Civil Rights & Liberties
Freedom of Expression
The Bloc states that:
– Quebecois social debates, no matter how heated they may be, are brought to a successful conclusion thanks to the freedom of expression of each and every one of us
– it opposes censorship, the banning of social debates and the restriction of subjects that can be discussed in the public arena, particularly in universities, the media and legislative assemblies
– it continues to unreservedly condemn online hatred, intimidation and all types of hateful, defamatory, incitement to racial hatred, to violence, or any other form of discourse that constitutes a breach of the law and deserves to be duly punished
– it is proud to promote respect, listening, empathy, civic-mindedness and intelligence in the use of freedom of expression

Gender equity
The Bloc states that:
– equality between women and men is one of the fundamental values of the Quebec nation
– it fights to preserve women’s rights, and recognizes that the best way to avoid setbacks is to move forward
– raising the pandemic is an opportunity to implement an inclusive recovery that makes full use of women’s leadership in public decision-making, in business and in their communities
– it is resolutely feminist and will continue to defend women’s rights for justice, work and fairness
– it reiterates and defends the inalienable right of women to control their own bodies
– it intends to put an end to the abandonment by employment insurance of young mothers when they lose their jobs at the end of their parental leave
– it wants to encourage women’s participation in politics by introducing a higher reimbursement for political parties that elect a higher number of women than men
– it will demand that Ottawa contribute to Quebec initiatives in support, training and networking for women entrepreneurs

Housing
The Bloc Québécois advocates:
– progressive federal reinvestment in social, community and truly affordable housing until it reaches 1% of its total annual revenues in order to ensure constant and predictable funding
– devoting all surplus federal properties to the development of social, community and very affordable housing to help reduce the housing crisis
– a tax on real estate speculation to counter the artificial rise in markets
– reform of the home ownership system to take into account the different realities of Quebec households and increasingly diverse family situations, including an undertaking by the federal government of financial reorganization of the various programs stemming from the National Housing Strategy to create an acquisition fund. The creation of such a fund would enable cooperatives and NPOs to acquire housing buildings currently accessible on the private market, preserve their affordable character and turn them into social, community and very affordable housing
– ensuring that Quebec receives its fair share of unconditional funding from federal homelessness programs, while calling for the amounts allocated in the past year during the pandemic to be made permanent

Participation & Subsidiarity
The Bloc has released no official statement concerning its policies on the responsibilities of the individual to contribute to or to participate in society.

Social & Civic Institutions
The Bloc has released no official statement concerning its policies on the roles, purposes, or rights of social or civic or institutions.

Civil & Human Rights
The party states that:
– the right to life is the first human right
– freedom of Speech is the second and is essential if we are to defend any human rights
– all Canadians deserve equal treatment under the law
– it would end frivolous “human rights” cases; taxpayers’ money should not be used to promote the agenda of special-interest groups

Conscience & Religion
The party states that:
– radical Islam has proven to be a threat to Western democracy
– Sharia Law is incompatible with Canada’s culture and heritage and with Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms
– it rejects Islamic cultural practices such as “honour-killings”, FGM (Female Genital Mutilation), forced marriages, forced conversion and inhumane animal slaughter (Halal slaughter)

The party advocates:
– freedom to practice all religions as long as the are not harmful to others. The freedom of religion does not protect female genital mutilation, honor killings, forced marriages, multiple wives, etc.
– restoring protection from assisted suicide and euthanasia. We want to kill the pain, not the patient
– better access to palliative comfort care, and conscience protection for health care professionals; no Canadian should be forced to violate his or her conscience

Speech & Truth
The party states that:
– freedom of speech is the second most important human right, next to the right to life
– without Freedom of Speech, we can’t defend any human rights
– most major media in Canada, including state-funded CBC, are biased against a Christian worldview and policies

The party advocates:
– using our voices and our freedom to defend our freedom – “use it or lose it!”
– de-funding CBC and confronting the issue of media bias

Gender Equity, Privacy, Private Property
The party has released no official statement concerning its policies on gender equity, privacy, or the right to hold private property.

Housing
To make housing more affordable, the party advocates:
– reducing foreign purchases of homes, businesses and farmland
– strengthening the family unit, reducing divorce and the necessity of one couple maintaining two homes
– making stay-at-home parenting more affordable

Right to Arms
The party states that:
– when guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns
– violent crime is the problem, not firearms

Participation & Subsidiarity

Provinces, Territories, & Municipalities
The party has released no official statement concerning its policies on the rights or responsibilities of provinces, municipalities, or territories.

Participation & Subsidiarity
The Party has released no official statement concerning its policies on the responsibilities of the individual to contribute to or to participate in society.

Social & Civic Institutions
The Party has released no official statement concerning its policies on the purposes and rights of social or civic or institutions.

Civil Rights & Liberties
The party states that it began and led the fight for human rights in modern Canada, most notably under Prime Minister John George Diefenbaker, and that it will continue to champion human rights for all Canadians.

