Leaders clash on climate, immigration, abortion and Bill 21 in intense debate

The six main federal party leaders battled it out in the English language debate in Gatineau, Que.,Monday night, exchanging answers and accusations as they looked to bust out from the pack in the final two weeks of the campaign.

The only English debate with all six party leaders saw the discussion range across five topics including: affordability and economic insecurity, environment and energy, Indigenous issues, leadership in Canada and on the world stage and polarization around human rights and immigration.

On the first topic of the evening, leadership,Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer came out swinging for the fences, ignoring the theme to instead launch a heated attack on Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau who he called a "fraud" who does not deserve to be prime minister.

"Mr Trudeau you are a phoney and you are a fraudand you do not deserve to govern this country," Scheer said, accusing Trudeau of only pretending to stand up for Canada.

"You know he's very good at pretending things," Scheer said. "He can't even remember how many times he put blackface on because the fact of the matter is he's always wearing a mask.

"He puts on a reconciliation mask and then fires the attorney general, the first one of Indigenous background, he puts on a feminist mask and then fires two strong female employees for not going along with his corruption."

CTV's Lisa Laflamme,one of five moderators for the debate,turned to People's Party of Canada Leader Maxime Bernier and askedhim if he had the temperament for leadership, given the off-colour comments he has been making on Twitter about climate change, immigration and his opponents.

"You must tell the truth to Canadians if you want to be the leader of this countryand what I'm saying about extreme multiculturalism is not the way to build this country," Bernier replied."Yes this country is a diverse country and we must be proud of that. But we don't need legislation like the multiculturalism act to tell us who we are."

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said the temperament for leadership requiresa leader to look for things that unite Canadians, rather than divide them.

"That's what a leader does and a leader works for the people who need help, not helping those at the very top which we've seen with governments in Ottawa for far too long," Singh said.

Scheer calls Trudeau 'phony' start of debate

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Duration 0:35

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer says Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau is always wearing a mask at the outset of the English-language debate in Gatineau, Que.

Bernier interrupted Singhand then went on to interrupt and talk over every other leader, including Scheer, who called out Bernier for his anti-immigrant positions.

"You can be proud of Canada's history, you can be proud of our identity, you can be proud of the things we've done and accomplished in the world while at the same time welcoming people from all around the world," Scheer said.

Leadership is service: May

Trudeau said the temperament for being a good leader meant looking for things that unite Canadians rather than taking every opportunity to find things that will set one Canadian against another.

The Liberal leadersaid Bernier is " trying to make people more fearful about the migrations that are happening in the world and the opportunities around globalization and our ability to continue to redefine every single day what it is to be Canadian, what it means to be Canadian."

Bernier shot back saying that wanting to discuss immigration did not mean he did not love Canada.

"Mr. Bernier, your role on this stage tonight seems to be to say publicly what Mr. Scheer thinks privately," Trudeau said.

Green Party Leader Elizabeth May said leadership is about service and that anyone wanting to be prime minister has to view running the country as a service for Canadians.

Trudeau on Bernier: Says publicly what Scheer thinks privately

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Duration 1:07

'Your role on this stage seems to be to say publicly what Mr. Scheer thinks privately,' Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau says to People's Party Leader Maxime Bernier during the English-language debate in Gatineau, Que.

The second segment of the debate centred on polarization, human rights and immigration.

The moderator, HuffPost Canada's Althia Raj, asked Singh if he was letting down Canadians by putting his party's electoral chances ahead of taking a stand on Bill 21 in Quebec, whichbans certain civil servants from wearing religious symbols at work

Bill 21 divisions

Singh said Bill 21 was something that "hurts me, makes me feel bad" and that he would put his efforts into services that build up people.

Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet said that 70 per cent of people in Quebec support Bill 21 and that the rest of Canada should recognize thatQuebecerscandecide how they want to govern their own province.

Trudeau attacked Singh and said that while he recognized the NDP leader had spoken eloquently on his experience with discrimination, he was disappointed Singh did not follow Trudeau's lead and say he would leave the door open to a federal court challenge of the law.

