“I support equal rights for all Canadians.
I support equal rights for women, for LGBTQ2+ persons, for persons of colour.
I will always support the complete equality and safety of all Canadians regardless of gender, race, religion, sexual identity, everything.
It’s that simple for me.”
Greg McLean
NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
SEPTEMBER 16 - SUPPORTING SENIORS
Through Canada’s Recovery Plan, a Conservative government will act to give seniors the care and support they deserve.
To support our seniors, a Conservative government will:
Introduce an all-new Canada Seniors Care Benefit, which will pay $200 per month per household to any Canadian who is living with and taking care of a parent over the age of 70.
Amend the Home Accessibility Tax Credit by increasing the limit from $10,000 per dwelling to $10,000 per person.
Allow seniors or their caregivers, including their children, to claim the Medical Expense Tax Credit for home care instead of only allowing them to claim attendant care if they live in a group home.
Invest $3 billion over the next three years to renovate long-term care homes and improve the care that residents receive.
Boost the number of personal support workers in long-term care and home care by providing priority and promoting these careers through immigration programs.
Double the Canada Workers Benefit and paying it out quarterly. This change will provide a $1 per hour raise for low-income seniors, including many who choose to work part-time to supplement their retirement income.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed cracks in Canada’s long-term care systems and shown how deadly the current overcrowding and staffing shortages in long-term care homes can be.
Only Canada’s Conservatives have a plan to help seniors stay in their own homes and improve the quality of long-term care across the country.
BACKGROUND
In 2014, over six million Canadians were aged 65 or older, representing 15.6 per cent of Canada’s population. By 2030, it is expected that there will be 9.5 million seniors and that they will make up to 23 per cent of Canadians.
According to a National Home Modifications Survey, commissioned by March of Dimes Canada, 78 per cent of Canadians surveyed want to age in their current homes.
SEPTEMBER 14 - CHILD CARE PLAN
Conservatives will secure child care for Canadian families.
Women’s full and equal participation in the workforce has been set back 30 years by the COVID-19 pandemic. We need a serious plan to support child care, so women can return to work.
Through Canada’s Recovery Plan, Canada’s Conservatives will support working families with children.
Canada’s Conservatives will convert the Child Care Expense deduction into a refundable tax credit. Lower income families will receive the most support with up to 75 per cent of child care expenses covered.
Whether it’s home care, after-school programs, or paying a family member or close friend to babysit, the Conservative plan will put parents back in the driver’s seat when it comes to choosing the kind of options that work best for their kids.
This program will increase the support lower income families receive by thousands of dollars per year and provide more assistance to almost all families.
Unlike Justin Trudeau’s paternalistic plan, the Conservative plan recognizes that not all women work 9-5. Our plan supports flexible child care options for women in every career path, including those who work shifts or unpredictable hours.
Our plan also recognizes that different types of arrangements work for different families, so we are not going to limit support to those parents who use one form of child care as the Liberals are doing.
A Conservative government will work with the provinces to ensure the plan is harmonized with provincial programs.
BACKGROUND
Under the Conservative child care plan, the most significant benefits will go to families with income under $50,000. The biggest boost will be to low- and middle-income families - making child care significantly more affordable.
For example:
· A family with an income of $30,000 can today receive a maximum of $1,200 from the federal government. Under our plan they will receive up to $6,000.
· A family with an income of $50,000 can today receive a maximum of $1,200 from the federal government. Under our plan they will receive up to $5,200.
· A family with an income of $80,000 can today receive a maximum of $1,200 from the federal government. Under our plan they will receive up to $4,800.
· A family with an income of $120,000 can today receive a maximum of $1,640 from the federal government. Under our plan they will receive up to $4,560.
SEPTEMBER 13: SUPPORT FOR NEW AND EXPECTING PARENTS
No new or expecting parent should have to worry about their income or finances when welcoming a new child into their family and into their home.
Through Canada’s Recovery Plan, we will help new and expecting parents by helping them keep more of their income and providing relief earlier on purchases for their child, such as cribs, clothes, and car seats.
That starts with improving Canada’s existing maternity and parental leave programs to allow new parents to earn and keep up to $1,000 per month without the government clawing back their EI benefits.
We will also expand the Canada Child Benefit to provide expectant parents with payments beginning at the seventh month of pregnancy rather than at childbirth.
A Conservative government will create a National Adoption Strategy that will include more generous benefits for adoptive parents. We will expand EI benefits and increase the Adoption Expense Tax Credit from $15,000 to $20,000.
Only Canada’s Conservatives have a plan to make life more affordable and secure the future for new and expecting Canadian families.
SEPTEMBER 12: SUPPORT FOR GRIEVING PARENTS
Conservatives will introduce changes to parental leave and bereavement leave to help parents who lose a child.
The death of a child is particularly devastating for a parent. However, Canada’s bereavement policies do not recognize this as they treat the death of a child the same as the death of another immediate family member.
Every year, thousands of parents in Canada experience the loss of a child, including from miscarriages or stillbirths.
Canada’s Conservatives will end the stigma around these situations. We will compassionately reform current EI parental leave benefits and bereavement leave.
We will ensure that parents are not abruptly cut off from their EI parental benefits immediately following the death of a child, as is the current practice. We will provide up to eight weeks of paid leave from employment in the event of a child’s death.
To support parents who have experienced the trauma of a stillbirth, we will provide up to eight weeks of paid leave from employment.
To support parents who have experienced the trauma of miscarriage, we will provide paid bereavement leave for three days.
