{"id":13866,"date":"2015-07-31T00:11:22","date_gmt":"2015-07-31T07:11:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=13866"},"modified":"2015-07-28T23:31:35","modified_gmt":"2015-07-29T06:31:35","slug":"trudeau-talks-with-the-ji","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2015\/07\/31\/trudeau-talks-with-the-ji\/","title":{"rendered":"Trudeau talks with the JI"},"content":{"rendered":"

Liberal Party of Canada leader Justin Trudeau in an interview with Cynthia Ramsay of the Jewish Independent<\/em>. (photo by Adam Scotti)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Justin Trudeau said he is cautiously optimistic about the Iran nuclear deal, insisted he is committed to fighting ISIS and reiterated his commitment to the environment and social fairness in an exclusive interview with the Jewish Independent<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The federal Liberal leader, who hopes to be prime minister after the Oct. 19 federal election, acknowledged the implications of Iran\u2019s agreement with Western powers over its nuclear program, which the Tehran regime maintains is for energy purposes only.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all start from the same place on this \u2013 a nuclear-armed Iran is a threat not just to Israel, not just to the region, but to the entire world, and we have to make sure that Iran doesn\u2019t achieve that,\u201d Trudeau said.<\/p>\n

There are only two ways to reach this objective, he said: direct military intervention on the ground against the Iranian regime or a diplomatic agreement. \u201cWe don\u2019t have such a great record of military intervention in that part of the world,\u201d he noted, stressing that the agreement is \u201cnot based on trust but on verification.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are cautiously optimistic about the deal,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re not saying we should drop the sanctions today. Obviously, there are a lot of milestones to be addressed, but I think anything [is positive] that sets us down the path of both delaying the ability significantly of Iran to get the nuclear bomb and increases the ability of the Iranian people to put pressure on their regime to change \u2013 because we all know we can make a tremendous distinction between the Iranian citizens and their government that doesn\u2019t represent them particularly well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trudeau also advocated reopening diplomatic relations with Iran eventually. \u201cI do feel that it would be very nice to hope to reopen that embassy at one point because you don\u2019t have embassies with just your friends, you have your embassies with the people you disagree with,\u201d he said. \u201cHowever, on top of addressing the nuclear concerns, Iran has to do an awful lot to demonstrate that it\u2019s no longer going to be a state sponsor of terrorism in the region, around the world, and they have to do an awful lot around human rights and repression of their own citizens and dissent within Iran before they can rejoin the community of nations. But I think we\u2019re on a path that should be cause for at least a level of comfort that perhaps we\u2019re in a positive direction now.\u201d<\/p>\n

In speaking with the JI<\/em> after a speech to the Richmond Chamber of Commerce last Friday, Trudeau, in his second exclusive with the paper, clarified his stance around confronting ISIS.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a great opportunity for me to spell out our position on this,\u201d he said. \u201cThe Liberal party feels it is extremely important that Canada be a significant part in the effort against ISIS. We are absolutely supportive of being part of that coalition and, indeed, we feel there is a military role for Canada in the fight against ISIS that can make a very big difference. We disagree that bombing is the best way for Canada to do that. That\u2019s why we voted against the mission and voted against the expansion of the mission into Syria, because it has a likely side effect of strengthening Bashar al-Assad\u2019s grip on power and that we don\u2019t necessarily want.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWe are absolutely supportive of being part of that coalition and, indeed, we feel there is a military role for Canada in the fight against ISIS that can make a very big difference. We disagree that bombing is the best way for Canada to do that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

What Trudeau would prefer, he said, is for Canada to provide more humanitarian aid, for example, and for this country\u2019s military to provide the kind of role it does in Afghanistan. \u201cWe\u2019ve developed tremendous expertise,\u201d he said, \u201cwhich is training the local troops to be able to take the fight more efficiently to ISIS. That would happen far from the frontlines because we don\u2019t want Canadian troops to be involved [there] but also because we know that it is the local troops that are going to be effective at taking back their homes, their communities, and dropping in Western soldiers doesn\u2019t make the situation better as, unfortunately, the Americans understood in Iraq awhile ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

