Here’s where Canada’s political parties stand on peace and social justice issues

This Monday, April 28^th the federal election will take place. There are only a few days left to consider who will be the best candidate for you and your community, and ultimately the party that will form government. You can find links to the platforms for your consideration here: Conservative, Green, Liberal, and NDP.

The Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) also provides estimates of the financial cost of any proposal that parties are making during the campaign. You can find them all here.

Of interest to CFSC are what parties are saying around our three program areas:

Indigenous Peoples’ human rights

Conservative

• States that they have a focus on economic reconciliation
• Companies can cede federal tax room so First Nations communities will no longer need to send all their revenues to Ottawa and then request them back
• Establish a Canadian Indigenous Opportunities Corporation
• Establish a First Nations Fiscal Management Act
• Expressed concerns with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and declined to endorse the Liberals’ Declaration Act. No common understanding of free, prior, and informed consent
• Promise to establish a nation-to-nation consultation process for major legislation and projects directly impacting First Nations, Inuit and Metis

Green

• Committed to a Nation-to-Nation relationship
• Renewed funding for Jordan’s Principle
• Implementing key aspects of the National Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls such as shutting down “man camps”
• Reducing risks and reducing environmental damage
• Will put the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples into action, respecting Indigenous consent on decisions about their lands
• Will support an Indigenous-led end to the Indian Act

Liberal

• Will work at all levels of government and with Indigenous Peoples on critical infrastructure that connects communities
• Promises to invest $5 billion in a Trade Diversification Corridors Fund
• More ports, highways, railways, and energy infrastructure in the Arctic
• Immediately introduce and pass legislation affirming that First Nations have a human right to clean drinking water (in follow-up to Bill C-61, the First Nations Clean Water Act that did not move forward due to the prorogation of parliament).
• Promises to implement the Action Plan of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, legislation passed by the previous Liberal government.
• Promises to move forward on the Truth and Reconciliation Committee’s 94 Calls to Action

NDP

• Pledge to continue to combat injustice and pressure the federal government to respect Indigenous Peoples’ human rights
• Expand economic opportunities in Indigenous communities by providing dedicated regional economic support and creating a Northern Infrastructure Fund
• Respect Inuit self-determination, co-developing the Arctic Policy Framework and addressing the massive infrastructure deficit in Northern communities
• End all long-term boil water advisories on First Nations by investing in clean water infrastructure and supporting Indigenous-led water management training programs
• Fundamentally driven by the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and promises to uphold it including respecting the free, prior, and informed consent of Indigenous nations with regards to development projects
• Promises to fully implement all 94 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action and provide long-term funding to search for unmarked graves

Peace

Conservative

• No explicit mention of peace or peacebuilding efforts. Focus on cuts to foreign aid as a means to increase military spending
• Reinforce the military and commit to the NATO spending target for member nations (two per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP))
• Support Ukraine by selling Canadian oil from proposed pipeline projects. Would like Ukraine to be part of all peace negotiations related to the war and is against having Russia join the G7
• Build permanent Canadian military base in Iqaluit, Nunavut
• Double the size of the 1st Patrol Group of the Canadian Rangers, from 2,000 to 4,000
• Deliver two additional polar ice breakers to Canadian Navy by 2029

Green

• Focus on ensuring Canada can protect itself while standing up for human rights around the world. They do explicitly mention the promotion of peace
• Strengthen Arctic and coastal security with more patrols and better equipment
• Increase funding for Canadian Rangers and local defence initiatives led by Inuit, Dene, Gwich’in, and other Indigenous nations to strengthen Arctic sovereignty
• Build stronger cyber defences to protect Canadians
• Provide CAF with the specific capabilities they need for today’s threats
• Create a 120,000-member National Civil Defence Corps to strengthen Canada’s sovereignty, create jobs, and prepare for national emergencies
• Stop the selling of weapons to countries that abuse human rights
• Recognition of a Palestinian State
• Would suspend the contract for U.S.-built F-35 fighter jets and consider acquiring French Rafale or Swedish Gripen fighters instead and secure production and maintenance jobs in Canada
• Revision of the Canadian Military Doctrine to account for the U.S. threatening Canadian sovereignty

