Singh, Trudeau vow crackdown on hospital protests as parties denounce demonstrations
The federal New Democrats and Liberals made mirror pledges on Monday to criminalize protesters that block hospitals or harass health-care workers as party leaders denounced planned demonstrations at hospitals nationwide.
A group calling itself Canadian Frontline Nurses looked to organize what it dubs "silent vigils" on Monday in response to public health restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19, which they call "tyrannical measures and government overreach."
Provincial and local politicians warned anyone showing up to not block hospital entrances, adding that police were ready to maintain access for patients, doctors and nurses if necessary.
Speaking in Sioux Lookout, Ont., NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said a federal government can't ban protests, nor can it limit where people can demonstrate like provinces such as Ontario have done with bubbles around abortion clinics and farms.
But Singh pointed to the Criminal Code as a means to dissuade such demonstrations from happening. His party's platform pledges to make it a federal offence to harass or obstruct someone from accessing medical care, and provide harsher penalties for anyone assaulting a health-care worker.
He said protesting at hospitals was different than demonstrating elsewhere, such as rail lines, noting that blockading a hospital could mean someone dies.
"It is not the space, it is not the place to protest," Singh said in front of his campaign plane in the northern Ontario town.
"If you're in any way threatening health-care workers, impeding their ability to go to work, you're impeding patients' access to care. If cancer patients aren't being able to get into the hospital, that is just not on."
The issue of vaccinations and how to respond to the pandemic has been a mainstay of the federal campaign, which wraps up in one week on Sept. 20.
Anti-vaccine and anti-mask protesters have dogged Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau along the campaign trail, even pelting him with gravel at one stop, after he promised to forge ahead with mandatory vaccination rules for travellers.
Hours after Singh spoke, Trudeau outlined an identical pledge of criminal sanctions for anyone blocking access to hospitals, vaccine clinics, testing centres, pharmacies and abortion clinics, and those intimidating or harassing health-care workers.
Speaking in Vancouver, Trudeau said the Criminal Code already has provisions about intimidating people who work in the justice system, but there is now a need to protect doctors and nurses in a similar way.
"It's not OK any day to know that a nurse going into a late shift crossing a parking lot might be afraid that there could be someone there to spit on her or shout obscenities at her," Trudeau said in his opening remarks.
The Liberal leader also took aim at Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole as Trudeau repeatedly looked to use the issue of vaccines and public health measures as a wedge.
Speaking in the rural Ottawa suburb of Carp, O'Toole said the planned protests "completely unacceptable," calling for unity even as he denounced Trudeau with sharpened personal attacks.
"There is the ability to peacefully protest and things like this, but to harass and to try and block people from accessing health care in a pandemic is completely unacceptable," O'Toole said.
"Now is the time for us to work together, using all the tools we have -- including vaccines, rapid tests, distancing, masks -- in our fight against COVID-19. We need to come together as a country in this crisis, not divide ourselves."
Asked what he would do if elected, O'Toole said he trusted local officials to manage the situation.
Meanwhile, Green Party Leader Annamie Paul made a rare campaign stop outside of Toronto on Monday as she visited with party candidates in Prince Edward Island, a place where the Greens have made political inroad as the official opposition in the provincial legislature.
Monday marked the final of four days of advance polls, and Elections Canada said Sunday that 1.3 million people came out on Friday, more than what was recorded on the first day of advance polls in the 2019 vote.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2021.
IN DEPTH
Jagmeet Singh pulls NDP out of deal with Trudeau Liberals, takes aim at Poilievre Conservatives
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has pulled his party out of the supply-and-confidence agreement that had been helping keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberals in power.
'Not the result we wanted': Trudeau responds after surprise Conservative byelection win in Liberal stronghold
Conservative candidate Don Stewart winning the closely-watched Toronto-St. Paul's federal byelection, and delivering a stunning upset to Justin Trudeau's candidate Leslie Church in the long-time Liberal riding, has sent political shockwaves through both parties.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Conservatives call on Elon Musk to step in after Liberals provide loan to Ottawa-based satellite operator
A $2.14-billion federal loan for an Ottawa-based satellite operator has Canadian politicians arguing about whether American billionaire Elon Musk poses a national security risk.
Myths busted and lessons learned: John Vennavally-Rao on his surgery to reverse his ostomy
Twenty-seven year Â鶹ӰÊÓ reporter and anchor John Vennavally-Rao shares his story of what it was like to have an ostomy bag as part of his health-care battle. 'I’m grateful for what it did to extend my life,' he writes in a personal column for CTVNews.ca.
Trump appeals to women in return to North Carolina without Mark Robinson, a top in-state supporter
Donald Trump returned to North Carolina on Saturday, stumping in the southern battleground state with direct appeals to women, claiming he would be a better champion for them than U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, who is vying to become the first female president.
Housing support for adult children with severe autism is 'absolutely absurd,' say parents
Looking after an adult with severe autism can be a full-time job. Ask any parent who has a child severely affected by autism spectrum disorder – it’s a job that can get more difficult as the child becomes an adult.
Heavy metal exposure could increase cardiovascular disease risk, study finds
A new study is adding to emerging research showing that exposure to metals such as cadmium, uranium and copper may also be associated with the leading cause of death worldwide, cardiovascular disease.
Unusual flippered feet are making their way into the Saint Lawrence River this weekend. Led by underwater explorer and filmmaker Nathalie Lasselin, volunteer divers are combing the riverbed near Beauharnois in Montérégie to remove hundreds of tires that have been polluting the aquatic environment for decades.
A body has been found in the vicinity where a woman went missing on the Ottawa River near Pembroke, Ont. while kayaking Tuesday night, according to the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).
Kids are inhaling 'Galaxy Gas' to get high. Here’s what parents should know
For some young people, a popular method for getting a quick high is by misusing laughing gas — and lately, that’s in the form of nitrous oxide from products sold by the company Galaxy Gas.
A man is facing numerous drug trafficking charges after Dufferin OPP seized a large assortment of drugs and weapons in Orangeville earlier this week.
Local Spotlight
Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.
Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.
An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.
They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.
A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.
Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.
The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.
It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.