He sees an opportunity for Canada to make an impact without being directly involved in the conflict. \u201cWe feel there\u2019s a role for Canada to be a significant resource in training the local military, not in a direct combat role that Mr. Harper is proposing with the bombings,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Trudeau welcomed the opportunity to explain his support, with caveats, for the federal government\u2019s anti-terrorism bill, C-51. \u201cThe Liberal party has always understood that we need to protect Canadian security and uphold our rights and freedoms \u2013 and you do them both together,\u201d he said. \u201cTo our mind, Bill C-51, even though it has clear elements in it that increase the safety for Canadians \u2013 which is why we supported it \u2013 it doesn\u2019t go far enough to uphold our rights and freedoms, which is why we\u2019re committed to bringing in oversight, putting in a sunset and review clause onto our anti-terror legislation, and also narrowing and tightening some of the rules around what behavior CSIS [Canadian Security Intelligence Service] can have \u2013 warrantless searches and all those sorts of things.\u201d<\/p>\n

His political opponents, he said, go too far in each direction. \u201cMr. Harper thinks, \u2018No, no, we don\u2019t have to do anything more around rights and freedoms, we have enough, we\u2019re just giving more power to our police,\u2019\u201d Trudeau said. \u201cI think that\u2019s a problem.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Mulcair says, \u2018No, we don\u2019t need to do anything more on security. Even those things in C-51, we don\u2019t need them, we\u2019re fine the way it is.\u2019\u201d That is also a problem, according to Trudeau. \u201cWe have to do more,\u201d he said. \u201cBut we have to do more on both sides.\u201d<\/p>\n

On other topics, the Liberal leader expressed support for increased trade with\u00a0Israel. \u201cWe obviously support the latest announcement around Canada-Israel free trade,\u201d he said. \u201cI know it was a lot of agricultural stuff in this round, but it\u2019s a very good thing. This was a deal that was signed by [Liberal prime minister] Jean Chr\u00e9tien back in \u201997 and the Liberal party believes in trade. We believe in free trade, and we\u2019re happy to continue trade with Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trudeau took the opportunity to reiterate his opposition to the movement to boycott, divest from and sanction (BDS) Israel.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cYou can have all sorts of debates over positions, but when you\u2019re engaged in demonization, delegitimization and double standards, that\u2019s just not what we are as a country.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cI think the BDS and anti-apartheid movement, as I\u2019ve said many times, runs counter to Canadian values,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can have all sorts of debates over positions, but when you\u2019re engaged in demonization, delegitimization and double standards, that\u2019s just not what we are as a country.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Independent<\/em> also asked Trudeau about the Liberals\u2019 approach to climate issues and social equality.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt a very basic level, we get it, as Canadians, particularly here in B.C., that you cannot separate what\u2019s good for the environment and what\u2019s good for the economy anymore,\u201d Trudeau said. \u201cYou have to do them both together, and you can\u2019t get one without the other.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou still have people saying, \u2018Oh no, we have to work on the economy, so let\u2019s forget about environmental oversight,\u2019 or \u2018We need to protect the environment, so, no, we can\u2019t create jobs.\u2019 Canadians know we need them both together,\u201d he said. \u201cOne of the problems is we\u2019ve had 10 years of such a lack of leadership on the environmental level that it\u2019s hurting our economy. We need to get our resources to market in responsible, sustainable ways. We\u2019re not able to do that right now because nobody trusts Mr. Harper to do it right. Restoring that sense of public trust, [so] that people know, we need jobs, we need economic growth \u2026 in a way that understands that it\u2019s not just about governments granting permits, but about communities granting permission, as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the things we\u2019ve put forward in our environmental plan is that, in the 10 years of lack of leadership on the federal side, the provinces have moved forward,\u201d Trudeau continued. \u201cB.C. has a very successful carbon tax, Alberta put in a carbon levy-style tax, Ontario and Quebec are doing a cap-and-trade. What that means is that 86% of our economy has already put in a mechanism to put a price on carbon, so the federal government can\u2019t suddenly say, \u2018OK, we\u2019re doing cap-and-trade. Sorry, B.C., you\u2019re going to have to change your system,\u2019 which would make no sense; or vice versa, \u2018We\u2019re doing a carbon tax.<\/p>\n

