this, especially in the wake of the 215 Indigenous children’s remains found outside an old Kamloops residential school building in May. 

With that controversy in place, an apology for the sexual misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces was officially set for December 13 after two years of delay. This apology was promised under the settlement terms of the class-action lawsuit that seven victims filed against the federal government in 2016. 

There are also currently negotiations being held over whether or not each First Nations person will receive $40,000 in compensation over the child welfare system that many went through and was widely seen as incredibly damaging for their mental and physical health.If no agreement is made between the two parties, the government has decided to keep appealing the court order to give out compensation. 

Justin Trudeau’s Throne Speech on November 23rd, 2021 outlined the Liberal’s plan of action going forward. The speech summarized their general agenda, as they plan “to finish the fight against COVID-19, take strong climate action, make life more affordable, walk the shared path of reconciliation, put home ownership back in reach, create jobs, and grow the middle class.”

The opposition parties mostly disagreed with the specifics of the speech and the Lberal’s plans, which was made clear in their responses to the speech on November 23rd, 2021.

 Erin O’ Toole, the Official Opposition leader said that, “Mr. Trudeau says that we are all in this together, but Canada has never been more divided.” 

The NDP leader Jagmeet Singh responded to the speech, and said that it showed “a government that has run out of ideas and run out of steam,” 

Unlike the other two party leaders, Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet hinted that his party, Bloc Quebois, would still support the throne speech, even after stating that it was, “24 pages worth of empty words,” and that, “it could have been written by a college student.” 

The opposition parties were also critical of his slow restart of parliament. According to the CBC, Justin Trudeau had yet to set up a full parliament, with no parliamentary committees assembled, and with no parliamentary secretaries decided, (the members of parliament that are part of the committees that are picked by the Prime Minister). 

However, on December 3rd, Justin Trudeau finally chose his new team of Parliamentary secretaries, almost three months after the election. Even after, Parliamentary Committee members have still not been named.