Liberals do not derogate from their charm operation for the middle class

OTTAWA - The Liberals are once again rolling out the red carpet for the middle class and are betting that voters will agree to huge deficits to do so.

Here is an overview of the commitments of the platform unveiled Sunday by the troops of Justin Trudeau, which sparkles new revenues generated by a tax imposed on the giants of the web.

The eraser for students and workers

A host of measures aim to help workers and students in precarious situations. There is a commitment to introduce a career insurance benefit that would allow some laid-off employees after a business closure to earn up to $ 15,900 over two years. It is planned to inject $ 173 million over four years for this measure.

The Liberals are also promising a minimum wage of $ 15 per hour by 2020 for workers under federal jurisdiction.

To allow university graduates to breathe, a re-elected Liberal government would extend the "grace period" during which they do not have to repay their student debt or pay interest.

Haro on the giants of the web

The Liberals promise to impose a form of tax on large foreign companies in the digital sector like Amazon, after a long stagnation. Pending consensus among OECD member countries on how to get them to pay their fair share, we are committed to taxing advertising and user data by 3% to these large foreign companies. It is expected to fetch new revenue totaling $ 540 million in a first year and up to $ 730 million in 2023-2024.

Closer control of firearms

In addition to the already announced promise to ban military-style assault weapons, Justin Trudeau's troops pledge to invest an additional $ 50 million over five years in a gang violence reduction initiative. This is the creation of a new grant component for communities deemed at risk.

Continuing reconciliation with Aboriginal peoples

Recognizing that there is still a lot of work to be done for reconciliation with First Nations people, Trudeau promises to develop a legislative framework for police services in these communities.

To ensure that Aboriginal people are entitled to their share of pie in natural resource projects, a new national benefit-sharing framework is being proposed.

Carbon Neutrality in 2050: Negligible "binding" interim milestones

The target of zero net emissions by 2050, which had been skeptical for many, was brandished again. There are few new details on how to do this, except to specify that legally binding targets for Canada would be established every five years. However, we should wait until a bill is tabled to find out what the consequences would be if Ottawa does not keep its word.

The Liberals also pledge to install 5,000 new charging stations for electric vehicles.

Flood victims heard?

The Liberals obviously want to answer "present" to the demands of residents overwhelmed by the floods last spring. A low-cost national flood insurance program is proposed, as well as an EI benefit for Canadians whose work is temporarily disrupted by floods or forest fires. for example. The Trudeau team is also pledging $ 1 billion more to the 10-year Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund.

A lot of

• Liberals promise to force social networks like Facebook to remove hate content within 24 hours that is relayed on their platform.

• There is a promise to amend the Criminal Code to prohibit conversion therapies for minor members of LGBTQ2 + communities to heterosexuality.

• A re-elected Liberal government would not tax taxpayers for the first $ 15,000 of their income, resulting in annual savings of $ 600 for an average family

• Justin Trudeau's troops promise, to allow for better timely access to justice, to appoint 435 new Crown Attorneys and 225 judges.

• All judges appointed to the Supreme Court by a re-elected Liberal government would be bilingual.

• There is promise to give more powers to the federal Privacy Commissioner and to the Official Languages ​​Commissioner.

• The Trudeau team is committed to eliminating for good the long-standing payroll problems of the failing federal payroll system, Phénix.

• High-speed Internet access is promised for all by 2030.