Only Canada’s Conservatives have a plan to support grieving parents.
BACKGROUND
In 2019, there were 3,191 stillbirths and roughly 7,500 miscarriages in Canada.
The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada estimates 15 to 20 per cent of pregnancies, or one in five, end in miscarriage.
A survey of 6,000 women conducted by the National Miscarriage Research Centre in the U.K. found that 85 per cent felt “they didn’t think people understood what they had gone through.”
SEPTEMBER 9: BAN SLAVE LABOUR IMPORTS
Conservatives will secure human rights by banning the import of products made with slave labour.
A Conservative government will stand up to China’s Communist government and defend human rights by immediately banning imports of products made with enslaved Uyghur labour.
We will do so by introducing new legislation to ban products made by Uyghur forced labour, and dramatically revise supply chain legislation to meaningfully enforce Canada’s commitment not to import products made with slave labour.
A commitment to fundamental human rights is central to Canada’s Conservatives.
For years, the evidence has been mounting that China’s Communist regime is using slave labour in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (also known as East Turkistan) for the production of everything from cotton to tomatoes to solar panels, adding to the steady stream of genocide and human rights abuses committed against Uyghurs and other Muslim groups in the region.
While our allies like the United States have moved to ban slave labour products, Justin Trudeau has done nothing but send the Chinese Communist regime a sternly worded message.
Only Canada’s Conservatives will take real action to defend human rights and stand with our allies around the world against the Chinese Communist Party’s worst human rights offenders.
BACKGROUND
China’s Communist regime uses mass detainment, torture, forced labour, and sterilizations on Uyghur Muslims and other Turkic Muslims in the Uyghur Autonomous Region.
In February, Conservatives sponsored a motion in the House of Commons to designate the mass atrocities committed in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region as a genocide. The motion passed, but the Liberal Cabinet abstained from the vote.
By using slave labour, Xinjiang now produces almost one-fifth of the world's cotton, nearly a quarter of the world’s tomatoes, and almost half of the world's supply of polysilicon, a key component for solar panels.
As part of the NAFTA renegotiation, Canada agreed with the United States to stop the importation of products made with forced labour, yet products from Xinjiang continue to come to Canada.
A Conservative government will acknowledge the parliamentary vote and recognize the Uyghur genocide.
SEPTEMBER 8: “DINE AND DISCOVER”
Conservatives will introduce a “Dine and Discover” program to support the tourism and hospitality sectors.
From Vancouver Island to Labrador, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a disastrous effect on Canada’s tourism and hospitality sectors.
Job number one of a Conservative government will be recovering the one million jobs we lost during the pandemic and helping these businesses get back on their feet.
Through Canada’s Recovery Plan, a Conservative government will introduce a “Dine and Discover” program to encourage Canadians to support these hard-hit industries. The program will include:
Providing a 50 per cent rebate to Canadians for any food and non-alcoholic drinks purchased for dine-in meals at restaurants from Monday to Wednesday for one month once safe to do so. This initiative will pump nearly $1 billion into our tourism and hospitality businesses.
Launching the Explore and Support Canada initiative with a 15 per cent tax credit for vacation expenses of up to $1,000 per person to encourage Canadians to vacation in Canada in 2022, helping our tourism sector get back on its feet.
Eliminating the Liberal escalator tax on alcohol.
Small businesses and operators who rely solely on Canadian tourism will benefit the most from this program.
Together, we can secure jobs and economic growth for every region and every sector of the country.
We’ll also make life more affordable for Canadians.
SEPTEMBER 7: LOWER CELL PHONE AND INTERNET RATES
Canadians pay some of the highest cell phone and Internet rates in the world; yet access to the Internet - both from your home and on your mobile phone - is a critical service.
Justin Trudeau still hasn’t delivered on his commitment to give Canadians a break on their cell phone bills.
Canada’s Conservatives will always take the side of consumers. A Conservative government will focus on lowering cell phone bills for Canadians by promoting competition and improving access.
We will look at allowing international telecommunications companies to provide services to Canadian customers, but only if their home countries provide the same treatment for Canadian companies.
We will build up digital infrastructure to connect all of Canada to high-speed Internet by 2025, ensuring that all Canadians have reliable access to the Internet regardless of where they live.
We will empower local communities and businesses by promoting investment in their own wireless and broadband projects and reducing local and regional dependence on the big telecommunications giants.
SEPTEMBER 6: RAISES FOR LOWER INCOME WORKERS
Canada’s Conservatives believe that it's time to make work pay and help those most in need.
Canada’s Recovery Plan will double the Canada Workers Benefit up to a maximum of $2,800 for individuals or $5,000 for families.
Instead of workers and families waiting for the money at the end of the tax year, a Conservative government will pay the benefit out as a direct deposit four times a year.
This will help 3.5 million families pay the bills and put food on the table.
For someone earning between $12,000 and $28,000 per year, this represents a $1/hour raise.
A Conservative government will also double the disability supplement from $713 to $1,500. This will help almost 90,000 workers with disabilities.
Increasing these benefits and delivering them every three months will help the most vulnerable workers and their families, including those who are earning minimum wage.
BACKGROUND
With Canada’s Recovery Plan, an individual earning $14,000 of income per year will receive $2,800 of Canada Workers Benefits per year, up from $1,398 under the current program.
An individual earning $20,000 will receive $2,800 of benefits, up from $678 under the current program.
A family with a total income of $24,000 will receive $5,000 of benefits, well above the $1,778 they receive under the current program.
