Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre faced criticism from his political opponents Friday for delivering a speech to the Frontier Centre for Public Policy (FCPP), a controversial Winnipeg-based group that has been associated with efforts to downplay the effects of residential schools on Indigenous children and oppose vaccine mandates.
Before introducing Poilievre on Friday, the group’s president, Peter Holle, said the FCPP is one of the “most prolific think tanks” and it publishes articles that “might rub you the wrong way.”
Holle said the group is determined to “challenge false narratives” and claimed there’s a “phoney-baloney discussion about climate” among the “chattering classes and commentariat.”
In 2018, the FCPP ran radio ads claiming to debunk “myths” about Canada’s residential schools. The ads dismissed as “myth” the claims that residential schools were responsible for “robbing native kids of their childhood” or the dramatic decline in Indigenous language skills.
It also published an article, written by a former residential school student and FCPP research associate, that sought to downplay the intergenerational effects of these institutions on First Nations communities.
The article, written by Mark DeWolf, criticized the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) for “spreading erroneous information.”
“Recognizing the system as a bad one should not have us wildly exaggerating its failures, demonizing it, and allowing it to distract us from far more serious threats to First Nations individuals and communities,” DeWolf wrote in his August 2018 piece for the FCPP.
The TRC conducted an exhaustive six-year study of the system. It concluded physical, mental and sexual abuse was rampant at the schools, and some 6,000 children died while in their care because of malnourishment or disease.
It also concluded the residential school system was a form of cultural genocide.
Shoes, toys and more were set up around the Centennial Flame on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on June 2, 2021, in recognition of the reported discovery of children’s remains at the site of a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C. (Brian Morris/CBC)
The FCPP also has posted commentary articles on its website that defended research into the connection between race and IQ. It recently published a post that decried “anti-white male policies,” saying that such discrimination is the “only systemic discrimination there is.”
Speaking to CBC on Friday, FCPP spokesperson David Leis said the centre tries to promote a variety of views and that it invites speakers from all political backgrounds to its events.
“People have a variety of perspectives in our country and what we need to do is be able to listen to each other and understand each other,” Leis said.
A spokesperson for Poilievre said his appearance at the FCPP doesn’t mean he endorses “the views of everyone who has ever worked for the group.”
“Mr. Poilievre clearly does not agree with the opinions you’ve pointed out. We condemn all forms of racism and bigotry,” his spokesperson said, adding that CBC faced its own accusations of systemic racism from one of its unions in 2020.
Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller said it was “appalling” that Poilievre would “associate himself with an organization like this, particularly after a day like today,” he said. He was referring to the discovery of a jawbone fragment belonging to a child at a former residential school site.
Another Liberal cabinet minister, Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal, said it was “disheartening” to learn that Poilievre delivered a speech to the group and its followers.
Assembly of First Nations National Chief RoseAnne Archibald said efforts to downplay the harms of residential schools are “ignorant and unhelpful.”
“I condemn any association with denialist views and the deep hurt they cause our survivors and their families,” Archibald said in a media statement.
Poilievre uses speech to blast Trudeau
Poilievre did not address the criticisms during his Friday speech to the 500-strong crowd assembled at a Winnipeg conference centre for his appearance.
Instead, he delivered a blistering attack on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, blaming Liberal policies for inflation, sky-high real estate prices, a shortage of children’s medication, delays in passport processing and ongoing problems in air transportation, among other problems.
“He will never fix them and that’s why we need to replace him with a new government that will work for the people,” Poilievre said of Trudeau in his speech. “He will not fix these problems because he is the problem.”
Poilievre promised to rein in the federal budget through a “pay-as-you go” law, which would demand that every dollar of new spending be matched by a cut to something else.
He also pledged to work with the provinces to speed up the certification of foreign-trained medical professionals to fill labour gaps in the health-care system.
Poilievre said he would not shy away from his pointed attacks on the Liberal government even though, he said, the conventional wisdom from the “Laurentian elite” and the “established liberal orthodoxy” is that he should moderate his positions after claiming the party’s leadership.
“That is not how our system was designed. Our system was deliberately designed to make the most powerful people tremble in the House of Commons,” he said.
