NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh called out Justin Trudeau on Tuesday in Toronto for failing to meet any emissions reduction targets, handing out hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies to big oil companies, and matching the Harper Conservative government’s record for meeting with oil and gas lobbyists.
Singh promised to end Trudeau’s record of climate failure and announced new funding to make public transit more green, affordable, and convenient for people.
“Mr. Trudeau has a record of climate failure. He’s continuing the Conservatives’ trend of missing every emissions target and he has allowed pollution to increase every year,” said Singh. “He made promises to young people at the climate march in 2019, but turned around and gave big polluters hundreds of millions of dollars. Canadians are paying a price for his empty promises. No more talk. We have to fight the climate crisis like we want to win it.”
He said that under Trudeau’s leadership, Canada has become the worst emitter in the G7.
According to Singh, Trudeau has continued the trend of forcing Canada to miss every GHG reduction target it has ever set. He hasn’t even met the ones set by the Harper Conservative government. Since the Paris agreement on climate change came into effect, emissions have gone up every single year. While not addressing the concerns of working people in the industry, Trudeau’s Liberals connected with big oil companies an average of three times a day and handed them an average of $900 million more per year than the Harper Conservatives. He delayed help for oil and gas workers but found hundreds of millions of dollars for CEOs and shareholders.
While tackling the climate crisis and creating good jobs, Singh said he would double the investment in public transit projects across Canada, help municipalities fully electrify their fleets by 2030 and make fares more affordable, or even free, for Canadians.
“Just because Justin Trudeau didn’t try to meet the targets, doesn’t mean it can’t be done,” said Singh. “There’s no avoiding the climate crisis. We need to be bold and effective. We will deliver real action to protect families and communities, and ensure all Canadians can have a safe, clean future.”