Liberal Party Leader Justin Trudeau has once again evoked memories of former prime minister Stephen Harper while on the campaign trail.
During a Monday morning stop in Granby, Quebec, Trudeau once again referred to the former prime minister.
“Today’s economy, tomorrow’s economy needs us to fight climate change. Canada lost 10 years under the Conservative Party who wants to go back to the old Harper years objectives and goals. Some young people who are voting for the first time and who just do not remember the Harper era. Well, since 2015 we have been working hard to catch up but we cannot waste any minutes especially over the next four years,” said Trudeau.
According to Environment Canada data, greenhouse gas emissions actually fell while Harper was prime minister. Between 2006 and 2015, emissions decreased from 730 million tonnes to 723 million tonnes. In comparison, prior Liberal governments saw a rise in greenhouse gas emissions between 1993 to 2006.
Despite Trudeau’s insistence that the Liberals have battled climate change, data shows that between 2017 and 2018, Canada saw one of the biggest increases in greenhouse gas emissions since 2014. In fact, over that period, emissions actually grew from 716 million tonnes to 723 million tonnes.
Last week, Trudeau similarly deflected questions about his record on the Afghanistan crisis and Canada’s slow evacuation effort by criticising the Harper government’s handling of the Syrian refugee crisis in 2015.
“We’re hearing reports about Canadian citizens in Afghanistan who feel particularly abandoned by your government. Will you prioritize getting them out of Afghanistan now that resources are becoming scarcer and it’s becoming so much harder now over refugee applications?” asked CTV reporter Glen McGregor.
“I think a lot of Canadians can’t help but reflect on this situation in this election when we are pledging to welcome tens of thousands of Afghan refugees fleeing terrible violence to what we lived through in 2015, when the Conservative government at the time was not stepping up to welcome Syrian refugees,” said Trudeau.