Sorry, Ontario, you can\u2019t do it.\u2019 What we have to do is recognize that different jurisdictions will have different ways of reducing their emissions \u2013 the federal government has to be a partner, a supporter, an investor in our capacity to do that across the country, in order for us to reduce our emissions and be responsible about the environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trudeau acknowledged the solutions won\u2019t be immediate. \u201cWe need to move beyond fossil fuels, but it\u2019s not going to happen tomorrow,\u201d he said. \u201cRight now, a lot of people who are blocking and opposed to pipelines aren\u2019t realizing that the alternative is a lot more oil by rail, which is really problematic \u2013 more expensive, more dangerous.\u201d Under the circumstances, he said, people are just saying no: \u201cNo to everything, because we don\u2019t trust the government in place.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said he hopes to form a government that addresses climate change, invests in clean technology, renewable resources and the kinds of jobs that advance beyond a fossil fuel economy. For now, \u201cwe have to make sure that our oil sands are developed going forward in a responsible, efficient way that doesn\u2019t give us the black eye on the world stage and with our trading partners,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThe Liberal party believes in evidence-based policy and we believe in harm reduction.\u00a0My own hometown, Montreal, is pushing hard to set up an Insite-type clinic. The Liberal party supports that. The Supreme Court supports that. This government, for ideological reasons, is pushing against it. I think that\u2019s just wrong, and we\u2019re happy to say that. \u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Vancouver has been the testing ground for new ways of dealing with addiction, particularly the Insite supervised drug injection clinic. \u201cThe Liberal party believes in evidence-based policy and we believe in harm reduction,\u201d Trudeau said. \u201cMy own hometown, Montreal, is pushing hard to set up an Insite-type clinic. The Liberal party supports that. The Supreme Court supports that. This government, for ideological reasons, is pushing against it. I think that\u2019s just wrong, and we\u2019re happy to say that.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the same week that Canadian parents were receiving Universal Child Care Benefit [UCCB] cheques in the mail calibrated to the number of children in their home, Trudeau was promoting his party\u2019s \u201cfairness plan.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Harper\u2019s child benefit, for example, goes to every family regardless of how wealthy they might be,\u201d Trudeau said. \u201cWe, instead, decided, let\u2019s make it means-tested so that people who need the help the most will get the best help. For a low-income family, it means up to $533 a month, tax-free, and then it grades down until someone making over $200,000 doesn\u2019t get any child-care benefit at all. And the benefits that will go to the nine out of 10 Canadians will be tax-free, so the money you get is actually money you get to spend.\u201d<\/p>\n

The plan also proposes to lower the middle-class income bracket from 22 to 20.5, which will result in about $3 billion in lost revenue. \u201cIn order to get that $3 billion,\u201d said Trudeau, \u201cwe\u2019re bringing in a new tax bracket on the wealthiest Canadians, people who make over $200,000, to even things out. And it\u2019s not just about redistribution, it\u2019s also about growing the economy because we know, when middle-class families and the working poor have money in their pockets to spend, to grow, it stimulates the economy.<\/p>\n

\u201cInterestingly enough, the NDP is lined up with the Conservatives on those positions,\u201d he added. \u201cThey support the Conservatives\u2019 UCCB that gives big cheques, and they\u2019re opposed to us bringing in a higher tax bracket for the wealthiest Canadians, which I don\u2019t understand. They have their reasons for it but, for me, the NDP is supposed to be a party that stands up for the most vulnerable.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Liberal Party of Canada leader Justin Trudeau in an interview with Cynthia Ramsay of the Jewish Independent. (photo by Adam Scotti) Justin Trudeau said he is cautiously optimistic about the Iran nuclear deal, insisted he is committed to fighting ISIS and reiterated his commitment to the environment and social fairness in an exclusive interview with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13805,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[3555,4263,3828,4238,4267,4265,4146,4264,2462,1341,4330,770,771,4204,1774],"class_list":["post-13866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","tag-bds","tag-bill-c-2","tag-bill-c-51","tag-cifta","tag-csis","tag-fairness-plan","tag-federal-election","tag-insite","tag-iran","tag-isis","tag-israel","tag-justin-trudeau","tag-liberal-party-of-canada","tag-nuclear-deal","tag-terrorism"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13866","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13866"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13866\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13805"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}