Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau faced attacks from all sides in the first hour of the official English-language debate.From the left, on climate: “If you have a fire in a four storey building, getting a one storey ladder doesn’t do it,” Green Party Leader Elizabeth May said, slammed Trudeau for failing to commit more aggressively to cutting emissions. “I want to say this directly to Canadians,” said NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, joining in the attack. “You do not need to choose between Mr. Delay and Mr. Deny. There is another option.”From the right, on the SNC-Lavalin scandal: “I have nothing to learn from Mr. Trudeau, who fired the first Indigenous attorney general for doing to her job,” Conservative Leader Scheer said.And from the far-right, after People’s Party of Canada Leader Maxime Bernier claimed the Liberals and Conservatives have the same plan for the climate.“That is the most offensive thing you’ve said tonight,” Trudeau responded.The first half of the debate was punctuated by several pointed, if off-topic, exchanges.The debate opened with a question on Canada’s role on the world stage.Minutes later, Trudeau and Scheer were engaging in a pointed, if off-topic, exchange:“Mr. Trudeau can’t even remember how many times he’s worn blackface,” Scheer said in his response Monday night. “Mr. Trudeau: you are always wearing a mask,” he said.Trudeau’s turn came soon after, directed at Scheer via an exchange with Bernier, who holds extreme views on immigration and climate change: “Mr. Bernier, your role on this stage is to say publicly what Mr. Scheer thinks privately,” Trudeau said.Bernier played a surprisingly central role in the first portion of the debate, defending against attacks from Trudeau, Scheer and Singh, who has said Bernier should not have been invited.“I have a right to have another opinion about immigration,R ...
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