A heated exchange between Conservative and Liberal candidates recently took place during an all-candidates debate in the Ontario riding of Kanata.
The all-candidates debate, held Tuesday evening in the Ottawa-area riding, saw incumbent Liberal MP Jenna Sudds and her Conservative challenger Greg Kung clash over public service jobs, child care, and economic policy.
During the debate, Liberal candidate and incumbent Jenna Sudds tried calling out her Conservative counterpart by fearmongering with information that he quickly disproved.
“I also heard from Greg that the Conservatives will find savings within government,” said Sudds. “Is that the 17,000 jobs a year that they’re committing to cut from the public service? Jobs people in our community rely on? I also will just say that it is false that Conservatives have not committed to continue to invest in child care. It is not in the platform, and you will not see an additional single new space in their platform.”
Conservative candidate Greg Kung replied, saying he wished his Liberal counterpart had read the party’s platform, citing specific pages where her claims were disproven.
He highlighted the platform, which states that the Conservatives plan to maintain the child care agreements.
“We will honour current federal health transfer agreements to fund the healthcare all Canadians deserve, preserve existing dental care coverage, and honour existing deals with provinces and territories on child care and pharmacare,” reads page 19 of the Conservatives’ plan.
He also revealed to Sudds that her claim of public servants being fired was categorically false.
“It says very clearly in our platform that we will not fire public servants. We will give no pink slips. This is all through attrition. And, in fact, we will be replacing two for every three that leave,” said Kung.
Another part of the Conservative platform clearly states that the federal public service will be streamlined through natural attrition and retirement, by replacing two out of every three federal employees who retire.
The platform also pledges to eliminate university degree requirements for most public service roles, and to ban “double-dipping” so federal officials can’t profit from government contracts. The platform also includes a one-for-one spending law and major cuts to foreign aid, consultants, and global bureaucracies.
“I would hope that members here would hold their Member of Parliament to account to actually read the documents that are released,” said Kung.
He added that Sudds probably wanted constituents to thank her for removing the carbon tax that she supported in government 14 times as a cabinet minister, and for promising things the Conservatives have been suggesting for years.
“She had a seat at the table, and you are further behind as a result. Don’t be fooled by these last-ditch political moves designed to make you forget what the Liberals have done to our community and this country,” he said.
He added that property crime is 40 per cent higher in Ottawa than in New York City. He said the Conservatives plan to axe the Liberals’ catch and release policy, driving up crime rates.
A previous poll highlighted that hope was driving Poilievre voters, while fear was the motivator for Carney supporters.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre pledged to cut the deficit by 70 per cent, while Carney plans for record debt and a surging deficit. As of April 23, the Kanata riding has a 99 per cent chance of Liberal victory.