Close X
Sunday, November 10, 2024
ADVT 
National

Labour leader urges unions to expose Poilievre's working-class overtures as 'fraud'

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 18 Apr, 2024 11:33 AM
  • Labour leader urges unions to expose Poilievre's working-class overtures as 'fraud'

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is a "fraud" for portraying himself as a friend of the working class, the head of the country's largest labour organization said Thursday, urging unions to do everything they can to expose him before the next federal election. 

Canadian Labour Congress President Bea Bruske delivered her call to arms as union leaders gathered in Ottawa to plot strategy ahead of the vote, which must happen before October 2025. 

"We must do everything in our power to expose Mr. Pierre Poilievre for the fraud that he is," Bruske said. 

"We must be under no illusions." 

Canada's three main political parties are already battling for blue-collar votes: both NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau were to address the meeting later Thursday. 

The speeches come days after the Liberals tabled a federal budget that increases taxes on the wealthy and includes funding for NDP priorities like pharmacare and dental care. 

Poilievre was not invited to speak at the gathering. 

While polls suggest Poilievre's affordability message is resonating with both private and public-sector workers, Bruske said his history of supporting back-to-work legislation and advocating for employees to be allowed to opt out of unions and makes him hostile to labour.

"Whatever he claims today, Mr. Poilievre has a consistent 20-year record as an anti-worker politician and I ask you, have you ever, ever, anywhere in Canada see him walk a picket line," she said. 

New Democrats have said much the same about the Conservative leader. 

For his part, Poilievre has said spent the past two years criss-crossing the country, pitching himself as the leader who understands the pain and anxieties working-class Canadians feel in the current affordability crisis. 

Poilievre likes to note he's spoken to more local unions and workers on factory floors than he has to corporate business crowds. Under his leadership, the Conservatives also voted to support a bill seeking to ban federally regulated workplaces from using replacement workers during strikes or lockouts, a significant shift for the Tories.

Since becoming leader, Poilievre has also resisted calling on Trudeau for back-to-work legislation in response to labour disputes, including the strike that saw thousands of public servants hit the picket lines last spring. 

He has taken his vow to "axe" the federal carbon price on fuel to NDP-held ridings across British Columbia, including on Vancouver Island, and to northern Ontario, where the Liberals also hold seats. 

When asked why Poilievre's message seems to be resonating among workers, Bruske said union leaders are aware of the anxieties workers face. 

"We well understand the frustration and the fear of about the future of their jobs and the fear of being able to make end's meet," she said.

But "politicians who offer simplistic answers without actually providing a real strategy on how they're going to achieve what workers need are not politicians that we can count on." 

Trudeau routinely chides Poilievre for drumming up support by promising simple fixes to complicated problems, like the lack of housing supply. 

Liberals are also frustrated that Poilievre has blamed their signature climate policy, the consumer carbon levy, for driving up costs. 

They deny his claims, insisting that the government's quarterly rebate payments are ensuring most Canadians are getting back more than they pay under the carbon price. 

MORE National ARTICLES

Text message scam in Nanaimo

Text message scam in Nanaimo
Mounties in Nanaimo say a text message scam is making its way through the community claiming drivers owe money for speeding in a school zone. Investigators say the bogus text was received by dozens of individuals throughout the Okanagan.

Text message scam in Nanaimo

B.C. warns of 'identical' government payment website made by 'malicious actors'

B.C. warns of 'identical' government payment website made by 'malicious actors'
The British Columbia government is warning people about a scam involving its PayBC website, where an "identical fake website" is collecting personal and credit card information.  The PayBC site gives residents a secure place to pay their bills or for services from the provincial government, but it says it has become aware of phishing attempts against users. 

B.C. warns of 'identical' government payment website made by 'malicious actors'

Environment Canada issues dust advisory for central and northern B.C.

Environment Canada issues dust advisory for central and northern B.C.
Environment Canada has added a dust advisories for a large section of central and northern British Columbia in response to "high concentrations of coarse particulate matter" that it says is most prominent near busy roads. The new advisories are up for the regions of Prince George, the Lakes District and Bulkley Valley, covering Smithers, Prince George, Vanderhoof and Houston.

Environment Canada issues dust advisory for central and northern B.C.

First airlift for Canadians fleeing Haiti is complete after weather delay

First airlift for Canadians fleeing Haiti is complete after weather delay
A spokeswoman for Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says 18 Canadians were brought out of Haiti by helicopter this morning. On Monday, Joly had said the 18 had already left, but Global Affairs Canada has clarified that their departure was put off due to bad weather.

First airlift for Canadians fleeing Haiti is complete after weather delay

Canadian bridges are safe, officials say after U.S. bridge rammed by ship, collapses

Canadian bridges are safe, officials say after U.S. bridge rammed by ship, collapses
Canadian authorities are trying to reassure the public about the safety of bridges in the country following the collapse of a bridge in Baltimore, Md., early this morning after it was rammed by a container ship.

Canadian bridges are safe, officials say after U.S. bridge rammed by ship, collapses

King George SkyTrain Station to remain closed for 6 weeks as of April

King George SkyTrain Station to remain closed for 6 weeks as of April
TransLink says the King George SkyTrain Station will be closed for approximately six weeks starting next month. A statement says the closure starting April 27th will allow essential maintenance work to happen and the Expo Line in Surrey will temporarily end at Surrey Central Station.

King George SkyTrain Station to remain closed for 6 weeks as of April