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As a non-partisan organization, OSPE considers it a civic duty for all Canadians to vote based on a clear understanding and knowledge of the platforms of each political party. In the upcoming weeks, OSPE will extract information from each official party platform on issues impacting the engineering community.

This week OSPE is showcasing the Conservative Party’s 2021 electoral platform. Don’t forget to make sure you are registered to vote on Monday, September 20, 2021 by visiting https://ereg.elections.ca/CWelcome.aspx.

Energy

• Fix the Impact Assessment process created by Bill C-69
• Implement a hydrogen energy strategy that rapidly increases the use of hydrogen – especially green hydrogen – in Canada and builds on the country’s export capacity
• Get Trans Mountain Pipeline built
• Implement a federal LNG Export Strategy
• Implement a Critical Minerals Strategy to take advantage of Canada’s abundant resources of the minerals needed to power our clean energy future
• Develop a National Clean Energy Strategy that will strengthen Canada’s Grid. This will include strategies for developing and expanding smart grids, improving interties, increasing the use of mass storage, and developing and deploying new clean energy technology such as nuclear, hydrogen and renewables

Environment

• Reach the target of protecting 17% of Canada’s land and water and work towards 25%
• Reinstate the Lake Simcoe Clean-Up Fund
• Ban the export of plastic waste
• Work with the provinces to implement an innovative, national, Personal Low Carbon Savings Account. This will put a price on carbon for consumers without one penny going to the government. Canadians will pay into their Personal Low Carbon Savings Account each time they buy hydrocarbon based fuel. They will be able to apply the money in their account towards things that help them live a greener life. That could mean buying a transit pass or a bicycle or saving up and putting the money towards a new efficient furnace, energy efficient windows or even an electric vehicle
• Set a carbon price starting at $20/tonne and increasing to $50/tonne but no further
• Introducing a zero emission vehicle mandate based on British Columbia’s, requiring 30% of light duty vehicles sold to be zero emissions by 2030
• Investing a billion dollars in building out electric vehicle manufacturing in Canada, including investing in battery production, parts manufacturing, micro-mobility solutions and electric trucks
• Introduce a Renewable Natural Gas Mandate, based on British Columbia’s policy, requiring 15% of downstream consumption to be renewable by 2030
• Invest an additional $3 billion between now and 2030 in natural climate solutions focused on management of forest, crop and grazing lands and restoration of grasslands, wetlands, and forests
• Develop a Net Zero Foundations program to begin putting in place the building blocks required to meet our net zero goals. This will include: Continuing to develop the building codes and standards necessary to support net zero goals for both new builds and retrofits; Developing curriculum for trade schools and institutes that support building design and construction; Improving certification standards; and developing initiatives to pilot new technologies and solutions that will lower the cost and speed up the pace of retrofits, particularly residential retrofits

Infrastructure           

• Scrap the Canada Infrastructure Bank and commit the money sitting unused on its books to infrastructure projects that can strengthen our economy
• Build digital infrastructure to connect all of Canada to High-Speed Internet by 2025
• Continue building the Trans-Canada Trail by providing $12.5 million per year in funding
• Eliminate the requirement for municipalities and First Nations to receive funding only if they find a way to describe a project as “green infrastructure”
• Pass a Critical Infrastructure Protection Act to prevent protestors from blocking key infrastructure

Indigenous Peoples

• Develop a comprehensive plan to implement TRC Calls to Action 71 through 76
• Fund the investigation at all former residential schools in Canada where unmarked graves may exist, including the sites where children have already been discovered
• Ensure that proper resources are allocated for communities to reinter, commemorate, and honour any individuals discovered through the investigation, according to the wishes of their next of kin
• Develop a detailed and thorough set of resources to educate Canadians of all ages on the tragic history of residential schools in Canada
• Build a national monument in Ottawa that honours residential school survivors and all the children who were lost
• In collaboration with municipal and First Nations organizations, promote mechanisms that foster relationships between municipalities and neighbouring First Nations
• Utilizing the existing infrastructure of Indigenous national organizations (NACCA & CCAB), provide capacity building and business education to enhance and promote Indigenous business success and success stories
• Develop an Indigenous Business Mentorship Program where Indigenous communities and entrepreneurs can connect with and receive guidance from others who have succeeded
• Commit $25 million to a national police support and community training program to reduce the incarceration rates of Canada’s Indigenous communities
• Implement Article 18 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) by working with First Nations to develop a transparent process that communities can use to identify who represents them in consultations if it is to be someone other than elected Chiefs

Housing

• Require municipalities receiving federal funding for public transit to increase density near the funded transit
• Ban foreign investors not living in or moving to Canada from buying homes here for a two year period after which it will be reviewed
• Review 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
• Remove 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

Taxes

• Launch the Canada Investment Accelerator: getting companies spending money and creating jobs by providing a 5% investment tax credit for any capital investment made in 2022 and 2023, with the first $25,000 to be refundable for small business
• Introduce the Rebuild Main Street Tax Credit: providing a 25% tax credit on amounts of up to $100,000 that Canadians personally invest in a small business over the next two years, to get money flowing into main street businesses and create jobs
• Make foreign tech companies pay their fair share of taxes, including sales tax and a digital services tax representing 3% of the gross revenue in Canada if they don’t pay corporate income tax here

Jobs and Skills Training

• Launch the Canada Job Surge Plan: paying up to 50% of the salary of new hires for six months following the end of CEWS
• Main Street Business Loan: providing loans of up to $200,000 to help small and medium businesses in hospitality, retail, and tourism get back on their feet, with up to 25% forgiven
• Double the Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit for the next three years to help create more places for apprentices
• Invest $250 million over two years to create the Canada Job Training Fund. The Fund will provide grants to organizations including employers, apprenticeship training delivery agents, unions, post-secondary institutions, and community organizations
• Create the Working Canadian Training Loan to provide low interest loans of up to $10,000 to people who want to upgrade their skills
• Introduce the Canada Seniors Care benefit, paying $200 per month per household to any Canadian who is living with and taking care of a parent over the age of 70
• Require gig economy companies to make contributions equivalent to CPP and EI premiums into a new, portable Employee Savings Account every time they pay their workers. The money will grow tax-free and can be withdrawn by the worker when needed

Health Care

• Encourage employers to add mental health coverage to their employee benefit plans by offering a tax credit for 25% of the cost of additional mental health coverage for the first three years
• Create a pilot program to provide $150 million over three years in grants to non-profits and charities delivering mental health and wellness programming
• Invest $325 million over the next three years to create 1,000 residential drug treatment beds and build 50 recovery community centres across the country
• Repealing the Bill C-7 provision allowing Medical Assistance in Dying for those with mental health challenges

Research and Innovation

• Invest $5 billion over the next five years to fund programs aimed at making major advances in: the use of hydrogen, small Modular Reactors, private sector innovation in the space sector, electric vehicle development and manufacturing, and pharmaceutical research and production
• Create a tax credit for buying from a Canadian start-up

Diversity and Inclusion

• Implement 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
• Seek out qualified female candidates for federal appointments
• Require federally regulated corporations and federally mandated organizations to implement formal recruitment plans to seek out qualified female candidates for senior leadership positions

Read the Full Conservative Party platform: Secure the Future

What do you think of the federal Conservative Party platform? Are these promises attainable?