Trudeau to Singh: Why close the door to intervention on Bill 21?

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NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh speaks about his battle against discrimination after Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau challenges him to say he'll intervene on Quebec's secularism law.

"Yes it's awkward politically, because as Mr Blanchetsays, it is very popular, but I am the only one on this stage who has said: yes, a federal government might have to intervene on this," Trudeau said.

Singh said that living every day of his lifeas a visible religious minority was how he took a stand, to which Trudeau asked him why he did not have the courage to stand up for his convictions.

After the debate,Blanchetsaid that while he did not agree with Trudeau's position on Bill 21, he at least knew where he stood, butthe same could not be said for Scheer and Singh who, he said, gave ambiguous answers.

Access to abortion

The debate turned briefly to the subject of abortionand a woman's right to choose, which saw Scheer facing attacks from all on the stage.

"The laws of access on this issue have not changed for 30 years under Liberal prime ministers, under Conservative prime ministers, they will not change when I am prime minister," Scheer said.

Trudeau accused Scheer of backing candidates for his party who are determined to take away women's right to choose if they want an abortion or not.

Singh jumped into the heated exchange to say that "a man has no position on a discussion on a woman's right to choose, let's be very clear on that," he said.

May: Leaders must be clear: Never 'a single inch of retreat' on women's rights

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Duration 2:13

Green Party Leader Elizabeth May notes it has been male leaders mostly debating abortion in this election and the 'hard-earned rights' women.

May turned the question on the five male candidates,saying they all missed the opportunity to call for her inclusion in the TVA French-language debate and show young girls that a woman can lead a party and can run for prime minister.

The Green Party leader then sided with Trudeau in accusing Scheer of not being clear about his position.

"We must be clear as all leaders and you are not clear Andrew that we will never allow a single inch of retreat from the hard-earned rights of women in this country. Not one inch," she said.

SNC-Lavalin and Quebec

Scheer turned to Trudeau and said that in light of the Liberal leader's violation of ethics laws, specifically with reference to the SNC-Lavalin affair, when did he decide that the rules did not apply to him?

"Mr. Scheer, the role of a prime minister is to stand up for Canadians' jobs, to stand up for the public interestand that's what I've doneand that's what I will continue to do every single day," Trudeau said.

Scheer returned fire, accusing Trudeau of lying to Canadians. In response, Trudeau asked Scheer if he would not have stood up for the jobs at risk at SNC-Lavalin. That left an opening for Blanchet, who accused Scheer of using SNC-Lavalin to further his politics, to the detriment of a Quebec company.

"When Mr. Trudeau tried to find a solution, he did it the wrong way and he admitted it. What you are doing Mr Scheer is you are trading the idea that Quebec is corrupt," Blanchet said. "Those 3,400 people [working for SNC-Lavalin] have done nothing wrong, now the value of the shares are going down, the employees are leaving, clients are leavingand we are losing it all because of you."

Scheer said that regardless of the economic situation there was no excuse for a politician to interfere in a federal court case. "It is essential that we preserve the independence of our judicial system," he said.

Indigenous issues

Bernier said all the other leaders arehappy with the way things are and just wantto tweak the relationship Canada has with Indigenous peoples. He saidhe would look into implementing property rights on reserves as a start to a better relationship.

May said Indigenous leaders are saying that the No. 1issue facing theirpeople is climate change and that iswhere the government has to act.

Trudeau said he inherited climate targets from the former Conservative government,but targets arenot a planand he has implemented a plan that is making a difference.

May attacked Trudeau with the line that he "bought a pipeline" and so was not really fighting climate change,to which Trudeau replied that "a slogan is not a plan."

Returning to the Indigenous relationship, Singh attacked Trudeau for ordering a judicial review of a recent Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruling that awarded compensation to Indigenous children harmed by the on-reserve child welfare system and under-funded child and family services.

"He wanted to fight hard to keep SNC-Lavalin out of the courts but he's going to drag Indigenous kids to court. That is wrong. How could someone do that?" Singh asked.

