“For many women, the lack of child care during the pandemic was a key reason they were forced out of the labour force. Today, many parents are still struggling to find spaces for their kids,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “It is cold-hearted and irresponsible for Mr. O’Toole to turn to these women and say no to the high-quality, affordable child care spaces that would finally allow them to return to the labour force.”

O’Toole was also caught again showing his anti-worker tendencies while talking about labour shortages, saying that emergency support for workers should be shut down. Earlier in the pandemic, O’Toole also said that more money should have gone to business, less to workers.

“A lack of child care spaces, low wages and poor working conditions. These are some of the key factors leading to labour shortages,” said Bruske. “Yet Mr. O’Toole is just another Conservative blaming workers. He cannot pretend to be a friend to working families while saying they should be cut off from critical emergency pandemic support.”

Bruske added that O’Toole’s proposal for gig economy workers, which appeared to be written by Uber, shows just how far out of touch O’Toole is with the reality facing workers today.

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“The Conservatives’ swiss-cheese fiscal plan leaves voters with more questions than answers. Erin O’Toole still refuses to say what he’s willing to cut to balance the budget,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress.“ Last time he was in government, Mr. O’Toole and the Conservatives cut heath care funding and scaled back EI, while handing out generous tax breaks to their corporate friends. He’s already promising to cut child care. What else is he planning to cut, this time?”

Bruske also noted that the Conservatives’ plan promises a review of the tax system to “improve competitiveness”, which is Conservative-speak for more tax giveaways to those at the top.

“We urgently need a wealth tax and a fairer taxation system. It’s long past time Canada rebalanced our tax system so we can repair our tattered social safety net,” said Bruske. “But Conservatives always cut taxes on corporations and give the wealthiest a free ride – while cutting health care and the vital services working families rely on.”

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“Mr. O’Toole’s message discipline is admirable, but experts are lining up to say his promises simply don’t add up,” said Bea Bruske, president of the Canadian Labour Congress. “Erin O’Toole is trying to hide his future cuts behind pleasant rhetoric.”

Columnist Stephen Maher asked in this weeks’ Maclean’s: “Now that he is the front runner, O’Toole has a lot of questions to answer, about the economy, climate, race, gun control, private health care…”

In the Hill Times, Michael Harris wrote: “The Conservative leader’s commitments to gun control, women’s empowerment, and fiscal responsibility don’t stand up to scrutiny.”

A few days before that, when asked on CTV’s Power Play, “Do you buy Erin O’Toole’s numbers in terms of economic growth?”, former Deputy Parliamentary Budget Officer Mostafa Askari replied: “No. Absolutely not. We have not had 3% sustained growth in Canada for the past 25-30 years.”

Bruske also noted that when he was in Stephen Harper’s Conservative cabinet, O’Toole cut billions from health care while slashing taxes for profitable corporations. Harper had also promised not to cut health care during an election campaign, and then broke his promise once elected.

“If you examine Mr. O’Toole’s plan closely, you find that his priorities are all wrong,” concluded Bruske. “Conservatives have no plan for alleviating inequality, strengthening public health care or bolstering our social safety net so it’s ready for the next crisis – whether health or climate related.”

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