One year after federal election, have promises been fulfilled?
A progress report on the government led by PM Justin Trudeau
OTTAWA — When it comes to keeping promises, Canadians know that politicians are not at all like Horton, the Dr. Seuss character who “meant what I said and I said what I meant: an elephant’s faithful, 100 per cent.”
They make many promises to win elections, but often find it impossible to deliver on them once they take office.
Justin Trudeau made more than 200 promises in last year’s election campaign. After one year as prime minister, he has kept more than he’s broken, but most are still in progress or yet to come. Some are open to interpretation. Here’s a look at the main ones: • A cabinet with as many women as men.
• A 20.5 per cent income tax rate for Canadians earning between $45,282 and $90,563, down from 22 per cent.
• A new 33 per cent tax bracket for those earning more than $200,000.
• Create a more generous child benefit.
• Restore mandatory long form census.
• Unmuzzle scientists.
• Create an advisory board to recommend merit-based, non-partisan nominees for the Senate.
• Process of appointing Supreme Court justices is more transparent, inclusive and accountable to Canadians. Trudeau’s only pick thus far, Malcolm Rowe, was one of five recommended by a new independent advisory board. The board’s chair, former prime minister Kim Campbell, and Rowe are to answer questions about the appointment from a Commons committee.
• Withdraw Canadian fighter jets from Syria and Iraq, beef up humanitarian aid and military support to train Iraqi forces.
• Launch a national inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women.
• The first phase ($11.9 billion over two years) of an additional $60 billion over 10 years in infrastructure spending.
• Scrap income splitting for couples with children.
• Roll back to $5,500 the $10,000 annual limit on tax-free savings account contributions.
• Restore the age of eligibility for old age security and guaranteed income supplement to 65 from 67.
• Work with the provinces to enhance the Canada Pension Plan.
• A refundable tax benefit of up to $150 to teachers who spend their own money on school supplies.
• Invest $2.6 billion over four years for First Nations education, although it is now over five years.
• Restore funding cut by the Conservatives for the CBC.
• Expand the youth summer jobs program.
• Reopen nine Veterans Affairs offices.
• Increase financial benefits for veterans whose careers are impacted by injury.
• Welcome 25,000 Syrian refugees to Canada, although it took several months longer than promised and only about 15,000 were government-assisted refugees; the rest were privately sponsored.
• Increase funding for student grants by 50 per cent.
• Create the prime minister’s youth council.
• Reform employment insurance to reduce wait time before claiming EI, cut the number of hours an individual must have worked to receive benefits.
• Repeal legislation that allowed government to revoke citizenship of dual citizens convicted of terrorism, treason or espionage. • Run deficits of less than $10 billion in each of the first three years of the mandate. The Liberals’ inaugural budget projects deficits for at least five years, totalling $113 billion, including almost $30 billion this year alone.
• Tax break for middle-income earners was to be “revenue neutral,” paid for by hiking taxes on the wealthiest one per cent. In fact, it will cost the federal treasury $1.2 billion a year.
• Reduce small business tax rate to nine per cent from 11 per cent.
• Maintain funding level for the Canadian Armed Forces. Government pushed back $3.7 billion for new equipment to 2020.
• Immediately scrap $44-billion purchase of F-35 stealth fighter jets, launch open and transparent competition to replace current CF-18 fighter jets and reallocate the savings to navy.
• Immediately invest $3 billion over four years to improve home care. This promise is now tied to negotiations with provinces and territories on a new health accord.
• Trudeau’s oral promise to “restore” door-to-door home mail delivery. Government is committed only to stopping further home delivery reduction while reviewing Canada Post operations. • Replace Canada’s first-past-thepost voting system by the next federal election.
• Legalize marijuana. A task force is to report by Nov. 30 and the government is promising legislation next spring.
• Overhaul the Access to Information Act to make government open “by default.”
• Amend anti-terrorism legislation.
• Renew commitment to peacekeeping. • Reform election laws: repeal elements of the Fair Elections Act, restore independence of elections watchdogs, create independent commission to organize debates during campaigns, limit party spending between elections.
• Ban partisan government advertising.
• Implement all 94 recommendations made by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on lingering effects of residential schools on indigenous peoples.
• Re-establish lifelong disability pensions for veterans.
• Cover cost of four years of postsecondary education for every vet.
• Reform operation of Parliament, including empowering backbenchers with more free votes.
• Create an office of counter-radicalization to deal with phenomenon of home-grown extremists. • Adhere to the principles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which states that no law or project can proceed without the “free, prior and informed consent” of indigenous people impacted by them. Some aboriginal leaders believe that confers a veto over natural resource projects. The government, which recently approved the Site C hydro dam and Pacific NorthWest LNG terminal in B.C. over aboriginal objections, says it doesn’t.
• Collaborate with premiers. Trudeau has met twice with first ministers to craft a national strategy on climate change and is scheduled to do so again before the end of the year. But he’s also infuriated some premiers by unilaterally announcing that the federal government will impose a floor price on carbon pollution.
• Restore trust in environmental assessments of resource projects. The government has established an interim process imposing more stringent environmental hurdles and consultations with indigenous peoples. But the National Energy Board’s review of the Energy East pipeline proposal has been stalled due to complaints about NEB members meeting privately with proponents.