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Quebec general election: Selection of quotes from party leaders on Day 1 of campaign

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MONTREAL — Quebecers are going to the polls for a general election on Oct. 3; here are a series of quotes from the leaders of the province’s five major parties on Day 1 of the campaign.

François Legault, outgoing premier and leader of Coalition Avenir Québec

“I am not perfect; you have seen it. It happens that I make mistakes, and when it happens, I don’t try to persist with pride but to show humility. And one thing that the pandemic has taught me is to know how to adjust.”

“I think that for the past four years, Quebecers have become more proud of being Quebecer. We adopted Bill 21, to prohibit religious signs for employees in positions of authority. We adopted Bill 96 to strengthen French in Quebec. And we have opposition parties that want to butcher Bill 21; there are opposition parties that want to butcher Bill 96. Quebecers won’t let them do this.

“Ladies and gentlemen … we can’t break this momentum. I need you, and it’s for this reason that I am asking for a mandate to continue.”

Dominique Anglade, leader of the Quebec Liberal Party

“I will challenge François Legault on the economy. The economy will be the ballot box question. I challenge him to repeat that labour shortages are good news. I challenge him to see parents whose kids don’t have teachers and won’t have any for the next few weeks. I challenge him to visit entrepreneurs who are being forced to close their businesses because they don’t have enough staff.”

“I am thinking of the cost of living; we have families who can’t make ends meet and have to decide whether to pay rent or buy food …. No one can call themselves the party of the economy if they aren’t able to recognize that the main brakes being put on our economic development today are labour shortages — and (Legault) has denied this.”

Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, co-spokesperson for Quebec solidaire and the party’s choice for premier

“Quebec is going through unprecedented crises: the cost-of-living crisis is impoverishing the middle class; our health-care system is profoundly sick; our seniors are being abandoned; and the climate crisis is threatening our future. François Legault is managing these crises the way we have been managing them for the past 25 years. He manages the crises like we manage our potholes in Quebec — he is patching holes. It’s too long that we are patching holes in Quebec. We can’t continue like that. I don’t want us to continue; I want us to clear the air.”

Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, leader of the Parti Québécois

“Many of us notice the failures of the CAQ’s federalism and notice the contempt of Canada toward the democratic choices of Quebecers …. Many of us notice the decline of French … many of us notice that it’s not normal to take our Quebec taxes and to be forced to send them to Ottawa, for them to be sent as subsidies and gifts to one of the most polluting industries in the world: the multinationals oil companies from Alberta.”

“Many of us think it’s not normal to fill out two tax returns, that it’s not normal to control a question as fundamental as our culture, to not control our borders, to not control the question of immigration …. In brief, many of us hope for better.”

Éric Duhaime, leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec.

“Voters will hear different ideas from us … if people can’t get care in the public system they will be able to go into the private system and public insurance will be forced to pay for it …. We will also talk about inflation and the economic crisis. We want to promise a significant income tax cut accompanied by a cut in taxes. We want the government to cut its spending to let Quebec families breathe more.”

“The four other parties aren’t anywhere near us on these issues. I also want to talk about the responsible exploitation of our resources. The Conservative party will propose to exploit our fossil fuels to reduce global greenhouse gases.”

“I think we are the party with the greatest potential to grow.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 28, 2022.

 

The Canadian Press

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RFK Jr. says Trump would push to remove fluoride from drinking water. ‘It’s possible,’ Trump says

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PHOENIX (AP) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent proponent of debunked public health claims whom Donald Trump has promised to put in charge of health initiatives, said Saturday that Trump would push to remove fluoride from drinking water on his first day in office if elected president.

Fluoride strengthens teeth and reduces cavities by replacing minerals lost during normal wear and tear, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The addition of low levels of fluoride to drinking water has long been considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the last century.

Kennedy made the declaration Saturday on the social media platform X alongside a variety of claims about the heath effects of fluoride.

“On January 20, the Trump White House will advise all U.S​. water systems to remove fluoride from public water,” Kennedy wrote. Trump and his wife, Melania Trump, “want to Make America Healthy Again,” he added, repeating a phrase Trump often uses and links to Kennedy.

Trump told NBC News on Sunday that he had not spoken to Kennedy about fluoride yet, “but it sounds OK to me. You know it’s possible.”

The former president declined to say whether he would seek a Cabinet role for Kennedy, a job that would require Senate confirmation, but added, “He’s going to have a big role in the administration.”

Asked whether banning certain vaccines would be on the table, Trump said he would talk to Kennedy and others about that. Trump described Kennedy as “a very talented guy and has strong views.”

The sudden and unexpected weekend social media post evoked the chaotic policymaking that defined Trump’s White House tenure, when he would issue policy declarations on Twitter at virtually all hours. It also underscored the concerns many experts have about Kennedy, who has long promoted debunked theories about vaccine safety, having influence over U.S. public health.