A family with a total income of $35,000 will receive $3,677 of benefits, far more than the $458 under the current program.
SEPTEMBER 5: COMMUNITY SAFETY - RCMP & police
Conservatives will hire more RCMP officers and invest in police forces.
While other parties talk about defunding the police, Canada’s Conservatives stand behind those who keep us safe.
Conservatives recognize the important role that the RCMP, provincial, and municipal police services play in keeping communities safe and combating violent crime.
Every Canadian should have confidence that when they pick up the phone and call 9-1-1, someone will be available to help.
A Conservative government will address staffing shortages in the RCMP and provide police with the necessary resources to combat gang and gun violence.
Canada’s Recovery Plan will:
Hire an additional 200 RCMP officers to combat gangs and the smuggling of guns and drugs.
Provide $100 million over five years to support training for non-provincial police forces in the areas of sexual exploitation, cybersecurity and online offences, and investigation of sexual offences.
SEPTEMBER 3: COMMUNITY SAFETY - GANGS
Conservatives plan to tackle gang violence and make our communities safer.
Our focus will be on keeping guns out of the hands of criminals, unlike the Liberals who have refused to take action against gangs, while going after law-abiding hunters and farmers.
A Conservative government will bring in tougher laws and give police the resources they need to combat gang and gun violence across the country, including:
Amending the Criminal Code to make it easier for police and prosecutors to go after gang networks and prevent the import of illegal guns.
Partnering with the private sector on a Gang Exit Strategy to give gang members, especially young recruits, a way out and a chance to start fresh.
Working with partner organizations across the country to develop and expand programs to keep youth out of gangs.
Mandating the automatic surrender of firearms to law enforcement where an individual has been charged with an offence.
Imposing a mandatory minimum sentence of two years on the unauthorized possession of a firearm if the person was the subject of a prohibition order or previously convicted of a firearms-related offence.
Supporting specialized enforcement against illegal guns, including working with CBSA, RCMP, and our American allies to target smuggling operations before they reach the border.
Crime hasn’t reduced during the pandemic. Justin Trudeau has simply failed to address the rising gang and gun violence.
Conservatives will put an end to gang violence and make our communities safer.
BACKGROUND
Homicides are up more than 20 per cent since Justin Trudeau took office.
This includes a sharp increase in gang linked homicides.
Gang recruitment disproportionately impacts Canadian youth. According to estimates, Canada has 434 youth gangs with roughly 7,000 members nationally.
SEPTEMBER 2: FREE TRADE WITH FREE NATIONS
Conservatives understand the power of trade to create jobs and strengthen our country, but trade agreements must also respect the interests of Canadian workers and our commitment to human rights and the rule of law.
Signing deals with countries that don’t share our respect for human rights or high labour and environmental standards hurts Canada.
Canada’s Recovery Plan will build stronger ties with those countries who share our values.
Canada’s Recovery Plan will pursue a policy of ‘Free Trade with Free Nations.’
We will pursue an agreement with our allies Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom to build stronger trade, defence and diplomatic ties, and we will build deeper trade ties with democracies like India after they were derailed by Justin Trudeau.
At the same time, we will protect our jobs and national security by making it harder for state-owned companies from non-free countries to buy Canadian companies and by withdrawing from the Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank.
By promoting ‘Free Trade with Free Nations’, we will fuel a strong recovery for Canadians workers and their families.
SEPTEMBER 1: BUILDING INFRASTRUCTURE
Through Canada’s Recovery Plan, we will make significant investments in infrastructure to create jobs and get the economy moving.
A modern Canada needs modern infrastructure. That means connecting all Canadians to high-speed Internet and building the necessary transit and roads to keep people and goods moving.
Instead of building infrastructure needed for growing communities across Canada, the Trudeau Liberal government sat on billions of unspent infrastructure dollars and waited months to step up as a full funding partner for nationally significant projects like Ontario’s GTA transit plan and British Columbia’s SkyTrain extension to Langley.
A Conservative government will immediately get shovels in the ground on these projects, including transit, road, rail, and broadband projects.
Canada’s Recovery Plan will:
Immediately invest in critical projects that will put hundreds of thousands of Canadians to work, cut commute time, and reduce emissions.
Provide more flexibility to municipalities and First Nations by removing onerous requirements to receive federal infrastructure funding.
Scrap the failed Canada Infrastructure Bank and commit the money sitting unused on its books to infrastructure projects that can strengthen our economy.
Reprioritize the Investing in Canada Plan towards infrastructure projects that would have the maximum benefit for economic recovery.
Build digital infrastructure to connect all of Canada to high-speed Internet by 2025
BACKGROUND
According to the Auditor General, approximately a fifth of the Liberal government's planned $188 billion in infrastructure spending was unspent in the first three years of the plan and was moved to later years.
According to the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO), the Liberals' Canada Infrastructure Bank is unlikely to meet its goal of spending $35 billion on new infrastructure within its 11-year mandate, forecasting a shortfall of $19 billion over that timeframe.
More than two million Canadians rely on public transit every day.
Of the approximately 15.4 million Canadians who regularly commute, only 12% use public transit as their primary mode of travel.
Since 2013, commute times have been steadily rising. In 2016, a total of 1.5 million Canadians spent at least 60 minutes commuting to work.
AUGUST 31: BRINGING SPENDING UNDER CONTROL
Through Canada’s Recovery Plan, a Conservative government will get spending under control and balance the budget.
The Conservative plan to secure Canada’s finances will:
Adopt a responsible and measured approach to balance the budget over the next decade.