Discrimination
The party states that:
– the blood ban is a human rights issue that is long overdue, and advocates ending it
– it has been clear in its opposition to conversion therapy and attempts to forcibly change a person’s sexual orientation, and that it advocates implement the ban promised by the current government, which has been repeatedly delayed.  Using the Justice Department’s explanatory language about the intention of the ban, it will clarify that the ban does not criminalize non-coercive conversations, giving comfort to parents and others who fear that legitimate conversations might be criminalized

Conscience & Religion
The party advocates:
– protecting the conscience rights of healthcare professionals, in order to avoid driving them out of their professions
– encouraging faith-based and other community organizations to expand their provision of palliative and long-term care

Freedom of speech; Truth, the Press & the Media
To promote free speech on campus and ensure that Universities and colleges remain bastions of free-flowing debate and ideas, the party advocates working work with the provinces and territories to ensure that public post-secondary institutions accommodate the range of perspectives that make up Canada through a commitment to free speech and academic freedom.

Online Hate
The party states that:
– it condemns and will always oppose the dissemination of hate speech, speech that incites violence and sexually abusive material
– it will combat the growing presence of online sexual exploitation, human trafficking, and extremist groups

To better protect Canadians, the party advocates:
– fighting online incitement and hatred by clearly criminalizing statements that encourage acts of violence against other people or identifiable groups, while protecting forms of speech, criticism, and argument that do not encourage violence
– providing $25 million to law enforcement to allow them to follow up more rapidly and investigate online threats of violence, hate speech, sexual exploitation, human trafficking and disinformation campaigns by foreign governments or extremist groups
– creating a stronger legal duty for social media platforms to remove illegal content, such as content that incites violence.

The party states that it does not advocate:
– restrictions on legitimate freedom of speech. Free speech, freedom of expression, and a free press are fundamental tenets of Canadian law and Canadian democracy
– censorship of material that is not criminal in nature merely because some may find it to be offensive

Gender equity
The party states that the reality is that women in Canada experience barriers to equality of opportunity throughout their lives:
– Canadian girls, as they approach adolescence, experience higher levels of abuse and violence and greater declines in mental health and confidence than boys do
– senior women in Canada experience higher levels of abuse, violence, and poverty than men
– as has been shown recently by in-depth research published by the Globe and Mail and others, the gender pay gap is still a reality in the Canadian workforce

The party advocates a comprehensive plan to secure opportunities for women, including:
– boosting support for child care and those caring for ageing parents
– ensuring access to career training, including for non-traditional careers like the skilled trades
– helping women start and build businesses
– to increase opportunities for women, implementing a national mentorship strategy for women of all ages, including adolescent girls, to prepare them for and give them access to networks that will position them for senior leadership roles across corporate Canada and civil society
– seeking out qualified female candidates for federal appointments
– requiring federally regulated corporations and federally mandated organizations to implement formal recruitment plans to seek out qualified female candidates for senior leadership positions
– stamping out the culture of sexual harassment that persists in too many federal government institutions, including the Canadian Armed Forces and the RCMP, and ensuring that the Government of Canada serves as an example for the country of a safe and respectful work environment

The party states that:
– a safe and respectful workplace free from sexual harassment is essential for women to succeed in the workforce.
– in view of recent occurrences in the military, it will take real action to ensure that the Canadian Armed Forces – and the entire federal government – are safe and respectful workplaces, starting by ensuring that the investigation of sexual misconduct is done by investigators outside the chain of command

Privacy
The party states that:
– it believes that digital data privacy is a fundamental right that urgently requires strengthened protection through legislation and enforcement, and that Canadians must have the right to understand and control the collection, use, monitoring, retention, and disclosure of their personal data
– to that end, it advocates strong legislation to protect privacy more effectively than the current government’s Bill C-11

Housing
The party states that Canada is in a housing crisis, and that:
– affording a home – to rent, let alone to buy – is slipping out of reach of Canadians across our country
– the primary cause is that supply simply isn’t keeping up with demand. Governments have not let Canadians build enough housing to keep up with our growing population
– action is needed from all levels of government

To swiftly increase the housing supply, the party advocates implementing a plan to build 1 million homes in three years, by:
– leveraging federal infrastructure investments to increase housing supply, including building public transit infrastructure that connects homes and jobs by bringing public transit to where people are buying homes; and requiring municipalities receiving federal funding for public transit to increase density near the funded transit
– reviewing the extensive real estate portfolio of the federal government – the largest property owner in the country with over 37,000 buildings – and release at least 15% for housing while improving the Federal Lands Initiative
– incentivizing developers to build housing, by encouraging Canadians to invest in rental housing by extending the ability to defer capital gains tax when selling a rental property and reinvesting in rental housing, which is currently excluded; and exploring conversion of unneeded office space to housing
– continuing commitment to Reconciliation with Canada’s Indigenous Peoples by enacting a “For Indigenous, By Indigenous” strategy – long called for by Indigenous housing advocates – to stop to federal paternalism and promote instead partnering with Indigenous communities and empowering Indigenous Peoples with the autonomy to meet their own housing needs
– improving Community Land Trusts for affordable housing by creating an incentive for corporations and private landowners to donate property to Land Trusts for the development of affordable housing, in a manner similar to that which exists for donating land to ecological reserves

