Gloves come off in NDP leadership debate

OTTAWA • After a series of debates in which the NDP leadership candidates agreed on just about everything, the claws came out Sunday in St. John’s, N.L., when they were allowed to question each other directly during their fourth debate.

Ontario MPP Jagmeet Singh was asked to take a clear stance on pipelines and to make a firm commitment to the federal NDP.

In a heated exchange with Ontario MP Charlie Angus, Singh refused to say whether he will run for the NDP in the next federal election if he doesn’t win the leadership, or if he will run again provincially in 2018.

“You’re telling Canadians to have courage and join you. I would suggest that you could show courage and tell us, ‘Are you going to join us?’ Simple question,” Angus said.

“I will continue to serve in any way I can,” Singh replied.

Singh also hedged when Manitoba MP Niki Ashton and B.C. MP Peter Julian asked where he stands on pipeline projects such as Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. He’ll be releasing a climate change policy soon, he said, but he has to speak with B.C. NDP Leader John Horgan and Alberta Premier Rachel Notley first.

“I’m disconcerted by your non-response,” Julian said. “Why have you not made up your mind on Kinder Morgan?”

Despite the questioning, Singh seemed more at ease during this debate than during his first in Sudbury last month. He was quick to point to a new policy package he released just before the debate, which would introduce two new tax brackets for those making more than $350,000 and $500,000, respectively.

He has also promised to increase the corporate income tax rate to 19.5 per cent from 15 per cent. He would use the extra revenue in part to provide a basic income for Canadians with disabilities and an increase to wage subsidies for low-income workers.

Angus, perhaps the most adversarial at Sunday’s debate, also took aim at Julian and Ashton’s proposals for free post-secondary tuition and Quebec MP Guy Caron’s commitment to a basic guaranteed income, questioning how much those promises would cost.

“There’s serious questions, and one is the price,” he said of Caron’s plan, which he claimed could cost $300 billion. Caron said the model he’s proposing would not cost that much.

For his part, Caron challenged Angus to come up with a plan for regaining NDP seats in Quebec. The Quebec MP is positioning himself as the only leadership hopeful who can defeat Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer in the province.