Friday, March 29, 2024
ADVT 
National

Leaders talk affordability in push for votes

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 15 Sep, 2021 09:45 AM
  • Leaders talk affordability in push for votes

The question of who will make life more affordable for Canadians hits the federal campaign trail as new figures show the pace of price increases is at its highest in two decades.

The country's headline inflation figure registered an annual increase of 4.1 per cent in August, fuelled by rising demand as more parts of the economy reopened amid supply-chain constraints for many goods.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, speaking this morning in Essex, Ont., said he's concerned about inflation rates and that bringing down housing prices is one way to address it.

"The cost of owning a home has been going up and people's wages haven't, so it's getting harder and harder for people," he said.

In Halifax an hour later, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau said the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the economy and jacked up prices, but that his platform zeros in on affordability with hefty housing and child-care measures.

"Everything we're doing is about creating affordability and opportunities for Canadians, whereas Mr. O'Toole and his housing plan is to give a half-billion-dollar tax break to wealthy landlords," he said, referencing the Tory pledge to create incentives for investors who inject money into rental housing by tweaking rules around capital gains taxes.

"His child-care plan is a tax break that doesn't create any spaces," Trudeau added.

Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole is spending his day in Quebec, but released a statement before his first public event saying planned deficits by the Liberals and New Democrats wouldn't help ease inflationary pressures.

“The numbers released today make it clear that under Justin Trudeau, Canadians are experiencing an affordability crisis,” O'Toole said in the release.

"We have a plan to get Mr. Trudeau’s spending under control. He never wants to get it under control," O'Toole said later in Jonquière, Que.

A Tory government would introduce more competition in the telecommunications market and tackle price fixing at grocery chains, he said.

The Conservative platform logs new spending at $52.5 billion over the next five years versus $78 billion under the Liberal platform over the same period. Neither intends to balance the budget within that window, though O'Toole says he aims to hit that goal in the next decade.

The national average home price is expected to reach $680,000 this year, up 20 per cent per cent from last year, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association.

The Liberals promise to build 1.4 million homes over four years while the Conservatives aim to construct a million homes in three years, with both parties pledging to raise barriers to foreign property buyers.

A poll conducted by Leger in collaboration with The Canadian Press indicated the Liberals and Tories are tied with the support of 32 per cent of decided voters ahead of the election on Monday, with the NDP at 20 per cent.

 

MORE National ARTICLES

1,984 COVID19 cases over 3 days

1,984 COVID19 cases over 3 days
 85.8% (3,978,624) of eligible people 12 and older in B.C. have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 78.4% (3,632,547) received their second dose.

1,984 COVID19 cases over 3 days

Saini stands to get $93,000 'golden goodbye'

Saini stands to get $93,000 'golden goodbye'
The former MP for Kitchener Centre stepped down after facing allegations that he harassed a female staff member, claims he firmly denies. Saini is entitled to a $92,900 severance cheque, worth half his $185,800 MP's salary.

Saini stands to get $93,000 'golden goodbye'

B.C. projects lower deficit, uneven recovery

B.C. projects lower deficit, uneven recovery
Finance Minister Selina Robinson says the province's financial statement for the first three months of the 2021-22 fiscal year projects a deficit of $4.8 billion, about half the $9.7 billion that was originally forecast in the budget.    

B.C. projects lower deficit, uneven recovery

Burnaby RCMP seek witnesses of a collision that has left a cyclist in hospital with life threatening injuries

Burnaby RCMP seek witnesses of a collision that has left a cyclist in hospital with life threatening injuries
On Sunday, September 12, at 12:00 p.m., frontline officers responded to a report of a motor vehicle collision involving a cyclist at the intersection of MacPherson Avenue and Beresford Street.

Burnaby RCMP seek witnesses of a collision that has left a cyclist in hospital with life threatening injuries

Vancouver Police stretched thin during violent weekend with series of shootings, stabbings, and major crime

Vancouver Police stretched thin during violent weekend with series of shootings, stabbings, and major crime
In addition to these major incidents, VPD officers also monitored a number protests during the weekend and launched dozens of other investigations related to missing persons cases, assaults, and traffic collisions.

Vancouver Police stretched thin during violent weekend with series of shootings, stabbings, and major crime

Election campaign enters final week

Election campaign enters final week
A group calling itself Canadian Frontline Nurses has looked to organize what it dubs "silent vigils" at hospitals across the country in response to public health restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19, which they call "tyrannical measures and government overreach."

Election campaign enters final week