Foreign Speculation
To root out corrupt activities that drive up real estate prices and put homeownership out of reach, the party advocates:
– implementing comprehensive changes to the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act, to give FINTRAC, law enforcement, and prosecutors the tools necessary to identify, halt, and prosecute money-laundering in Canadian real estate markets
– establishing a federal Beneficial Ownership Registry for residential property
– closely examining the findings and recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry into Money Laundering in British Columbia, which is doing important work, and quickly implementing recommendations at the federal level

To arrest and reverse the inflationary impacts of foreign buyers and speculation in the housing market, the party advocates ensuring that housing in Canada is truly for Canadian citizens and residents first, by: banning foreign investors not living in or moving to Canada from buying homes here for a two year period after which it will be reviewed, and instead encouraging foreign investment in purpose-built rental housing that is affordable to Canadians

Home Mortgages
To make home mortgages more affordable, the party advocates:
– encouraging a new market in seven- to ten-year mortgages to provide stability both for first-time home buyers and lenders, opening another secure path to homeownership for Canadians, and reducing the need for mortgage stress tests
– removing the requirement to conduct a stress test when a homeowner renews a mortgage with another lender instead of only when staying with their current lender, as is the case today, thereby increasing increase competition and helping homeowners access more affordable options
– increasing the limit on eligibility for mortgage insurance and index it to home price inflation, allowing those in high-priced real estate markets with less than a 20% down-payment an opportunity at home-ownership
– fixing the mortgage stress test to stop discriminating against small business owners, contractors and other non-permanent employees including casual workers
– opposing taxation of capital gains on the sale of principal residences

Civil Rights & Liberties
The party states that:
– in the past, Canada was considered a place of diversity and inclusivity. Now is the time to decide whether Canada will in fact live up to the promise of a just society in the years to come
– hate crimes are on the rise: what will be done to end them?
– thousands of Indigenous children have been discovered in unmarked graves across the country: how will we atone for this tragedy?
– tens of thousands of people poured into the streets demanding a dismantling of systemic racism: when and how will we do this?
– however, if systemic discrimination is approached as a novel idea, we have failed to understand its history and its intrinsic nature
– it understands systemic discrimination comes in many forms, and seeks to combat it in every public arena, through fostering Indigenous self-determination, providing a fair deal for youth, tackling identity-based hate and ensuring that the creation of a Just Society is at the centre of all decision making

Racism & Discrimination
The party states that:
– it is the responsibility of political leadership to build cohesion within our society through seeking common ground, celebrating diverse identities, and discouraging polarisation.
– there is no singular catch-all solution to ending the systematic oppression that Black people, Indigenous Peoples, people of colour, members of the LGTBQ+ community, and members of other equity-seeking groups face. There are, however, steps that the federal government can and must take to address these long-standing injustices
– it is deeply committed to immediate as well as long-term actions that will truly address systemic racism in our public institutions, and will continue to propose bold, just, and necessary solutions

To end systemic racism, the party advocates:
– taking action on recommendations, calls to action, and calls for justice, including implementation of recommendations to begin dismantling systemic racism in Canadian institutions and all of the Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, and recommendations of the Report of the United Nations Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent on its Mission to Canada

To end systemic discrimination in the federal civil service, the party advocates:
– a major review of the Employment Equity Act,  which applies to nearly 1.5 million workers in the federal public service, Crown corporations, the Canadian Forces, and numerous federally regulated industries, including additional inputs from workers with lived experiences facing systemic racism and discrimination; and extended timeline and resources for the task force to complete comprehensive consultation with marginalized communities; and broadening of the application of EEA provisions to non-federally regulated private firms (such as temp agencies) doing outsourced work for the federal government
– reduced funding for the RCMP, to limit it to its core role, including an immediate and comprehensive review of the RCMP role in policing municipalities and reserves and the RCMP’s other duties and identifying areas for de-tasking police and reducing police spending; and working with provinces and municipalities to reduce police spending in those jurisdictions from covering services such as first responders to mental health calls, school resource officers, by-law enforcement, construction traffic policing, and the policing and criminalization of poverty
– advocating for an end to police street checks, carding, and arbitrary stops and detentions. These practices have been shown to disproportionately target Black and Indigenous Peoples in Canada
– investing funds that are divested from police services in social and community services, which are more effective in preventing and reducing crime, strengthening individuals and communities, and creating a more just society. These will include alternative responses to mental health calls, investment in afterschool programs for young persons, mental health support for youth and adults, and increased employment opportunities

Identity-Based Hate
The party states that:
– hate has been on the rise in Canada
– Islamophobia, anti-Asian hate, antisemitism, anti-Black hate, and LGBTQ2S+ discrimination based upon identity has increased in recent years
– doctrines of racial and religious supremacy are an ongoing threat, and it is the duty of our governments to identify, expose and root out supremacist movements and to ensure that those who promote and disseminate such ideologies know that there will be no safe place or dark corner where their beliefs will be allowed to flourish
– silence emboldens hate; hate dehumanises; and dehumanization facilitates atrocities. It is the responsibility of political leadership to build cohesion within our society through seeking common ground, celebrating diverse identities, and discouraging polarisation

The party advocates:
– rejecting and condemning extremist ideologies that promote violence, including avoiding the dangerous creation and exploitation of division, which undermines the long-term foundations of our democracy
– undertaking all efforts through a lens of seeking to build cohesion within our society through seeking common ground, celebrating diverse identities, and discouraging polarization
– developing better guidelines to address the weaponization of free expression to promote hate speech and propaganda
– funding data collection on the spread of online hate and real-world violence, and supporting research and advocacy groups seeking to address online hate and offline incidents