Rein in deficits to address inflation and the rising cost of necessities.
Wind down emergency pandemic supports in a responsible and compassionate way as recovery gets underway.
Invest in targeted stimulus measures, such as infrastructure, to create jobs and improve the quality of life of Canadians.
Get back to robust economic growth of three per cent or more, so people have access to good jobs and opportunities to grow their business, which in turn provides more tax revenue to invest in core public services.
As we move toward recovery, the Trudeau government has no plan to put Canada’s finances back on a healthy footing.
The Trudeau government is spending $424 million a day more than we can afford.
Running endless deficits leads to inflation, which drives up the cost of necessities like groceries and gas. It also puts our social programs at risk and saddles future generations with debt.
The choice is clear for Canadians: to continue with a Liberal government that will spend and spend without a plan for economic growth or curbing soaring debt - or a Conservative government that will build a stronger Canada with great jobs and rising wages.
BACKGROUND
Canada is borrowing $424 million more than it takes in each day.
Budget 2021 shows total federal debt doubling to $1.4 trillion in just four years. That is $93,000 for every family in Canada. Carrying this much debt leaves Canada in a vulnerable position to future downturns and crises.
Over the past two years, Justin Trudeau’s government has made a staggering 16,760 spending announcements, more than any government in history.
Canada has spent more than any other country in the OECD on its pandemic response and the results are among the worst in the G7. Even now, Canada’s unemployment rate sits at 7.5%, the second highest in the G7 and they missed their recovery target by 340,000 jobs.
Nearly half of Canadians are doubtful they can cover living expenses this year without going into further debt. This is the highest level in three years.
AUGUST 30 - PROMOTE ANIMAL WELFARE
Canada’s Conservatives will promote animal welfare and end abuse and violence against animals by:
Banning puppy mills.
Stopping imports of animals bred inhumanely.
Banning cosmetic testing on animals.
Adding animal cruelty as an aggravating factor in domestic violence prosecutions to go after abusers who hurt their spouse by hurting their spouse’s pet.
Providing $10 million a year to train judges and prosecutors on the links between violence against animals and violence against people.
Supporting pet owners fleeing violence by working with shelters to ensure that there are better options for women to leave abusive homes without having to abandon their pets.
Working with the Council of Ministers of Education to promote animal welfare education as part of a child’s education on the environment and sustainability.
Strengthening the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's ability to enforce current regulations and seize animals when imported under poor welfare conditions.
BACKGROUND
In 2019, the Humane Society of Canada and SPCAs took in about 78,000 cats and 28,000 dogs through their shelters.
In 2020, 63 per cent of Canadians households had a dog or cat, and nationally there is a pet population of over 7.7 million dogs and 8.1 million cats.
Roughly 900,000 Canadian adults acquired a pet since the beginning of the pandemic.
The World Animal Protection’s Animal Welfare Index gives Canada the grade of D for its current animal welfare policies.
AUGUST 29: REBUILD MAINSTREET BUSINESSES
To restore the one million jobs lost during the pandemic and get Canadians back to work, we need to rebuild Canada’s Main Streets by helping small businesses get back on their feet and providing incentives to invest in, rebuild, and start new businesses.
Through Canada’s Recovery Plan, a Conservative government will introduce the Rebuild Main Street Tax Credit. This new incentive will provide a 25 per cent tax credit on amounts of up to $100,000 that Canadians personally invest in a small business over the next two years.
This will give Canadians an opportunity to support local businesses and help them create jobs in their communities.
Thousands of small and medium businesses have found Justin Trudeau’s $60,000 Canada Emergency Business Account loan fell short of their needs.
A Conservative government will introduce the Rebuild Main Street Business Loan, which will immediately make available more generous loans of up to $200,000 to help small and medium businesses, with up to 25 per cent forgiven depending on revenue losses.
We will also introduce the Canada Investment Accelerator to get companies spending money and creating jobs by providing a five per cent investment tax credit for any capital investment made in 2022 and 2023, with the first $25,000 to be refundable for small businesses.
BACKGROUND
Over the last year and a half, Canada’s unemployment rate has been among the highest in the G-7. Millions of Canadians have lost their jobs, and many of them have struggled for months to find work. The unemployment rate is compounded for young people just entering the workforce as well as for women and racialized Canadians.
In 2020, small businesses made up 98% of all employer businesses in Canada, employing 9.7 million people.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business estimates the average small business owner has taken on $170,000 in debt during the pandemic, with businesses in the hospitality, recreation and service sectors being the most indebted.
AUGUST 28: AFFORDABILITY
The cost of everything is going up - grocery bills are up five per cent and gas prices have skyrocketed. With inflation at the highest level in 20 years and rising, families are struggling to make ends meet.
Canada’s Conservatives have a detailed plan to get inflation under control, lower prices, and make life more affordable for families.
Canada’s Recovery Plan will help Canadians’ pocketbooks by:
Lowering food prices by increasing the maximum fine for price-fixing from $24 million to $100 million; introducing criminal penalties, including jail times, for executives convicted of price-fixing; and, bringing in a tough code of conduct to protect suppliers and to promote grocery competition.
Bringing in legislation on open banking so that Canadians can connect with financial technology (fintech) companies that can provide a better offer for banking services such as a mortgage, line of credit, or credit card.
Ordering the Competition Bureau to investigate bank fees.
Requiring more transparency for investment management fees so that seniors and savers don’t get ripped off, including requiring the banks to show investment returns net of fees.
