Federal Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole made a pitstop in Edmonton Saturday morning, on the heels of a Calgary visit Thursday by Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau and a stop in the capital by NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh Friday.
O’Toole was at Edmonton’s Winnifred Stewart Association, 11130 131 St., to release his plan to break down barriers for Canadians living with disabilities
He said people with disabilities have been hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic, by isolation and job losses.
“These fellow Canadians need our support right now to live full lives and participate fully in society, including in the workforce,” O’Toole said.
“We know how important it is for Canadians of every ability to have security and financial independence to lead their lives.”
His proposed plan would double the disability supplement in the Canada Workers Benefit to $1,500 from $713, providing a boost to lower-income Canadians with disabilities.
He said his government would also overhaul the complex array of disability supports and benefits to ensure that “working always leaves someone further ahead,” and he will work with the provinces to ensure federal programs are designed to work with provincial programs to achieve this result.
An additional $80 million per year through the Enabling Accessibility Fund would be available to ensure more incentives for small business and community projects to improve accessibility, he said.
“Canadians with disabilities deserve to be able to leave their homes confidently knowing that wherever they choose to go, their accessibility needs will be respected and accommodated,” he said.
In addition, O’Toole said he would cut the number of hours required to qualify for the Disability Tax Credit and the Registered Disability Savings Plan to 10 hours from 14 hours per week.
O’Toole said the party’s changes will save a person with a disability or their family an average of $2,100 a year.
In response to O’Toole’s announcement, Edmonton Griesbach NDP candidate Blake Desjarlais said in a statement that while O’Toole can make promises, “nobody is going to believe, ” he is helping people with disabilities with Conservatives like Laila Goodridge, a former UCP MLA, on his side.
“In Alberta, Goodridge voted to cut supports for people with disabilities, weaken the disabilities advocate and threatened to slash funding for programs even deeper,” Desjarlais said.
“Alberta families know Conservatives like Erin O’Toole and Jason Kenney will make cuts — it’s what they do. The NDP are fighting for people with disabilities.”
O’Toole’s Edmonton stop comes after a Thursday visit to Calgary by Trudeau, whose Liberals in 2019 failed to win a single seat in Alberta. Trudeau appeared at the Whitehorn Community Centre alongside Calgary Skyview candidate George Chahal, who looks to jump from city councillor into federal politics with the Grits.
Trudeau called the snap Sept. 20 election last Sunday, drawing criticism from opposition politicians who called the move unnecessary and opportunistic, amid a surging fourth wave of COVID-19 cases across the country and with thousands of Afghan interpreters and their families stuck in Afghanistan awaiting refuge to Canada.
Trudeau briefly criticized O’Toole in his Calgary speech before turning his sights to Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, slamming his government’s proposed cuts to health-care worker salaries, particularly during the pandemic.
Kenney also took heat from Singh who visited Edmonton last Thursday, taking aim at what he calls the premier’s “attacks” on health-care workers.
On Saturday, O’Toole said Kenney was a friend of his when they were both in the federal government together. He said he will work with the premiers of each province.
“I want to make sure that we have an economic recovery in all sectors of our economy and all regions of our country because our country has become fractured under Mr. Trudeau, in part because there’s always an Ottawa-knows-best approach,” O’Toole said.
“I will respect provincial jurisdiction, I will have the federalism of the partnership, and Canadians regardless of what province you live in, we can’t afford more of the same with Mr. Trudeau and his approach.”
O’Toole later Saturday was to head to Delta, B.C., where he was to attend an evening event with supporters.
Meanwhile earlier on Saturday, former Edmonton city councillor Ben Henderson officially launched his campaign as the Liberal candidate for Edmonton Mill Woods.