Privacy
To protect privacy, truth, and democracy in the digital age, the party advocates:
– enshrining citizens’ digital rights, including ‘the right to not be profiled online,’ for example by following the lead of the European Union and listening to the recommendations of Canada’s national Privacy Commissioner. Regulations must distinguish between demographic profiling, and more manipulative psychometric profiling techniques
– reducing the spread of misinformation, by supporting research & development to improve artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for detecting misinformation, hate, and violence online, so that this content can be de-emphasized and corrected
– positioning Canada as a global leader in requiring companies who run large-scale online platforms to detect and prevent proliferation of misinformation, and holding publishers of malicious disinformation to account
– investing in initiatives and partnerships that increase citizens’ opportunities and abilities to differentiate between misinformation, and higher-quality, verifiable, evidence-based content, including enhancement of education in media and digital literacy for all age groups
– to protect civil liberties and freedom of expression, limiting government to a regulatory rather than hands-on role in monitoring and moderating online content, and building protections that prevent suppression of lawful and accurate content, no matter how critical of government policy it may be

LGBTQI2S+
The party states that:
– it has never been more important to ensure adequate support for the LGBTQI2+ communities, especially in the area of mental health supports. Over the past year, two national research reports13,14 demonstrated that LGBTQI2+ people have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, especially Black and racialized LGBTQI2+ persons
– an important component of support is to take decisive action against harmful practices that have severe health effects, such as conversion therapy

The party advocates:
– support for the 23 recommendations outlined in the LGBT Purge Fund’s report entitled Emerging from the Purge which highlights the reality that LGBTQI2+ people continue to experience significant discrimination in federal workplaces
– listening to feedback about the appropriate nature of new 2021 federal census questions attempting to capture data on trans and non-binary Canadians
– establishing a funding program within Health Canada to support community-based organizations offering targeted LGBTQI2+ youth’s mental health and well-being programs, including suicide prevention, peer support, coming out, and counselling
– funding community-driven education and awareness programs that lead to a greater understanding of intersex realities and the diversity of sexualities and gender identities, and referral programs to direct for trans, non-binary and Two Spirit people to appropriate services
– ending the discriminatory, unscientific and homophobic blood ban
– banning and condemning the practice of medically unnecessary surgeries on intersex children
– banning and condemning the practice of conversion therapy, in all its forms
– ensuring access to comprehensive sexual health care and gender affirming health care, including hormone treatments and blockers, and gender confirmation surgeries
– ensuring  that trans, non-binary, and Two Spirit people, without undertaking surgeries, are able to alter their sex designation on all federally-issued official documents, consistent with their gender identity
– ensuring that the national census is designed to reflect the diversity of sex and gender identity and ask appropriate questions to ensure adequate, safe and effective data collection
– requiring accessible facilities in all federal buildings, including gender-neutral washrooms, changing facilities, etc. while also re-affirming trans, non-binary and Two Spirit people’s right to use whichever facilities with which they identify
– ensuring that Canada advocates internationally for an end to state-sanctioned discrimination and violence against LGBTQI2+people
– supporting all recommendations in the Emerging from the Purge Report, calling on improved workplace inclusion policies and practices

Conscience & Religion
The party states that:
– hate has been on the rise in Canada. Islamophobia, anti-Asian hate, antisemitism, anti-Black hate, and LGBTQ2S+ discrimination based upon identity has increased in recent years
– doctrines of racial and religious supremacy are an ongoing threat, and it is the duty of our governments to identify, expose and root out supremacist movements and to ensure that those who promote and disseminate such ideologies know that there will be no safe place or dark corner where their beliefs will be allowed to flourish

Freedom of speech; Truth, the press & the media
The party has released no official statement concerning its policies on freedom of speech, truth, or the media.

Gender equity
The party states that:
– according to the Public Health Agency of Canada, the majority of people who have been infected with, and have died from COVID-19 have been women
– there is also a high proportion of women who work on the front lines of health services, caregiving, cleaning, and other essential roles. These are roles in which workers are both at high risk of contracting viruses, and at high risk for burnout
– women and girls who face intersecting barriers and discrimination experienced additional challenges during the pandemic, including a widening employment gap between racialized and non-racialized groups that disproportionately affects women
– isolation measures imposed to prevent the spread of the virus, resulted in four key gendered impacts:  (i) increased rates of gender-based violence, (ii) more economic stress, (iii) increased burden of caregiving and housework, and (iv) reduced access to support services

The party advocates:
– in collaboration with women’s and Indigenous organizations, developing a comprehensive Canada-wide plan of action – with a timetable and dedicated funding – to eliminate violence against women, girls and gender-diverse people
– implementing all the recommendations of the Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
– increasing access to shelters by investing $40 million over four years in the Shelter Enhancement Program, providing more than 2,100 new and renovated spaces in first-stage shelters and hundreds of spaces in transition houses
– increased funding to bolster investigations and convictions in human trafficking cases
– opposing any possible government move to diminish access to safe, legal abortion
– expanded programs in reproductive health, rights, and in sexual and reproductive health education
– expanded supports for low-income mothers
– passage of pay equity legislation, as recommended by the Pay Equity Task Force; immediate implementation of full pay equity for women employed in the federal sector and develop tax incentives for companies to meet the highest standards of gender and pay equity
– establishing specific job re-entry programs for women with children who want to restart their working lives either part-time or full-time
– ensuring that the criteria for new appointments to public boards and agencies include equal opportunity for women
– supporting greater engagement of women in the political life of Canada by advocating that all political parties nominate, train, and support more women and gender-diverse candidates.

