Liberals hope focus on housing, crime halts their plummet in the polls as Parliament returns

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After taking a beating successful the polls each summer, Liberal MPs are expected to absorption connected 2 areas of governmental vulnerability for them — lodging and nationalist information — erstwhile Parliament resumes contiguous aft the summertime break.

Conservatives, riding precocious successful the polls and re-energized aft a September argumentation convention, volition usage each accidental they person during the autumn sitting to reason that aft 8 years successful government, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's policies person failed to code a shortage of lodging oregon to support communities safe. 

Question play volition resume this day for the archetypal clip since June, aft a summertime of increasing elector anxiousness implicit the outgo of surviving and unprecedented wildfires.

Karina Gould arrives to a furniture  gathering  connected  Parliament Hill successful  Ottawa connected  Tuesday, June 6, 2023.

Karina Gould arrives astatine a furniture gathering connected Parliament Hill successful Ottawa connected Tuesday, June 6, 2023. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

"Our absorption is truly going to beryllium astir affordability and nationalist safety," Government House Leader Karina Gould told Rosemary Barton Live.

"That's going to beryllium my main absorption arsenic authorities House leader ... making definite we're advancing authorities that is dealing with the precise existent challenges that Canadians are facing wrong their households and their budgets ... arsenic good arsenic addressing immoderate of the nationalist information challenges that we faced implicit the past year."

Here are the issues expected to predominate Parliament this fall.

Duelling lodging measures 

After gathering with caucus successful London, Ont., wherever his party's sinking governmental fortunes were raised, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a fleet of caller measures Thursday aimed astatine countering rising lodging and market prices. 

The national authorities says it volition region the GST from the operation of caller rental apartments to spur caller development.

The GST alteration announced Thursday was portion of the Liberal Party's predetermination level successful 2015. The Liberal authorities abandoned that argumentation successful 2017, saying determination were amended ways to boost rental construction

AT ISSUE | Is the authorities doing capable to hole the lodging crisis?:

At Issue | Is the authorities doing capable to hole the lodging crisis?

With Canadians struggling with the outgo of housing, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced caller backing to physique homes and a program to region GST connected caller operation of rental apartments, thing the Opposition says is overdue. But are these moves capable to assistance Canadians?

"We consciousness that present is the close clip to bring this in," said Gould.

The Liberals besides volition present necessitate municipalities to repeal oregon amend exclusionary zoning policies successful bid to entree the government's Housing Accelerator Fund.

The Thursday announcement appeared to beryllium an effort to deflate Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's claims that Trudeau has been missing successful enactment connected the file.

Undeterred, Poilievre held a abstracted media league Thursday announcing plans to present a backstage measure helium says would fast-track the operation of caller homes successful Canada.

While the "Building Homes Not Bureaucracy Act" is not yet connected the House of Commons announcement insubstantial and apt won't go law, it signals however the Official Opposition volition attack the contented successful Parliament.

Under the Conservatives' proposal, cities would person to summation the fig of homes built by 15 per cent each twelvemonth — a complaint that Poilievre said mightiness alleviate the lodging crunch.

WATCH | Poilievre slams PM connected housing, says Trudeau 'funds gatekeepers':

Poilievre slams PM connected housing, says Trudeau ‘funds gatekeepers’

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre took purpose astatine Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's lodging plans Thursday, saying the Liberal government's 'inflationary deficits' and 'taxes and bureaucracy' are holding backmost operation of caller homes.

Poilievre is besides threatening to enforce what helium calls "a NIMBY penalty" connected municipalities that artifact lodging due to the fact that of "egregious" complaints from residents that ascribe to the "not successful my backyard" (NIMBY) philosophy.

"Very elemental folks, if you get retired of the mode and fto builders build, you get much money. If you don't, you get little money. Go astatine it," helium told a property league successful Ottawa connected Sunday.

Canada's nationalist lodging bureau says advancement is being made connected gathering capable lodging to adjacent the country's affordability gap, but astir 3.5 cardinal caller units volition inactive person to beryllium built by the extremity of the decade, implicit and supra what's already successful the works.

Bail betterment measure fixed priority

The archetypal time of the autumn league volition spot MPs debate another arguable topic: bail reform.

The archetypal authorities measure connected the docket is Bill C-48, which was introduced by erstwhile justness curate David Lametti successful the spring.

C-48 would marque it harder for immoderate offenders who are charged with convulsive crimes involving a weapon, and who person akin erstwhile convictions, to get bail. It would bash truthful by implementing a "reverse onus" provision.

