Politics

Election 2015: The day that was, Sept. 30

Campaigning in the true north, caught between politics and jobs

    The Important

    Wednesday marked Tom Mulcair’s second day in Iqaluit, Nunavut. The NDP leader promised $32 million over four years to expand Nutrition North, a program to help with access to nutritious foods in isolated northern communities. To address climate change, Mulcair added that he would set up an Office of the Parliamentary Science Officer for independent scientific analysis, as well as devote $100 million for 25 northern communities looking to replace diesel generators with clean energy.


    Justin Trudeau spent the morning on the West Coast, visiting a seniors centre in Surrey, B.C. In the wake of new Statistics Canada data this week stating there more Canadians older than 65 than there are younger than 15, Trudeau said a Liberal government would invest $3 billion over four years on home care, as well as invest in improving the availability of mental health services and lowering the cost of prescription drugs.

    The Interesting

    When Joe Oliver makes time for a very rare media appearance, he often has numbers to boast. That was true Wednesday morning after Statistics Canada announced the country’s GDP grew by 0.3 per cent in the month of July, with growth across sectors such as mining, manufacturing, and oil and gas extraction.

    Journalists, meanwhile, were quick to ask where Canada’s finance minister has been of late, as he has seldom been available for media queries since the writ dropped.


    The GDP numbers are good news for the economy. Statistics Canada figures for June, however, were adjusted down from 0.5 per cent growth to 0.4 per cent, meaning the technical recession over the first half of 2015 was slightly worse than what was originally reported—despite Oliver’s claims last week that the country wasn’t in a recession at all.
    Meanwhile, Canada’s largest private-sector union, Unifor, spent most of the day in damage control after one of its members talked about contacting the NDP to ask the party not to make an issue out of the Conservative government’s multi-billion-dollar deal with Saudi Arabia to supply armoured vehicles. The vehicles are built by unionized workers in London, Ont.

    The Fun

    There’s reason for politicians to go after the youth vote. Nearly three-quarters of Canadians aged 18-29 have signed a petition; more than one in five have volunteered for a candidate or campaign; and more than one-third have attended a protest or demonstration. But will they vote?
    Western University’s student council released a cheeky video called “My first time,” where students offer playful statements such as: “I was nervous, but felt great after and couldn’t wait to do it again,” and “My first time, it was super-quick”… about voting.

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