Housing
The party advocates:
– appointing a Minister of Housing, to strengthen the National Housing Strategy and oversee its implementation in collaboration with provincial ministers, with a target of 25,000 new and 15,000 rehabilitated units annually for 10 years
– increasing the National Housing Co-Investment Fund by $750 million for new construction, and the Canada Housing Benefit by $750 million for rent assistance for 125,000 households
– enhancing federal contributions toward housing through direct investments, changes to tax policies, and lending and granting programs
– creating a national Co-Op housing strategy to encourage more development of co-operative housing
– eliminating the first-time home buyer grant

Participation & Subsidiarity
The Party has released no official statement concerning its policies on the responsibilities of the individual to contribute to or to participate in society.

Social & Civic Institutions
The Party has released no official statement concerning its policies on the roles, purposes, or rights of social or civic or institutions.

Civil Rights & Liberties
Conscience & Religion
The party states that it proposes providing an additional $25.4 million over five years, and $0.6 million ongoing, to the Department of Canadian Heritage to continue to support Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy and fight all forms of racism, including but not limited to anti-Indigenous racism, anti-Black racism, anti-Asian racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia

Racism & Discrimination
In its mandate letter to the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth at the beginning of its current term in office, the party instructed the Minister:
– to prioritize the development of a 10-year National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence, the completion of Canada’s first Federal LGBTQ2 Action Plan and the continued implementation of the Youth Policy
– to prioritize also creation of a new stream of the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy for Canadians with disabilities

The party states that:
– the nation’s commitment to embracing diversity is an example to the world and a pillar of our national character—one in three people in Canada is a member of a racialized or religious minority community. We work together, support each other, and learn and prosper by living alongside each other
– however, many racialized and religious minority communities in Canada continue to experience barriers and discrimination

The party further states that during its current term in office it has taken significant steps to fight systemic racism, discrimination, and hate, including:
– $85 million over four years to launch Canada’s new Anti-Racism Strategy
– $100 million over five years to launch the Federal 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan
– $200 million to establish the Black-led Philanthropic Endowment Fund, and create a sustainable source of funding to support Black communities
– up to $265 million over four years for the Black Entrepreneurship Program
– $18 million over two years to support the Canadian Race Relations Foundation in delivering grants for community-level interventions to combat racism in Canada, including the rise of anti-Asian racism during the pandemic
– $21.5 million to enhance legal supports for racialized communities
– implemented the “nothing without us” Accessible Canada Act to realize a barrier-free Canada for persons with disabilities by 2040

Hate Crimes
The party states that police-reported hate crimes have increased by 72 per cent between 2019 and 2021, and that hateful rhetoric is on the rise, and misinformation and disinformation, both online and in our communities, is increasingly affecting the safety and well-being of Canadians

To confront hate in all its forms, including hate faced by 2SLGBTQI+ communities, it proposes to introduce a new Action Plan to Combat Hate, the new plan including measures to combat hateful rhetoric and acts, building on measures being taken earlier in its term in office, including:
– providing $49.5 million over five years to Public Safety Canada to enhance and expand the Communities at Risk: Security Infrastructure Program and allow it to be more responsive to the evolving security needs of communities
– providing an additional $25.4 million over five years, and $0.6 million ongoing, to the Department of Canadian Heritage to continue to support Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy and fight all forms of racism, including but not limited to anti-Indigenous racism, anti-Black racism, anti-Asian racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia
– providing $1.5 million over two years to the Privy Council Office to create a new Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion Secretariat to ensure that considerations of anti-racism, equity and inclusion are applied in the development of federal government policies

Support for Black Canadian Communities

The party states that Black Canadians continue to experience persistent inequities in income and employment while also facing a higher likelihood of discrimination.

The party proposes:
– to provide $25 million to Employment and Social Development Canada for the Supporting Black Canadian Communities Initiative, to continue empowering Black-led and Black-serving community organizations and the work they do to promote inclusiveness
– to address system discrimination in public employment and to ensure that Black public servants can work in a safe and healthy environment that is equitable, diverse, and inclusive, to provide $45.9 million over three years to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat to create a Mental Health Fund for Black public servants and establish dedicated career development programs, including to prepare Black public service leaders for executive positions
– to address workplace harassment, discrimination and violence, to provide $6.9 million over two years to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat to advance a restorative engagement program to empower employees who have suffered harassment and discrimination, and to drive cultural change in the public service. Of this amount, $1.7 million would be sourced from existing departmental resources. Funding will also support a review of the processes for addressing current and historical complaints of harassment, violence, and discrimination

Freedom of speech; Truth, the press & the media
The party has released no official statement concerning its policies on truth, freedom of speech, or the media.