In 1950, federal officials endorsed water fluoridation to prevent tooth decay, and continued to promote it even after fluoride toothpaste brands hit the market several years later. Though fluoride can come from a number of sources, drinking water is the main source for Americans, researchers say.

Officials lowered their recommendation for drinking water fluoride levels in 2015 to address a tooth condition called fluorosis, that can cause splotches on teeth and was becoming more common in U.S. kids.

In August, a federal agency determined “with moderate confidence” that there is a link between higher levels of fluoride exposure and lower IQ in kids. The National Toxicology Program based its conclusion on studies involving fluoride levels at about twice the recommended limit for drinking water.

A federal judge later cited that study in ordering the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to further regulate fluoride in drinking water. U.S. District Judge Edward Chen cautioned that it’s not certain that the amount of fluoride typically added to water is causing lower IQ in kids, but he concluded that mounting research points to an unreasonable risk that it could be. He ordered the EPA to take steps to lower that risk, but didn’t say what those measures should be.

In his X post Saturday, Kennedy tagged Michael Connett, the lead attorney representing the plaintiff in that lawsuit, the environmental advocacy group Food & Water Watch.

Kennedy’s anti-vaccine organization has a lawsuit pending against news organizations including The Associated Press, accusing them of violating antitrust laws by taking action to identify misinformation, including about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines. Kennedy is on leave from the group but is listed as one of its attorneys in the lawsuit.

What role Kennedy might hold if Trump wins on Tuesday remains unclear. Kennedy recently told NewsNation that Trump asked him to “reorganize” agencies including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration and some agencies under the Department of Agriculture.

But for now, the former independent presidential candidate has become one of Trump’s top surrogates. Trump frequently mentions having the support of Kennedy, a scion of a Democratic dynasty and the son of former Attorney General Robert Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy.

Kennedy traveled with Trump Friday and spoke at his rallies in Michigan and Wisconsin.

Trump said Saturday that he told Kennedy: “You can work on food, you can work on anything you want” except oil policy.

“He wants health, he wants women’s health, he wants men’s health, he wants kids, he wants everything,” Trump added.

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Danielle Smith receives overwhelming support at United Conservative Party convention

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Danielle Smith receives overwhelming support at United Conservative Party convention

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America’s Election: What it Means to Canadians

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Americans and Canadians are cousins that is true. Allies today but long ago people were at loggerheads mostly because of the British Empire and American ambitions.

Canadians appreciate our cousins down south enough to visit them many millions of times over the year. America is Canada’s largest and most important trading partner. As a manufacturer, I can attest to this personally. My American clients have allowed our firm to grow and prosper over the past few decades. There is a problem we have been seeing, a problem where nationalism, both political and economic has been creating a roadblock to our trade relationship.

Both Democrats and Republicans have shown a willingness to play the “buy only American Made product” card, a sounding board for all things isolationist, nationalistic and small-mindedness. We all live on this small planet, and purchase items made from all over the world. Preferences as to what to buy and where it is made are personal choices, never should they become a platform of national pride and thuggery. This has brought fear into the hearts of many Canadians who manufacture for and service the American Economy in some way. This fear will be apparent when the election is over next week.

Canadians are not enemies of America, but allies and friends with a long tradition of supporting our cousins back when bad sh*t happens. We have had enough of the American claim that they want free trade, only to realize that they do so long as it is to their benefit. Tariffs, and undue regulations applied to exporters into America are applied, yet American industry complains when other nations do the very same to them. Seriously! Democrats have said they would place a preference upon doing business with American firms before foreign ones, and Republicans wish to tariff many foreign nations into oblivion. Rhetoric perhaps, but we need to take these threats seriously. As to you the repercussions that will come should America close its doors to us.

Tit for tat neighbors. Tariff for tariff, true selfish competition with no fear of the American Giant. Do you want to build homes in America? Over 33% of all wood comes from Canada. Tit for tat. Canada’s mineral wealth can be sold to others and place preference upon the highest bidder always. You know who will win there don’t you America, the deep-pocketed Chinese.

Reshaping our alliances with others. If America responds as has been threatened, Canadians will find ways to entertain themselves elsewhere. Imagine no Canadian dollars flowing into the Northern States, Florida or California? The Big Apple without its friendly Maple Syrup dip. Canadians will realize just how significant their spending is to America and use it to our benefit, not theirs.

Clearly we will know if you prefer Canadian friendship to Donald Trumps Bravado.

China, Saudi Arabia & Russia are not your friends in America. Canada, Japan, Taiwan the EU and many other nations most definitely are. Stop playing politics, and carry out business in an unethical fashion. Treat allies as they should be treated.

Steven Kaszab
Bradford, Ontario
skaszab@yahoo.ca

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