Federal leaders trade barbs on COVID-19 plans, vaccinations in French election debate – National | Globalnews.ca

Federal party leaders traded barbs on the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccinations in the French language debate Wednesday, as the election campaign heads into its final stretch.

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet and Green Party Leader Annamie Paul faced off in the debate from the Museum of Canadian History in Gatineau, Que., just across the river from Parliament Hill.

The first question of the night — whether any of the leaders would commit to not calling another snap election if they won a minority government — saw all of the leaders commit to a full mandate except for Trudeau, who did not directly answer the question.

“You will hear different ideas tonight about how we move forward, and it will be up to you to decide,” Trudeau said, addressing viewers directly.

4:38Canada election: Party leaders weigh in on whether they’d call another snap election if they form a minority government

After each leader pledged to ensure provincial governments better protect seniors living in long-term care, the debate quickly heated up when the topic moved to mandatory vaccinations.

While the leaders all agreed that vaccines were important to get past the pandemic, they disagreed on whether to mandate those vaccines for certain workers.

“I don’t want to divide our population, I want to protect our population,” Singh said when explaining his support for vaccine passports and mandates despite some vocal opposition across the country.

While explaining his approach that also includes testing for those who refuse vaccination, O’Toole turned directly to Trudeau and asked why an election was called in the middle of the pandemic.

“Why have an election during a pandemic?” Trudeau responded. “It’s precisely because Canadians need a say on how we get out of this.”

Singh later said Trudeau called the election for “selfish” reasons, reminding that a fourth wave of the pandemic was underway when the campaign began and has only gotten worse.

“We should have continued to face the pandemic, help people and realize that this pandemic is not over,” he said.

Asked about the future of the Canada Response Benefit (CRB) and other emergency programs introduced during the pandemic, O’Toole said such programs should be phased out “fairly” to encourage Canadians to head back to work — provided a fifth wave doesn’t occur.

Singh and Paul strenuously disagreed, agreeing that vulnerable populations are already at risk and would further suffer if the CRB is eliminated in October.

“Investing in people is always a good investment,” Paul said.

2:29Where federal leaders stand ahead of debates

All of the leaders were challenged by moderator Patrice Roy about their COVID-19 plans. Trudeau was pushed on how much taxpayer money was spent on acquiring vaccines. Singh was forced to defend his plan for free mental health care amid a national shortage of psychologists. And Paul was asked how the Greens were supposed to be taken seriously when her party has yet to release a costed platform.

The NDP also has yet to release the costing for its platform, while the Conservatives released their costing hours before tonight’s debate. The Liberals released their platform, with costing, last week.

Other topics set to be discussed during the debate are climate change, the cost of living and public finances, Indigenous Peoples and cultural identity, and justice and foreign policy.

More to come…

–With files from the Canadian Press