Gender equity
The party states that during its current term in office it has made record investments to support women and gender diverse people, and that it proposes delivering new support to build on the important progress that has been made, including providing $160 million over three years for the Women’s Program to provide funding to organizations in Canada that serve women.

Participation & Subsidiarity
The party has released no official statement concerning its policies on participation, subsidiarity, or individual responsibilities.

Social & Civic Institutions
The party has released no official statement concerning its policies on the purposes and rights of social or civic or institutions.

Civil Rights & Liberties

Conscience & Religion
The party states that to address anti-Semitism, anti-Black racism, Islamophobia and other forms of hate flourishing on the internet, it advocates convening a national working group to counter online hate and protect public safety, and ensure that social media platforms are legally responsible for the removal of hateful and extremist content before it can do harm

Gender Equity
The party states that:
– our communities and our country are stronger when women thrive. II’s still all too common for women to experience discrimination and gender-based violence, particularly if they are members of a marginalized community
– gender equity is one of its fundamental values
– Canadian women make 32% less than men, and the gap is even wider for racialized women, Indigenous women, immigrant women and women with a disability, and that it advocates prioritizing pay equity by requiring employers to be transparent about pay and implementing and enforcing tough and pro-active legislation and regulations immediately
– it advocates stable core funding for women’s support and advocacy they need, when they need it, tackling of femicide and implementation of a National Action Plan to end gender-based violence, backed by funding to ensure that shelter services and other programs are available in all regions of the country, especially areas that have traditionally been under-served
– it advocates updating the Canada Labour Code to include ten days of paid leave for those dealing with family and domestic violence, improving police training on sexual assault, and requiring universities to develop plans to end sexual violence on campus
– it plans to address violence against Indigenous women, girls and LGBTQI2S+ people by working with Indigenous peoples to implement all the Calls for Justice of the National Inquiry
– so that women don’t have to choose between having a family and having a career, provision of quality, affordable not-for-profit child care
– it advocates making parental leave more flexible, making it easier to qualify for Employment Insurance, and support for more options for women to build careers in the trades and other non-traditional fields like agriculture, innovation, research and STEM
– it believes in respecting peoples’ rights to make decisions about their own bodies and their own lives. Yet many individuals seeking abortion services in Canada can’t access them – only 1 hospital in 6 offers abortion, and some provinces refuse to cover the cost of surgical abortion outside hospitals.  Lack of access is even worse for people in rural areas and the North.  Everyone deserves safe, accessible abortion and reproductive healthcare services – no matter where they live or how much money they make. It’s not enough for elected officials to say that they won’t reopen the abortion debate – we need leaders to take action to improve access to services. It will enforce the Canada Health Act to make sure that the provinces make medical and surgical abortion available in all parts of the country, without barriers. We will ensure that a full range of prescription contraceptive and reproductive health care options are easily accessible at no cost through Medicare and our national pharmacare program, and work with the provinces, territories and Indigenous governments to end period poverty
– finally, it will tackle obstacles to women’s political participation by reforming the electoral system and introducing legislation to encourage political parties to run more women candidates

Discrimination

Racism
The party states that:
– Indigenous and racialized people in Canada are facing a frightening evolution of hate. Racist discrimination and violence remain a reality, while extremist views are increasingly

inescapable on the internet
– it recognizes the inherent dignity of all people and the fact that racism hurts deeply, and diminishes the humanity of marginalized people
– Canada has seen a 200% increase in active hate groups in the last 5 years, with an increasing number of violent incidents targeting Muslim, Jewish and Black Canadians
– it will on white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups with a national action plan to dismantle far-right extremist organizations, including those that promote white supremacy. We’ll establish national standards for identifying and recording all hate incidents and their dispensation in the justice system and work in collaboration with non-profits to increase the reporting of hate crimes
– to address anti-Semitism, anti-Black racism, Islamophobia and other forms of hate flourishing on the internet, it advocates convening a national working group to counter online hate and protect public safety, and ensure that social media platforms are legally responsible for the removal of hateful and extremist content before it can do harm
– it advocates collection of race-based data on health, employment, policing and more with the goal of improving outcomes for racialized communities

– it advocates an immediate ban on carding by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and working with local partners across Canada to end this practice in all jurisdictions across

the country, including a review of the information obtained through carding that has been retained by police, and an examination of how that information has been shared between the RCMP and other police forces and government agencies
– to address chronic over-representation of Indigenous peoples and Black Canadians in the federal prison population, establishing a national task force to develop a roadmap to resolution, including addressing the discriminatory impact of mandatory minimums, providing greater judicial discretion in sentencing, developing culturally appropriate bail programs, increasing restorative and community justice programs and better integrating Gladue principles in court proceedings
– it also advocates development and implementation of an African Canadian Justice Strategy , working with Black Canadians with experience and expertise on criminal justice issues
– to address employment and wage gaps for racialized Canadians, it advocates comprehensive review of existing employment equity regime, and strengthening of labour laws to ensure diverse and equitable hiring within the federal public service, and in federally-regulated industries
– it also advocates making jobs and training for under-represented groups a core part of federal infrastructure plans