Creating a technology task force within the Competition Bureau to examine whether dominance and anti-competitive behaviour of big technology giants is damaging to Canadian industry.
Giving our competition laws real teeth to prevent a few big companies from dominating whole industries and pushing up prices.
Standing up to corporate Canada and rejecting mergers that substantially reduce competition and lead to layoffs and higher prices.
AUGUST 27: INCREASING SICK LEAVE BENEFITS
Conservatives will protect and enhance paid sick leave for Canadian workers.
With Canada’s Recovery Plan, Canada’s Conservatives will ensure that workers who need to take sick leave receive adequate financial support to recover and support their families by increasing EI sickness benefits from 26 weeks to 52 weeks for those suffering from a serious illness.
Canadian workers and their families should know we have their back if they become seriously ill.
The current EI sickness benefit limit of 26 weeks is not enough for those undergoing treatment for serious illnesses like cancer.
This needs to change. It’s time for the government to stand up for workers and their health.
AUGUST 26: EMPLOYEE SAVINGS ACCOUNT FOR GIG WORKERS
Erin O’Toole announced the Employee Savings Account, his plan to provide security for the 1.7 million gig economy workers.
It’s time for gig economy companies to give their workers the protection any other Canadian worker has.
Canada’s Conservatives will require gig economy companies to make contributions equivalent to CPP and EI premiums into a new, portable Employee Savings Account every time they pay their workers. The money will grow tax-free and can be used to pay CPP premiums, as well as to accumulate savings which can be withdrawn by the worker when they need it.
The Canadian workplace has changed and the support Canada provides to workers must change as well.
Under the current rules, gig economy workers don’t qualify for Employment Insurance because they are independent contractors, work for Internet platforms, pick up contracts, or have on-call or temporary work.
Canada’s Recovery Plan will provide security for gig economy workers.
AUGUST 25: HISTORIC INVESTMENT IN MENTAL HEALTH
The pandemic has deepened Canada’s mental health crisis, especially for youth. It’s estimated that one in five Canadians have suffered from depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder. Canada’s Conservatives will address the mental health crisis by recognizing that mental health is health and making historic investments to help those in need.
With the Canada Mental Health Action Plan, Canada’s Conservatives will:
Massively boost health transfers to the provinces by at least six per cent annually, doubling the Liberal commitment and representing nearly $60 billion more for health care over the next 10 years.
Work with the provinces to invest in mental health as the priority it is with the goal of providing enough funding through health transfers for an additional million Canadians to receive mental health treatment every year.
Encourage employers to add mental health coverage to their employee benefit plans or boost their coverage by offering a tax credit for 25 per cent of the cost of additional mental health coverage for the first three years.
Provide $150 million over three years in grants to nonprofits and charities delivering mental health and wellness programming.
Create a nationwide three-digit suicide prevention hotline.
Make the single largest investment in Canadian history for mental health supports for Indigenous people by providing $1 billion over five years to boost funding for Indigenous mental health and drug treatment programs, including providing culturally appropriate supports.
AUGUST 24: PROTECTING CANADIANS’ PENSIONS
Canada’s Conservatives will change legislation to ensure that pensioners have priority over corporate elites in bankruptcy or restructuring.
Canadian workers should be able to rely on their pensions. But all too often we have seen workers forced to take big cuts to their pension when the company they worked for goes bankrupt.
This needs to change. It’s time for the government to stand up for workers and secure pensions.
We will also better secure workers’ pensions by:
Preventing executives from paying themselves bonuses while managing a company going through restructuring if the pension plan is not fully funded.
No longer forcing underfunded pension plans to be converted to annuities, which locks in losses, and means that workers receive less money.
Requiring companies to be more transparent by clearly reporting the funding status of their pension plans.
BACKGROUND
In 2018, Sears Canada employees had their pension cheques cut by 30%.
In 2009, Nortel’s bankruptcy also saw a 30% cut in pensions for its Ontario pensioners.
AUGUST 23: PUTTING WORKERS ON THE BOARDS OF THEIR COMPANIES
To ensure workers’ needs are heard at the very top, a Conservative government will require large federally regulated employers to include worker representation on their boards of directors.
Too often major multinational corporations are making decisions without their greatest asset at the table – the people who helped build their company.
As we work toward recovery, we believe it is critical that Canadian workers have a say in the long-term success of their employer.
After COVID-19, we need a recovery for all working Canadians, in every sector and every region of the country. That is what Canada’s Recovery Plan will deliver.
Federally regulated sectors include aerospace, trucking, marine shipping, rail, oil & gas, mining, telecommunications, and banking.
Together, these sectors employ hundreds of thousands of Canadians workers across the country.
AUGUST 22: ADDRESSING THE OPIOD AND ADDICTION CRISIS
The opioid crisis is a national emergency that has robbed too many Canadians of their lives and devastated too many families. Canada’s Conservatives will treat the opioid epidemic as the urgent health issue that it is.
A Conservative government will invest $325 million over the next three years to create 1,000 residential drug treatment beds for those struggling with addiction.
We will also build an additional 50 recovery community centres across the country.
Canada’s Conservatives will enhance the delivery of culturally appropriate addiction treatment and prevention services in First Nations communities with high needs.
We will provide $1 billion over five years to boost funding for Indigenous mental health and drug treatment programs.
To help save lives, we will partner with the provinces to ensure anyone who needs a free Naloxone kit, gets one - including our heroic first responders.
Only a Conservative government will ensure recovery is the overarching goal for the federal framework on substance abuse and get those struggling with addiction the help they need.