Liberal

• No explicit mention of peace and focuses on increasing military spending but also increasing diplomatic efforts abroad
• Get to NATO defence spending target of two per cent of GDP by 2030 at the latest
• Promises a new “full foreign policy” that would see more officials sent abroad to expand trade and diplomatic activities, strengthen ties with allies that share Canada’s values
• Promises to maintain the foreign aid budget at $800 million per year, focusing on programs related to reproductive health, 2SLGBTQ+ issues, and climate
• Review Canada’s contract for U.S.-built F-35 fighter jets and partner with allies for the next generation of aircraft
• Source more Canadian steel and aluminum for domestic shipbuilding
• Boost salaries for Canadian Armed Forces personnel, bolster recruitment
• Invest $420 million to protect sovereignty in the Arctic through the procurement of new submarines and heavy icebreakers

NDP

• While no explicit mention of peace, the platform does mention revitalizing peacekeeping missions and supporting a foreign policy based on solidarity, human rights, and multilateralism
• Aim to contribute 0.7% of gross national income to international aid and invest in the foreign service
• Creation of a 500-member Quick Reaction Force, which would be ready to deploy in UN peacekeeping missions
• Ratification of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
• Recognition of a Palestinian state
• Increase military spending to two per cent of Canada’s GDP by 2032
• Cancellation of the contracts for U.S.-built F-35 fighter jets and P-8 Poseidon aircraft
• Invest in Arctic defence infrastructure such as marine search-and-rescue stations and small-craft harbours
• Aim to complete construction of a deep-water port in Nanisivik, Nunavut while working with Indigenous communities and the territorial government to establish more deep-water ports, including in Qikiqtarjuaq and Grays Bay

Transformative justice

Conservative

• No resources mentioned for community support strategies or alternative/restorative justice initiatives
• Mandatory life sentences for aggravated human-, gun-, and fentanyl-trafficking convictions.
• Strengthen bail system by repealing Liberal Bills C-5 and C-75
• Use Section 33 of the Charter (the notwithstanding clause) to reinstate multiple life sentences for those convicted of multiple homicides
• Permanently assign a maximum-security classification to serial killers keeping them in maximum-security prisons for the entirety of their sentences
• Pass “three-strikes” law requiring sentences of 10 or more years for three-time serious offenders
• Redirect Canada Revenue Agency resources toward targeting offshore tax havens and create a “name-and-shame” publication to expose corporations evading taxes
• Expansion of the offshore tax informant program to give whistleblowers up to 20% of the recovered funds when they report illegal tax schemes
• Stop Scamming Seniors Act to hold banks and telecom companies accountable for catching scams, fining $5-million for companies if they do not use the latest technology to stop scams and mandatory jail time and fines

Green

• No mention of restorative justice and alternatives to incarceration or reduction of recidivism efforts
• Change the law to make online platforms legally responsible for all content they publish
• Strengthen laws against hate speech and hate groups and fund community programs that fight discrimination
• Promises to “combat racist practices in policing and law enforcement” and “fix discriminatory practices” in public services
• Re-examine the Criminal Code’s sections on treason and sedition to protect Canadians against “attempts to advocate or manufacture consent in favour of annexation under the duress of economic warfare”

Liberal

• No mention of funds or investments related to community supports and restorative justice initiatives. No reference to provide funding to the Federal Framework to Reduce Recidivism Act and Action Plan
• Retool and relaunch mandatory gun “buyback” program to expropriate “assault-style” firearms
• Automatically revoke gun licenses for those convicted of violent offences, including domestic violence
• Give RCMP the power to classify all new gun models, overriding manufacturers
• Recruit 1,000 new RCMP officers and 1,000 new Canadian Border Security Agency agents
• Tighten bail conditions for some serious crimes such as assault, car theft, and human trafficking

NDP

• Directly mentions a focus on community justice programs, healing, and restorative justice rather than incarceration
• Launch of a National Inquiry into Systemic Violence and Racism Against Indigenous People within Canadian Institutions; work to end systemic discrimination in the justice system
• Work with Indigenous communities to develop a First Nations Justice and Policing strategy; will declare First Nations policing an essential service, while providing long term, sufficient, and equitable funding
• Require corporations to provide a “genuine business reason” for using offshore accounts in order to prevent tax evasion
• Implementation of a public country-by-country financial reporting to prevent multinational corporations from hiding profits

Guaranteed Livable Basic Income (GLBI)

Only the Green platform listed a Guaranteed Livable Income, “so no one lives in poverty.”