Trudeau said his government had moved forward on Indigenous issues in a way that other governments never didbefore, butthere isstill a great deal to do. He also said that children would be compensated when his government could ensure that it isdone in the right way.

"We recognize the tribunal's ruling that says that children need to be compensated and we will be compensating them," Trudeau said.

Trudeau, Scheer spar over indigenous rights and pipelines

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Duration 1:29

Justin Trudeau says he'll move forward with energy projects with respect for indigenous people, while Andrew Scheer says he has 'nothing to learn' from Trudeau, who 'fired' Canada's first indigenous justice minister.

"But we've also moved forward to end the tragedies by moving forward on legislation that keeps kids in care, in their communities, with their language, with their culture."

Scheer said that he backed a judicial review because when it comes to handing out billions of dollars it isimportant to get it right.

"This decision will have massive, huge ramifications for several aspects of the way the federal government provides services to Indigenous Canadians," Scheer said.

"It also is a very large, significant settlement amount and I believe that when you're dealing with these types of important public policy issues, that it is legitimate to say that it should be reviewed."

Income inequality

A voter from Yellowknife asked the leaders what they would do about the growing problem of income inequality in Canada if they were to become prime minister.

May called for a commission to look at the tax code to see if it is fair.

Trudeau touted his middle-class tax cutsand that he would be moving forward with another tax cut for low- and middle-income Canadians, whileaccusing Scheeroftargeting his tax cuts toward the wealthy.

Bernier said all the other party leaders wantto persist in running deficits but he would balance the budget in two years in part by recouping $5 billion from cancelling corporate welfare payments.

Singh said that giving money to corporations for investments meant that the federal government did not have enough left over to invest in programs such as dental care and health care that matterto lower-income Canadians.

Scheer accused Trudeau of not really understanding the issue of affordability because he had a trust fund and that Conservative tax cuts would make a significant difference for people earning less than $47,000 a year.

Climate change

The final topic of the evening, moderated by the CBC's Rosemary Barton, was the environment and energy.

A member of the public from New Brunswick said that Canada was in the midst of a climate crisis and that this was the last election Canadians had before we reached the tipping point. He wanted leaders to answer the question of what they would do in the climate fight.

Scheer used the opportunity to attack Trudeau for using two campaign planes and excusing that choice by purchasing carbon offsets. Trudeau replied that Scheer did not buy carbon offsets because he does not believe in climate change.

Trudeau said his government had taken action by putting a price on pollution across the country and implementing a plan that gets Canada three-quarters of the way to the emissions reduction targets agreed to in Paris.

Climate plans: 'A target for failure' or 'only serious plan'?

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Duration 1:23

Green Leader Elizabeth May and Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau have a spirited exchange on climate change plans and emissions targets.

"The choice tonight is very clear between two parties that have very different views on climate change. Mr. Scheer wants to rip up the only serious plan on climate changeCanada has ever had," said Trudeau.

Scheer said that Trudeau's plan has given emissions breaks to some large producers while "hard-working commuters, moms and dads taking their kids to school or driving to work they have to pay the full brunt" of the carbon tax.

Trudeau said that a real climate change plan, in order to be successful, has to not only be ambitious, but doable.

May attacked Trudeau for buying the Trans Mountain pipeline,arguing that the government's emissions targets are guaranteed to missthe Paris targets. May went further, saying she hoped Trudeau did not get a majority because he would not make the necessary moves required to battle climate change.

Leaders battle it out on their climate plans

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Duration 3:48

In the segment of the debate that may have featured the best one-liners, the leaders go on the offensive - and defend - plans on climate change.

"We don't grade on a curve and say because a plan is less ambitious it's therefore more doable if it fails to meet the goal of holding global average temperature to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius," she said.

Trudeau replied that Conservative politicians at the provincial level had been elected premier on the back of promises to eliminate the federal carbon tax and a strong government with a plan was needed in Ottawa to stand against them.

"We're putting a price on pollution right across the country and we are fighting those Conservative premiers who do not want to do their part to fight climate change," Trudeau said."We recognize that transition to clean energy will not happen overnight."