Background
Every day, we lose 17 Canadians to opioid-related deaths.
Since the onset of COVID-19, there has been an 89% increase in opioid-related deaths.
To help more Canadians recover from addiction, Canada’s Conservatives will revise the federal government’s substance abuse policy framework to make recovery its overarching goal.
Canada’s Conservatives will also reorient the Canadian Drugs and Substances Strategy towards ensuring that every person struggling with addiction has the opportunity to recover from their addiction and to lead a drug-free life.
A Conservative government will ensure that all policies that fall under the Strategy have harm reduction and recovery as their objectives.
AUGUST 21: CANADIANS LIVING WITH DISABILITIES
Canada’s Conservatives have a plan to break down the barriers faced by Canadians living with disabilities.
Canada’s Recovery Plan will:
Double the Disability Supplement in the Canada Workers Benefit from $713 to $1,500, providing a major boost to lower-income Canadians with disabilities on top of our increase in the Canada Workers Benefit.
The most help will go to families where one member has a disability. We will help them achieve the security and financial independence they deserve.
Overhaul the complex array of disability supports and benefits to ensure that working always leaves someone further ahead.
We will work with the provinces to ensure that federal programs are designed to work with provincial programs to achieve this result.
Provide an additional $80 million per year through the Enabling Accessibility Fund to provide:
Additional incentives for small business and community projects to improve accessibility.
Grants and support for all types of accessibility equipment that Canadians with disabilities need to work.
Enhancements to existing programs that will get more Canadians with disabilities into the workforce.
Reduce the number of hours required to qualify for the Disability Tax Credit and the Registered Disability Savings Plan from 14 to 10 hours per week.
One in five Canadians lives with a disability. They need our support to live full lives and participate fully in society, including in the workforce.
AUGUST 20: JOB SURGE PLAN
Conservative have a plan to restore the one million jobs lost during the pandemic.
Over the course of the pandemic, millions of Canadians lost their jobs, with women accounting for more than half of year-over-year employment losses. The tourism and hospitality sectors were among the hardest hit, as well as part-time and temporary workers.
To get our economy back on track, Canada’s Recovery plan will recover the million jobs lost in the sectors hit hardest by the pandemic and get as many people back to work in good jobs, in every part of Canada, in every sector, as quickly as possible.
Once the Canada Emergency Wage subsidy (CEWS) ends, Canada’s Conservatives will introduce the Canada Job Surge Plan to get Canadians back to work. An O’Toole government will pay at least 25% of the salary of net new hires for six months after CEWS expires.
To help those who have been unemployed long-term, our plan will cover up to 50% of the salary for those who have been unemployed for 6 months or more.
FURTHER DETAILS
Conservatives will provide an additional top-up of up to 25 per cent if a business hires from among those who have been out of work for longer periods. The additional 25 per cent top-up will mean that the wage subsidy will be:
30% for a new hire who has been unemployed for six months;
35% for a new hire who has been unemployed for seven months;
40% for a new hire who has been unemployed for eight months;
45% for a new hire who has been unemployed for nine months; and
50% for a new hire who has been unemployed for 10 months or more.
The salary maximum will be the same as for the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) (a maximum salary of $1,129 per week).
For example, if a company goes from 10 to 15 employees, Conservatives will subsidize 25 per cent of the wage of the five new employees. This subsidy would represent up to $35,000 in savings for the business hiring five people, up to $70,000 if they are hiring people who have been unemployed for several months, money that could be re-invested growing the business and creating more jobs.
All companies in Canada will be eligible for this subsidy regardless of revenue loss.
The employment baseline for counting net new hires will be the company’s average employment in April, May, and June 2021.
The program will be coordinated with the end of the CEWS program.
Quick Facts
By the end of 2019, growth in the economy had slowed to almost zero, productivity had been flat for two consecutive years, and business investments as a per cent of GDP hit a 25-year low.
When the pandemic hit, Canada saw the unemployment rate soar from 5.7 per cent to 13.7 per cent.
As of July 2021, Canada’s unemployment rate sits at 7.5 per cent, the second-highest in the G7 and two per cent above the average G7 unemployment rate. There are 1.5 million unemployed Canadians.
Research shows that when a worker has been unemployed for more than six months, it’s more difficult to find a new job. When they do find employment, it’s often at a lower level of pay than their previous employment. For people unemployed for more than one year, it’s even harder to find a new job.
The Liberal government has missed their jobs recovery target by an alarming 250,000 jobs.
AUGUST 19: PLAN TO ADDRESS CANADA’S HOUSING CRISIS
Canadians in many part of the country, and especially younger people, are having a hard time saving enough money to buy an affordable home, or even rent suitable accommodation. Conservatives propose several steps to make home ownership achievable.
We are not building enough homes to keep up with Canada’s growing population. This is a big part of why homes are getting harder and harder for many Canadians to afford.
There is also a lot of foreign money flowing into Canada’s housing market. Some of it is being funded through money laundering and the proceeds of crime as indicated by the inquiry currently going on in BC. In other cases, foreign investors are sitting on the investments and leaving homes empty. This pushes up prices, putting homeownership out of reach for more and more Canadians.
Canada’s Recovery Plan will address both of these issues and will make homes more affordable - for owners as well as renters.
As part of our plan, we will:
Implement our plan to build one million homes in the next three years.
Review the extensive real estate portfolio of the federal government – the largest property owner in the country with over 37,000 buildings – and release at least 15% for homes.
Build more homes near publicly funded transit.
