OTTAWA—Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is portraying Ontario Premier Doug Ford and federal Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer as irresponsibly fuelling anger and division in the country in order to score political gains.In remarks Trudeau prepared to deliver to the Ontario wing of the federal Liberal party in Mississauga Friday night, Trudeau made only passing reference to the divisions within his own party over the SNC-Lavalin file, which has cost him two cabinet ministers and caucus members, and the departures of his top policy adviser and top civil servant. Instead, he took direct aim at Ford and Scheer lumping them together repeatedly, likening them to Stephen Harper, in a speech aimed at firing up his troops for the campaign ahead.Trudeau’s speech, a draft copy of which was released in advance, began with a focus on the economy and on climate change as a “massive economic threat to middle-class Canadians” before moving to condemn the two Conservative leaders as divisive figures.“Conservative politicians like Doug Ford and Andrew Scheer don’t seem to believe in investing for the future. They only think as far as the next election, not the next generation,” Trudeau said.The prime minister highlighted an alarming report from federal government scientists that warned human-caused climate change is causing Canada to warm faster than the world average. Trudeau claimed that “scientists, business owners, and economists agree — pricing pollution is the best way to reduce emissions and fight climate change” while he portrayed Ford and Scheer as acting irresponsibly in the face of the global climate change threat. Ford “fired Ontario’s chief scientist — just like Stephen Harper muzzled climate scientists,” said Trudeau. He criticized Ford for scrapping the mandatory vehicle emissions test, getting rid of the province’s cap-and-trade program, and for challenging the federal carbon le ...
|