A group of Montreal-area Liberal candidates gathered on Saturday to take shots at the Conservative party platform, saying the party was not telling Canadians where they would be making cuts.
Honore-Mercier candidate Pablo Rodriguez said Canadians would only find out where the Conservatives would cut after the election.
Rodriguez was likely referring to $14.4 billion in cuts to federal departments laid forth in the Conservative platform. While the Conservatives have promised to put money back into Canadians’ pockets, the exact nature of those budget cuts are not clear.
“They tell us they’re going to make $53 billion in cuts and that includes $14 billion for which they have no explanation,” said Rodriguez. “They’re asking us for a blank cheque, saying ‘Listen, we’re going ot make those $14 billion in cuts and we’ll tell you where after the election.”
The Conservative platform does contain numerous tax breaks, including a cut to the lowest income tax bracket, removal of GST from home heating and a tax credit for public transit.
Liberal leader Justin Trudeau criticized the timing of the platform’s release on the Friday before a long weekend but NDG-Westmount Conservative candidate Neil Drabkin defended the platform, saying it would benefit the country’s finances.
“What this plan will do is it will reduce taxes. It will ease the burden for Canadians. Two-thirds of Canadians can’t pay their bills at the end of the month and we’re responding to give them a little bit of a break,” he said.
