On the same day that the new leader of the official opposition addressed his caucus, Prime Minister Trudeau spoke to members of his caucus.
The Prime Minister opened his remarks to the Liberal caucus retreat in St. Andrews, New Brunswick on Monday with condolences to the James Smith Cree Nation in Saskatchewan following the recent stabbing rampage that rocked the community. Ten people were murdered and more than a dozen were injured in the attacks. Trudeau said Minister of Indigenous Service, Patty Hajdu would be travelling to the James Smith Cree Nation on Monday night to be with the community and offer any support she can on behalf of Canadians.
“We will continue to be there with them as they continue to grieve and heal, over the coming days, weeks, months and yes, years,” he said. “It is notable, as well, that Her Majesty’s last public statement, was one offering condolences to the loved ones of the victims in Saskatchewan.”
On the passing of the Queen, Trudeau said her values and leadership will be sorely missed in these turbulent times.
“Whenever we lose someone we hold dear, whether it’s a leader we look up to, a parent, or a loved one, one way to honour them is to reflect on how we can, each of us, pass the values they represented, on to future generations,” he said.
Following his remarks on James Smith Cree Nation and the Queen’s passing, Trudeau noted how the world is facing many challenges. He pointed to the pandemic, the ongoing Russian invasion in Ukraine, climate change, and the economic landscape as major concerns for Canadians and our allies. Trudeau says we must stay true to our values that make Canada so special.
“Let’s remember that positivity, inclusiveness, hope and hard work are always the best ways to move us forward,” he said. “Let’s remember the work that we must do, to build an economy, that works for all Canadians.”
Trudeau said the focus must be on making life more affordable, creating more jobs, building more housing, growing the middle class, and building safer communities. He also said fighting climate change is a major point of focus in the years to come, as well.
The Prime Minister says his team has been meeting with Canadians across the country all summer, hearing about issues and concerns that are common across the board.
“We heard from parents, who are worried that the high cost of groceries are eating into their savings. We heard from nurses and healthcare workers, stretched, working harder than ever, feeling ground down, and undervalued,” he said.
The job of the government, Trudeau says, is to build an economy where all Canadians can thrive in a net-zero world. He says to accomplish that, we must all work together. He adds this is not the time for politicians to exploit people’s fears and pit us against each other. On that note, Trudeau offered congratulations to Pierre Poilievre on becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party. He says he looks forward to working with the official opposition, but he says that doesn’t mean the Liberals won’t fight what they believe to be irresponsible statements to Canadians.
“We’ve been making every effort to work with all Parliamentarians, and we will continue to do so,” he said. “But this doesn’t mean that we’re not going to be calling out highly questionable, reckless economic ideas. What Canadians need is responsible leadership.”
Trudeau then took aim at some of the claims made by Poilievre in recent times during the Conservative leadership race.
“Attacking the institutions that make our society fair, safe, and free, is not responsible leadership,” he said. “Telling people they can ‘opt out’ of inflation by investing their savings in volatile crypto-currencies, is not responsible leadership. By the way, anyone who followed that advice, would have seen their life savings destroyed. Fighting against vaccines that have saved millions of lives, that’s not responsible leadership. Opposing the support and investments that have helped save jobs, businesses and families during the pandemic…that’s not responsible leadership.”
Trudeau closed by championing the $10 a day childcare plan that he says will allow parents to save money, join the full-time workforce and become part of the economy. He says the federal childcare plan will be fully instituted Canada-wide by 2025.
