Mark Carney, the leader of the Liberal party, made his intention clear of cementing Canada’s position as an ‘energy superpower.’ His announcement came within the energy-rich landscape of Canada as he pledged to expedite the review and approval processes for significant energy projects. This comes as the second similar pledge within a span of three days with Pierre Poilievre, the Conservative Leader, echoing a similar sentiment during a campaign stop at British Columbia, northwest.
Both leaders aim at transforming the perception about Canada, widely referred to as a zone where the realization of massive projects is an invariably extended process. With the focus of most of the electorate on the cumbersome US tariffs induced by President Trump, the messages of the Liberal and Conservative leaders are clearly aimed at lessening Canada’s dependency on US trade by diversifying their energy infrastructure, including new pipelines.
Trump’s worldwide trade tussle came into the limelight once again when he announced a 90-day postponement on levies for most countries; however, this relief didn’t extend to Canada. Before this pronouncement, Carney highlighted how these tariffs have negatively impacted Canadian businesses and workers. He added that Canada’s response will transcend retaliatory duties and involve a more comprehensive strategy.
Carney expressed interest in reducing reliance on US-imported energy. In the days leading up to the campaign, in his capacity as prime minister, he convened a meeting with provincial premiers in Ottawa to formulate a plan for a single project review process, inclusive of environmental impact assessments, instead of dual reviews from multiple governmental layers.
On Wednesday, Carney announced that agreements would be signed within six months of office commencement with consenting provincial and Indigenous governments to honor their energy project assessments. He asserted authority saying, ‘under my leadership, it’s time to build and we will build big time’.
While acknowledging the vast opportunities for clean energy in Canada, Carney expressed his desire for Canada to prevail in the conventional energy market. In his view, this would involve long-term reductions in carbon emissions and collaborations with industry to accomplish this.
Pierre Poilievre on Monday proposed to design a one-stop platform that would simplify the application and environmental review processes for each project. Poilievre also plans to eliminate both consumer carbon tax, abolished by Carney in April, as well as the carbon price levied on major industrial entities.
Wednesday found Poilievre campaigning in northern Ontario’s Sault Ste. Marie, a city linked to Michigan by a bridge. The city’s major employer is Algoma Steel, a producer of steel sheet and plate products, in a town of roughly 72,000 residents.
While there, he proposed a tough ‘three-strikes’ penalty for those found guilty of ‘grave’ crimes thrice, making such offenders ineligible for bail, probation, parole, or house arrest. In such cases, the convicts would face a minimum 10-year prison sentence, potentially leading up to life imprisonment.
Poilievre stated that such hardened criminals would only be released after having demonstrated their non-threat status to society. He elaborated, ‘In my rule, re-offenders’ freedom will hinge only upon unblemished behaviour and negative drug tests throughout a substantial minimum prison term with release earned based on substantial progression in life, such as acquiring a skill or advancing their education.’
Despite objections from judicial experts regarding some of his crime policies being potentially unconstitutional, Poilievre was assertive that his proposed law would withstand scrutiny. Earlier in the campaign, Poilievre also proposed a law mandating life sentences for individuals convicted of five or more charges of human trafficking, illegal firearms’ importation or exportation, or trafficking fentanyl, with repeated offenders not eligible for bail.
As a rebuttal to Poilievre’s proposed laws, Carney said that while ‘full force of the law’ should be applied to consistent offenders, he was not in complete agreement with the ‘three strikes and you’re out’ approach. In the previous year, a government bill steered by the Liberals had put an end to the unavoidable minimum sentences for all drug convictions and for some crimes involving firearms and tobacco, effectively reversing the ‘tough on crime’ steps implemented under Harley.
This legislative action was made possible following push back from Canadian courts against minimum obligatory sentences, leading to the immensely influential 2016 Supreme Court of Canada decision to repeal a few obligatory minimum sentences levied under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
In other leadership campaigns, the NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, in Vancouver made promises to extend the pharmacare program, previously advocated by his party and implemented under the Liberals in last government. Singh added that an NDP government would work towards the establishment of a comprehensive public pharmacare system within four years of taking office.
Late Wednesday, both Carney and Singh planned to attend rallies in Saskatoon. This visit stands out as the first event any party leader has held in Saskatchewan during this campaign. The region, with its 14 federal constituencies, has been a consistent supporter of conservative ideologies in past federal elections.
Elections Canada has publicly listed all the federal election candidates battling for seats across Canadian ridings. Regrettably, Chanie Thériault, who was heading to compete against Liberal incumbent Jean-Yves Duclos in a Quebec City constituency, will miss representation under the Conservative party, as her nomination papers were rejected by Elections Canada.
The post Mark Carney Vows to Cement Canada as Energy Powerhouse appeared first on Real News Now.
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