Criticism of vaccine mandates
Like Poilievre, the FCPP has been critical of COVID-19-related vaccine mandates.
It published a web post decrying past proof-of-vaccination policies implemented by all levels of government as “a state-mandated invasion of our bodily autonomy.” Another post, which took a similar position, called vaccine mandates “a politically expedient use of state authority to attack Canadian citizens.”
Thomas Linner is the provincial director of the Manitoba Health Coalition, a group with ties to the provincial NDP and unions. He said it was inappropriate for Poilievre to stand “beside an organization that has espoused deeply divisive and extreme positions on vaccine and COVID-19 public health measures, support for the illegal and dangerous occupations of Canadian cities.”
Other Canadian politicians have appeared at FCPP events, including former finance minister Paul Martin, who spoke to the group in 2002.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he will not be taking advice from Pierre Poilievre after the Conservative leader challenged him to bring down government.
“I say directly to Pierre Poilievre: I’m not going to listen to you,” said Singh on Wednesday, accusing Poilievre of wanting to take away dental-care coverage from Canadians, among other things.
“I’m not going to listen to your advice. You want to destroy people’s lives, I want to build up a brighter future.”
Earlier in the day, Poilievre challenged Singh to commit to voting non-confidence in the government, saying his party will force a vote in the House of Commons “at the earliest possibly opportunity.”
“I’m asking Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to commit unequivocally before Monday’s byelections: will they vote non-confidence to bring down the costly coalition and trigger a carbon tax election, or will Jagmeet Singh sell out Canadians again?” Poilievre said.
“It’s put up or shut up time for the NDP.”
While Singh rejected the idea he would ever listen to Poilievre, he did not say how the NDP would vote on a non-confidence motion.
“I’ve said on any vote, we’re going to look at the vote and we’ll make our decision. I’m not going to say our decision ahead of time,” he said.
Singh’s top adviser said on Tuesday the NDP leader is not particularly eager to trigger an election, even as the Conservatives challenge him to do just that.
Anne McGrath, Singh’s principal secretary, says there will be more volatility in Parliament and the odds of an early election have risen.
“I don’t think he is anxious to launch one, or chomping at the bit to have one, but it can happen,” she said in an interview.
New Democrat MPs are in a second day of meetings in Montreal as they nail down a plan for how to navigate the minority Parliament this fall.
The caucus retreat comes one week after Singh announced the party has left the supply-and-confidence agreement with the governing Liberals.
It’s also taking place in the very city where New Democrats are hoping to pick up a seat on Monday, when voters go to the polls in Montreal’s LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. A second byelection is being held that day in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood—Transcona, where the NDP is hoping to hold onto a seat the Conservatives are also vying for.
While New Democrats are seeking to distance themselves from the Liberals, they don’t appear ready to trigger a general election.
Singh signalled on Tuesday that he will have more to say Wednesday about the party’s strategy for the upcoming sitting.
He is hoping to convince Canadians that his party can defeat the federal Conservatives, who have been riding high in the polls over the last year.
Singh has attacked Poilievre as someone who would bring back Harper-style cuts to programs that Canadians rely on, including the national dental-care program that was part of the supply-and-confidence agreement.
The Canadian Press has asked Poilievre’s office whether the Conservative leader intends to keep the program in place, if he forms government after the next election.
With the return of Parliament just days away, the NDP is also keeping in mind how other parties will look to capitalize on the new makeup of the House of Commons.
The Bloc Québécois has already indicated that it’s written up a list of demands for the Liberals in exchange for support on votes.
The next federal election must take place by October 2025 at the latest.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is defending her decision to turn off comments on her social media accounts — with an announcement on social media.
She posted screenshots to X this morning of vulgar names she’s been called on the platform, and says comments on her posts for months have been dominated by insults, to the point that she decided to block them.
Montreal’s Opposition leader and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have criticized Plante for limiting freedom of expression by restricting comments on her X and Instagram accounts.
They say elected officials who use social media should be willing to hear from constituents on those platforms.
However, Plante says some people may believe there is a fundamental right to call someone offensive names and to normalize violence online, but she disagrees.
Her statement on X is closed to comments.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