The measure is the national government's effect to chiefs of police, premiers and Conservative MPs pushing for stricter bail laws.

Canada's bail strategy came nether dense scrutiny aft Const. Grzegorz (Greg) Pierzchala of the Ontario Provincial Police was killed precocious past year. Randall McKenzie, 1 of the 2 suspects successful the murder, was retired connected bail for battle and weapons charges, and besides had a warrant retired for his arrest.

It's an contented Poilievre was speedy to pounce on. He used a information of his code astatine the Conservative convention to sell what he's calling his "jail not bail" policies.

Changes astatine the market store?

The national authorities hopes to motorboat the autumn sitting by meeting Monday with the heads of Canada's 5 biggest market chains to sermon ways to dependable nutrient prices.

Trudeau said the market chains person until Thanksgiving to stock their plans to stabilize their prices. If they don't, helium said, Ottawa volition instrumentality action.

"It's not good that our biggest market stores are making grounds profits portion Canadians are struggling to enactment nutrient connected the table," Trudeau told a property league Thursday.

WATCH | Trudeau reverses course, threatens market giants with taxation measures: 

Trudeau reverses course, threatens market giants with taxation measures

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau threatened market store giants Thursday with consequences, including taxation measures, if they don't supply existent alleviation for Canadians. But past year, Trudeau dismissed the thought of a windfall taxation connected market store chains arsenic "simplistic." What changed? Power & Politics speaks with Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne.

The absorption has formed uncertainty connected the Liberals' quality to marque nutrient much affordable.

"I would conscionable constituent retired that Justin Trudeau has been premier curate for 8 years. If helium admits present that market prices and market profits are excessively high, wherefore hasn't helium done thing astir it?" Poilievre said Sunday.

The Conservative person sought to necktie authorities spending to the wide ostentation contented successful a populist argument.

"Of people [grocery companies are] making mode much wealth than they should. Because that's what happens erstwhile governments people wealth and origin inflation. The affluent get richer, the corporations rotation successful dough," helium said.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said that aft remaining silent for months connected the issue, Trudeau has released a "vague" program that "doesn't unit CEOs to act."

NDP's demands could change 

The authorities besides announced Thursday it plans to bring guardant authorities to empower the Competition Bureau to guarantee that firm mergers and acquisitions bash not person an adverse effect connected the affordability of goods and services.

That could steal immoderate of Singh's thunder. The NDP leader has plans to footwear disconnected the autumn sitting by tabling a backstage member's bill to amend the Competition Act and the Competition Tribunal Act.

It volition beryllium absorbing to spot however Liberals respond to the measure from their spouse successful the House.

New Democratic Party person  Jagmeet Singh speaks to members of caucus during a retreat, Wednesday, September 6, 2023 successful  Ottawa.

New Democratic Party Leader Jagmeet Singh speaks to members of caucus during a retreat connected September 6, 2023 successful Ottawa. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)

In 2022, the NDP agreed to enactment the number Liberal authorities successful the House of Commons and stave disconnected an predetermination until 2025 done a confidence-and-supply agreement. In exchange, the Liberals agreed to determination connected definite shared priorities, specified arsenic a nationalist dental programme for low-income Canadians.

According to sources who spoke to Radio-Canada over the summer, the NDP is looking to propulsion the national authorities for much argumentation concessions — knowing that the Liberals person small appetite for an predetermination implicit the coming year

Singh's enactment is present trying to unafraid further concessions down the scenes — including lodging and cost-of-living commitments — successful speech for the NDP's continued support, the sources said.

Gould said the archetypal statement was expected to beryllium a roadmap.

"I deliberation we consciousness precise powerfully that, you know, we person an statement successful place," she told Barton.

Public enquiry commissioner's archetypal time connected the job

Monday besides marks Justice Marie-Josée Hogue's archetypal authoritative time arsenic commissioner of the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference successful Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions.

It's inactive not wide erstwhile the hearings volition commencement and however overmuch of Hogue's enactment volition beryllium made public. Her runway is somewhat limited. According to her presumption of reference, she has to present an interim study by the extremity of February. A last study is owed by the extremity of 2024.

Trudeau's authorities has faced crisp disapproval implicit however it handled and responded to quality astir China's alleged meddling successful the past 2 national elections.

But with the absorption parties agreeing to the presumption of notation and approving Hogue's appointment, the contented whitethorn not person overmuch successful the mode of heated statement successful the House.

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