Provide more Canadians with a path to homeownership by making it easier for more families to get a mortgage they can afford.
Ban foreign investors from buying homes here if they are not planning to move to Canada.
Encourage foreign investment in affordable purpose-built rental housing for Canadians.
Stabilize the real estate market by increasing the number of homes being built and addressing unfair and corrupt practices that have driven up prices, such as money laundering.
Address the soaring cost of renting a home by partnering with municipalities and the private sector to bring new rental units into the market.
Be a reliable partner in addressing the housing needs of Indigenous communities and implement a “For Indigenous, By Indigenous” housing strategy in the spirit of reconciliation.
Canada’s Conservatives will never tax Canadians’ capital gains on the sale of their principal residence, something many within the Liberal Party are threatening to do.
AUGUST 18: CONSERVATIVES WILL PASS AN ANTI-CORRUPTION ACT
Canada’s Conservatives will pass an Anti-Corruption Act to clean up Liberal corruption and greatly strengthen federal legislation on ethics, lobbying, and transparency.
One of the major concerns Canadians have expressed to me is that politicians like Prime Minister Trudeau and former finance minister Bill Morneau are found guilty of ethics violations but there are no consequences, or only minor fines. It leads Canadians to believe that the rules don’t apply to the people in power. This undermines confidence in our political and governing system.
Canada’s Conservatives will introduce tougher laws to require ethics in government, prevent cover-ups and ensure that lobbying is properly regulated.
At the height of the pandemic, Liberals gave nearly a billion dollars to a charity that had paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Prime Minister’s family members. They accepted illegal gifts from organizations that lobby their government. They interfered in the judicial process to help their well-connected friends.
Canada’s Conservatives will pass an Anti-Corruption Act to:
Ensure there are monetary penalties for any violation of the Conflict of Interest Act. Justin Trudeau and Bill Morneau were both found to have behaved unethically but faced no penalties for their conflicts of interest.
Increase fines for ethical violations from a maximum of $500 to a maximum of $50,000 to deter unethical behaviour.
Ensure that cabinet confidence can no longer be used to shield government insiders from criminal investigation. Cabinet confidence is meant to ensure good government, not shield illegal behaviour.
Avoid a repeat of the SNC-Lavalin scandal by requiring that all meetings by corporations and organizations be reported, and ban any lobbying on something that is the subject of criminal proceedings.
In 2006, in response to the Liberal Party Sponsorship Scandal, the then-Conservative government brought forward the toughest piece of anti-corruption legislation in Canadian history, the Federal Accountability Act.
Unfortunately, the current government has shown us that these rules didn't go far enough.
Justin Trudeau and the Liberals have intentionally and consistently violated the promises of transparency they made when they were elected.
Canadians deserve a government that is acting on their behalf and not for well-connected insiders.
AUGUST 17: GST HOLIDAY TO HELP SMALL BUSINESS RECOVER
If elected, Conservatives will implement a month-long GST Holiday in December. All purchases at retail stores will be tax-free for the month of December. No need to apply, no special program, no red tape and paperwork. Customers won’t pay the tax, and retail businesses won’t be required to submit GST for December.
The GST Holiday is part of our detailed plan to lower prices, spur our economic recovery, and help families.
The tax break will put $1.5 billion back in Canadians’ pockets and will drive increased demand for products sold in store by local retailers.
With inflation rising, life is getting more expensive and paycheques aren’t going as far. With the holidays coming, Canadians are looking for a break.
Ever since the start of the pandemic, main streets across our country have been struggling to stay afloat. Small Canadian retailers and their employees have been among the hardest hit by the pandemic.
While brick and mortar stores suffered, online retailers, many of them foreign multinational corporations, raked in record profits. Retail e-commerce sales increased 75% in 2020 and are slated to increase another 12% in 2021. This amounts to $86.5 billion in sales for 2021 alone.
AUGUST 11: UNLEAShING INNOVATION
Canada has one of the world’s most talented workforces. We have so many great advantages that should make our country the best place on earth to launch and grow innovative products and businesses.
But far too often, Canadian innovators run into barriers here. Instead of scaling their business in Canada and creating jobs, they move to the U.S. or elsewhere to build their business, or sell to foreign investors with deep pockets that can fund growth.
With Canada’s Recovery Plan, we will strengthen Canada’s position as a world leader in technology and end the innovation drain.
To clear the barriers away and unleash innovation, Canada’s Conservatives will:
o Incentivize Canadian companies to develop their products here by cutting the income tax rate in half for new patented technologies developed here in Canada. This will give Canadian technology companies some of the lowest tax rates in the world.
o Establish the Canadian Advanced Research Agency to fund major cutting-edge technological advances, such as carbon capture and storage, hydrogen fuel, small modular reactors, electric vehicle development, and pharmaceutical research and production.
o Make it more attractive to invest in small tech start-ups by introducing the use of flow-through shares, based on the model that has made Canada a world leader in mining financing.
o Fix the broken Scientific Research & Experimental Development (SR&ED) program by moving it from the CRA to Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, simplifying the application process, and making it easier for software development to qualify.
o Review all of the Government of Canada’s research and development programs to ensure that Canadian tax dollars benefit Canada and Canadian innovators.
Canada’s Conservatives have a detailed plan to unleash Canadian innovators, secure jobs and economic growth, and help Canada thrive after COVID-19.
FURTHER DETAILS
Canada’s weak performance in commercializing research and development puts us at just 17th in the world for innovation (and ranked 21st for technology output), according to the 2020 Global Innovation Index. With all the advantages Canada has, we could certainly be much higher if we unleash innovation.
