Marginalized groups, such as Indigenous peoples, immigrants, refugees and the LGBTQ+ population, make up Canada’s diverse fabric . However, they have historically been underrepresented and excluded from society as a whole.
By virtue of their identity alone, these groups have (and continue to) face discrimination, social and financial barriers, as well as other unique barriers that make their life much harder than that of the average Canadian.
The question then is: How do the federal parties aim to tackle the issues that affect these marginalized groups ? Below, we’ve listed a few of the promises that each party has made in regards to the issue.
The Liberal Party has vowed to…
- Move forward with the Municipal Nominee Program, an initiative that would make it easier for permanent immigrants to be directly sponsored. They would also waive the citizenship fee required for permanent residents.
- Develop a benefits-sharing framework that would ensure that Indigenous-led businesses would get 5% of federal contracts for projects planned in Indigenous communities.
- Promote equality and leadership by building on their Gender-Based Violence Strategy and move forward with an additional $30 million investment to develop a National Action Plan.
- Fund LGBTQ2 groups with $10 million over the next three years, an additional $2 million a year to fund support lines for LGBTQ2 groups, end conversion therapy, and end the blood ban.
- To tackle racism in Canada by increasing funding to their Anti-Racism strategy, and collecting better data on hate-crimes.
The NDP Party has vowed to…
- Expand access to cell service to rural Indigenous communities. They would also expand economic opportunities for rural and remote indigenous communities and fast-track investment to improve much-needed infrastructure like roads and broadband internet for northern communities.
- Help LGBTQI2S+ refugees around the world. The NDP proposes to establish a clear and permanent path for resettlement of LGBTQI2S+ refugees in Canada to replace the current piece-meal approach that only deals with emergency cases as they arise. They NDP has also vowed to end the blood ban and ban conversion therapy.
- Promote safety, security, and efficiency in Canada’s border communities by suspending the Safe Third Country agreement with the United States, allowing people to make asylum claims at official border crossings.
The Conservative Party has vowed to…
- Bring back the Office of Religious Freedom to protect the values within a shared humanity and promote interest in the dignity of all people.
- Improve credential recognition and provide low-skilled workers with a path to residency and improve language training.
- “Support and introduce” legislation that “protects LGBTQ Canadians”.
The Green Party has vowed to…
- Lead a national discussion to define the term “environmental refugee,” and advocate for the term’s inclusion as a refugee category in Canada. They have also vowed to accept an appropriate share of the world’s environmental refugees into Canada.
- Establish a funding program within Health Canada to support community-based organizations offering targeted LGBTQI2+ youth’s mental health and well-being programs, including suicide prevention, peer support, coming-out, and counselling.
- In partnership with Indigenous Peoples, work towards the creation of an Indigenous Lands and Treaties Tribunal Act to establish an independent body that will decide on specific claims, ensuring that treaty negotiations are conducted and financed fairly (and that Aboriginal and treaty rights are not lost) .
The People’s Party has vowed to…
- Repeal the Multiculturalism Act and eliminate all funding to promote multiculturalism. Instead, they want to emphasize the integration of immigrants into Canadian society and ensure that every immigration candidate completes a face-to-face interview that would assess how much they align with Canadian values and societal norms.
- Substantially lower the total number of immigrants and refugees Canada accepts every year, from 350,000 to between 100,000 and 150,000, depending on economic and other circumstances. They want to also reform the immigration point system and the related programs to accept a larger proportion of economic immigrants with the right skills.
- Will reaffirm the federal government’s power to approve natural resources and infrastructure projects only after adequate consultations with affected Indigenous groups, and in partnership with them to ensure that these groups can benefit from these economic opportunities.
The Bloc Quebecois have vowed to…
- Ask provinces for $300 million repayment for the fees that provinces have spent on helping asylum seekers with housing, healthcare, and education. The Bloc also wants Quebec to have the power to deport any asylum seekers they want, and to determine its own immigration policies.
- Sign the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and and provide First Nations with the ability to oversee the administration of their education, justice, and culture to their communities.
Please note the above points only represent a select few points from each party’s campaign that we felt are of most interest to youth. For a more detailed understanding of these points, check out each party’s federal election platform.
How did we decide what’s youth relevant? We decided what points to include based on which topics have been the most read, pitched, and written to us by our youth audience on www.blnkpage.org . In addition, these points were researched by members of our youth-led team, who also referred to reputable data, Twitter, and other social media discussions that youth were having on #Election2019. For example, we left out points regarding home ownership, cognizant of the fact that although important, the majority of youth aged 12-27 are not yet home owners.
Liked this recap? We also highly recommend you check out Pollenize and Canada Votes if you want a higher-level breakdown of each party’s platform.