LGBTQI2S+ Rights
The party states that:
– although Canada has made important strides in upholding LGBTQI2S+ rights, there is more work to be done to improve the lives of LGBTQI2S+ Canadians and make Canada a country where everyone can live free from hate and bias
– one of the most significant setbacks of recent years is the decision to maintain the discriminatory ban on blood donation by men who have sex with anyone assigned male at birth.  Behaviour-based screening is needed rather than policies that discriminate against an entire sexual orientation.  It will immediately end the discriminatory blood ban and put in place policies based in public health evidence to secure the blood supply
– damaging practices such as so-called “conversion therapy” have no place in Canada. It will immediately legislate a ban on conversion therapy in Canada, and work with provinces and territories to support eliminating this practice in all parts of the country.  Access to gender confirming procedures and medication can be life-saving for some transgender people. It will work with the provinces to ensure that there is equal access to gender confirming surgery across the country, and that these procedures and medications are covered by public health plans
– it advocates review and elimination of systemic barriers related to gender in the delivery of federal public services, and funding to support the creation and expansion of shelters for trans youth
– Canada has a unique and important role to play in helping LGBTQI2S+ refugees around the world. It advocates establishment of a clear and permanent path for resettlement of LGBTQI2S+ refugees in Canada to replace the current piece-meal approach that only deals with emergency cases as they arise
– to end employment discrimination faced by members of the LGBTQI2S+ community, it advocates adding sexual orientation, gender identity and expression to the Employment Equity Act, in order to address the disadvantages experienced by LGBTQI2S+ communities – and particularly transgender people – in finding work

Housing

The party states that:
– everyone should have the right to a safe and affordable place to call home, that workers should be able to live close to work, including in the hearts of large cities, that young people should be able to live in the neighborhoods they grew up in, and that seniors should not be forced to move from their communities.
– before the pandemic, more than 1.7 million families spent more than 30% of their income on housing

The party advocates:
– creating 500,000 units of quality affordable housing over ten years, by investing $5 billion dollars during the first 18 months of a mix of partnerships with provinces and municipalities
– to kick-start the construction of housing co-ops, setting up dedicated fast-start funds to streamline application processes
– spurring construction of affordable rental homes by waiving the federal portion of applicable HST/GST

Food Security
The party states that Canada ranked 37th of 41 countries in access to nutritious food for children, according to UNICEF

The party advocates:
– partnering with provinces, municipalities, territories and Indigenous communities to develop a national school nutrition program, to give every child in Canada access to healthy food and understanding of nutrition
– supporting local food producers by encouraging local food hubs, community-supported agriculture, local distribution of food
– development of a national food policy and food waste strategy
– supporting Indigenous food sovereignty and access to healthy food
– reforming the Nutrition North program to improve food security for northern families

Clean Water
The party believes that it is past time for the federal government to step up and fund the services and infrastructures that Indigenous communities need to thrive, including investments required to ensure clean water and lift all drinking water advisories on Indigenous lands.

The party advocates supporting Indigenous-led water management and on-reserve emergency management training programs and water.

Privacy
The party advocates strengthening of privacy protections for Canadians by updating privacy legislation to include a digital bill of privacy rights, and boosting the powers of the Privacy Commissioner to make and enforce orders and levy fines and penalties

Participation & Subsidiarity
The party has released no official statement concerning its policies on participation, subsidiarity, or individual responsibilities.

Civil Rights

Freedom of Expression
The party states that:
– the rights of Canadians to freely hold and express beliefs are being eroded at an alarming speed under the current government
– some government decisions even require that Canadians renounce their most deeply held moral convictions and express opinions they disagree with, for example through the denial of summer job funding to organizations, including charities, that would not sign an attestation supporting abortion, and the passage of bill C-16 as part of a trend to force Canadians to express support for the existence of various gender identities beyond the biological categories of male and female and to use pronouns demanded by those who identify with other genders
– the government is also considering bringing back Section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act, a hate speech provision that was repealed by the preceding government in 2013
– history and social scientific research show that freedom of conscience and freedom of expression, when maximally protected, advance the intellectual life of a nation, foster greater ideological diversity and societal understanding, and nurture other freedoms necessary for a successful democracy
– Section 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees citizens freedom of conscience and religion, as well as freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication

The party advocates:
– restricting the definition of hate speech in the Criminal Code to expression which explicitly advocates the use of force against identifiable groups or persons based on protected criteria such as religion, race, ethnicity, sex, or sexual orientation
– repealing any existing legislation or regulation curtailing free speech on the internet and preventing the reinstatement of section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act
– ensuring that Canadians can exercise their freedom of conscience to its fullest extent as it is intended under the Charter and are not discriminated against because of their moral convictions
– withholding federal funding from any post-secondary institution shown to be violating the freedom of expression of its students or faculty