We want the jobs, the amazing new technologies and the profits to stay right here at home, not sent off to foreign multinationals. With critical changes, Canadian tax dollars will no longer be sent to Huawei and other companies that are foreign state-owned or have ties to foreign militaries.
The impacts of a new patent box regime will be even greater in provinces that have similar measures.
Quebec, which has its own patent box regime, la déduction incitative pour la commercialisation des innovations, will become one of the most competitive jurisdictions for technology on the planet.
Saskatchewan also has a patent box regime, but all Canadian provinces will benefit from having a tax regime that will make Canada an exciting place to commercialize new technology.
AUGUST 10: Making Sure Workers Have the Skills they Need
Canada’s Conservatives will ensure that workers have the training they need for the jobs of today and tomorrow by supporting training programs run by unions and other groups, and encouraging employers to invest in their workers.
We will also help bring women and New Canadians into the skilled trades.
With Canada’s Recovery Plan, we will:
Double the Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit for the next three years to help create more places for apprentices.
Invest $250 million over two years to create the Canada Job Training Fund. The Fund will provide grants to organizations including employers, apprenticeship training delivery agents, unions, post-secondary institutions, and community organizations for projects that:
Give laid-off workers immediate access to training
Reach out to traditionally underrepresented groups,
Help tourism and hospitality workers who have been hit hard by the recession,
Support the talent needs of small businesses, and
Otherwise help workers get the training they need - focussing on areas where there are shortages of skilled workers.
Create the Working Canadian Training Loan to provide low interest loans of up to $10,000 to people who want to upgrade their skills, empowering workers to determine what training they need rather than having the government tell them.
FURTHER DETAILS
Canada’s biggest competitive asset is our tremendously skilled and talented workforce. We have a world-class education system and we have attracted brilliant immigrants from around the world, but we need to do better on skills training to secure Canada’s prosperity.
There are 1.6 million unemployed Canadians, yet at the same time we often hear employers from coast to coast complain about shortages of skilled labour. The mismatch of skills is weakening our growth and productivity, while causing real hardship. When employers can’t find skilled workers, they miss out on opportunities for growth. At the same time, talented Canadians are left without jobs when their skills don’t match the needs of local employers.
Finally, improving skills training will increase labour productivity and sustainably raise real wages.
The plan:
Canada’s Conservatives will ensure that workers have the training they need for the jobs of today and tomorrow by supporting union and similar training programs and encouraging employers to invest in their workers. We will also help bring women and New Canadians into the skilled trades.
We will:
• Double the Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit for the next three years to help create more places for apprentices.
o We will increase the amount that can be claimed from $2,000 per apprentice per year to $4,000 per apprentice per year.
o Qualifying trades under the Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit are the Red Seal trades.
• Invest $250 million over two years to create the Canada Job Training Fund. The Fund will provide grants to organizations including unions, employers, apprenticeship training delivery agents, post-secondary institutions, and community organizations for projects that:
o Give laid-off workers immediate access to training,
o Reach out to traditionally underrepresented groups,
o Help tourism and hospitality workers who have been hit hard by the recession,
o Support the talent needs of small businesses, and
o Otherwise help workers get the training they need - focusing on areas where there are shortages of skilled workers.
• Create the Working Canadian Training Loan to provide low interest loans of up to $10,000 to people who want to upgrade their skills, empowering workers to determine what training they need rather than having the government tell them.
Canadian workers need a boost in skills training now, and will particularly need it in the post-pandemic recovery. We will continue to be there for Canadians by renewing programs as necessary and modifying them to ensure that they keep pace with the changing skills training needs of Canada’s workers.
August 6: Recognizing Foreign Credentials and Strengthening Human Rights
Conservatives will strengthen credential recognition for newcomers and advance human rights around the world.
Helping newcomers maximize their success by allowing them to work in their field of knowledge and expertise is good for Canada and our economy.
To help remove barriers for the skilled professionals we need, Canada's Conservatives will launch a Credential Recognition Task Force.
Through Canada’s Recovery Plan, Canada’s Conservatives will launch eight initiatives to strengthen and advance human rights around the world.
An O’Toole government will stand up for fundamental human rights and align itself with the hopes and aspirations of everyday people, wherever they live.
These policies will mark a sharp transition from the Liberal era of cozying up to dictators and tolerating horrific violence against the world’s most vulnerable.
Further details:
Through our detailed plan, Canada’s Conservatives will:
Revise supply chain legislation to meaningfully enforce Canada’s commitment not to import products made with slave labour.Make it a criminal offence for someone to go abroad to participate in, or benefit from a serious violation of human rights, such as forced organ harvesting and trafficking.
Limit the ability of the government to grant waivers permitting human rights abusers to come to Canada.
Require the Minister of Foreign Affairs to table an annual report in Parliament outlining the work of the government to protect and promote human rights and democracy.
Create and maintain a public list of prisoners of conscience of particular concern and create mechanisms by which Canadians can petition to add names to that list.
Amend the Official Development Assistance Accountability Act to prevent Canadian development assistance from ever contributing to violence and violations of human rights.
Update and expand the Sergei Magnitsky Law to allow Parliamentarians and groups of citizens to directly petition the Minister to list officials under the law and require the Minister to respond in writing to petitions that have achieved a certain threshold of support.
Create an International Human Rights Advisory Committee, with representation from a broad range of cultural and religious communities in Canada, advising the government on international human rights issues.