Speech & Gender Rights
The party states that:
– with the active support of the woke far left and all establishment parties, radical trans activists are trying to transform society in a way that curtails everyone’s freedoms. This radical agenda, which contradicts basic biological realities, is proving particularly harmful to women and children.
– in recent years, cultural Marxists and radical activists in the media, government, and schools have made every effort to normalize toxic transgender ideology. They teach children that their gender is determined by stereotypes and if they do not fit into the traditional male or female gender roles, encourage them to think they may have been born in the wrong body.
– children are never born in the wrong body. Children should be taught to accept themselves, not seek solutions through pharmaceuticals and medical procedures.
– Bill C-16, adopted by the Liberal government in 2016 and famously opposed by Jordan Peterson, recognized gender self-identification and opened the door to compelled speech. Since then, businesses and government agencies have banned the use of words like “woman” and “mother” in favour of “menstruating people” and “birthing people.”
– women’s rights and security are being trampled to accommodate men pretending to be the other sex. Women are encountering trans men in changing rooms and bathrooms. Violent criminals who are biological men but identify as women are being incarcerated in women’s prisons. Women have to unfairly compete with biological men in sports.
– Cultural fads like Drag Queen Story Hours are promoting this ideology among children and making it appear normal to identify as the other sex or as different invented genders. Bill C-4, which was unanimously adopted by all parties in the House of Commons in 2021, criminalizes parents and therapists who try to help minors with gender dysphoria accept who they are. In effect, the law bans “conversion therapy” in one direction, but allows it in the other.
– it is illegal to treat children for a mental disorder, but it is legal to encourage them to undergo “gender affirming therapy” and mutilate their body.
– the transfer to women’s prisons of male inmates who self-identify as women has been standard practice in Canada since it was introduced by the current government in 2018. It has resulted in criminals with histories of sexual abuse against women being housed alongside female inmates, with several cases of violent behaviour being reported in the media.
– in particular, women and children must be protected from the harmful consequences of this ideology.

The party advocates:
– removing the ban imposed by Bill C-4, the so-called “conversion therapy bill”, on helping minors who suffer from gender dysphoria accept their body.
– strict enforcement of section 163.1(1)(b) of the Criminal Code in order to remove inappropriate pornographic content from schools and libraries.
– protecting women’s spaces – prisons, shelters, bathrooms, and changing rooms – from intrusion by biological men.
– maintaining separate competitions for women in which biological men cannot participate in sports regulated and funded by the federal government.
– repealing Bill C-16, which added gender self-identification as ground for protection against discrimination.

Right of Self-Defense
The party states that:
– under the current government, Canada has become a dramatically more dangerous place. After declining for decades, crime is on the rise and Canadians feel unsafe, even in their own homes
– one way to deter crime is to make it clear to criminals that there are laws and enforcement means in place that make it likely that they will be caught and severely punished.  Another is the fear that their victims will defend themselves
– any justice system grounded in morality and reason allows self-defence. In Canada, this right is, however, inconsistently applied due to the law’s complexity and imprecision. There have been many cases over the past years when honest citizens who defended themselves against violent assailants were themselves charged and went on trial because they used force that was not deemed “reasonable in the circumstances” and “proportionate to the perceived threat.”
– the Criminal Code specifically makes it illegal to carry and use even non-lethal devices such as pepper spray as modes of defence against potential attackers. This makes women in particular even more defenceless and prone to fall victim to aggression and sexual violence.
– section 34 of the Criminal Code states in what circumstances individuals can use force to defend themselves or others if force is being used or threatened against them or others. Section 35 recognizes certain circumstances where an individual is justified in using physical force against another person to protect his or her property from being entered, taken, damaged or destroyed.
– according to at least one experienced lawyer [see party policy statements for name], although the Criminal Code was amended in 2013 to clarify these self-defence sections, the law remains imprecise, and has been dealt with on a very uneven basis, being primarily driven by the individual opinions and emotions of police and prosecutors.  In at least one recent Manitoba case, a judge sentenced a homeowner to five years in prison for manslaughter in the death of a person who entered his house in the middle of the night and attacked him with a knife. The resident took the assailant’s weapon and stabbed him with it. The judge found that he had a right to protect himself but had gone beyond what was necessary for self-defence.  Condemning a person to years in prison for having their assessment of a perceived threat in defending themselves while in a state of panic after being violently attacked, is clearly a breach of the universal human right to self-defence, and can be damaging to a defender’s mental health, family life, and livelihood
– victims of robbery are typically advised to call the police and avoid confrontation with assailants while waiting for the police to arrive, but police stations are often far away and it can take a long time for the police to arrive on the scene of a crime, particularly in rural areas
– Section 92 of the Criminal Code makes it illegal to possess and carry pepper spray for self-defence and punishable by imprisonment for up to 10 years.
– Canadians should be able to defend themselves in circumstances where they are violently attacked or are victims of robbery in their own homes, without fear of criminal charges.
– everybody, and women in particular, should be allowed to carry effective means of self-defence against aggressors and rapists

The party advocates:
– amending section 34 of the Criminal Code to clarify and fortify the right to self-defence, and increase the burden of proof necessary to charge and convict victims who used force to defend themselves against a violent attacker
– amending section 35 of the Criminal Code to include the concept of the inviolability of one’s home, known as “Castle Doctrine,” that allows victims to use force (up to and including deadly force) to defend themselves against a violent intruder, free from legal prosecution.
– amending the Criminal Code to remove pepper spray from the list of prohibited weapons and make it legal to possess and carry it for self-defence.

Participation & Subsidiarity
The party has released no official statement concerning its policies on the responsibilities of the individual to contribute to or to participate in society.

Social & Civic Institutions
The party has released no official statement concerning its policies on the rights or purposes of social or civic or institutions.