TORONTO, Oct 5 — Andrew Scheer, the head of Canada's opposition Conservatives, yesterday promised a crime crackdown if he won an October 21 election, but faced repeated questions about why he had not revealed that he has dual US citizenship.
Polls show the Conservatives have a chance to beat the ruling Liberals provided they are able to make inroads in Toronto, Canada's largest city, where shooting deaths have spiked this year amid clashes between gangs.
Scheer's vow to get tough on crime was overshadowed by the revelation that he is also a US citizen. After the Globe and Mail newspaper broke the news on Thursday, Scheer said he was giving up his American citizenship.
“It's not a big deal to have dual citizenship here in Canada,” he told reporters, who asked him whether he had ever filed taxes in the United States or registered for the US military draft at 18.
Scheer instead took aim at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is trying to recover from images showing him dressed in blackface, and accused him of breaking promises to eliminate the budget deficit and make life more affordable.
“When Canadians are looking at what he is offering this election, they know they cannot trust him,” Scheer said.
Trudeau told reporters in Quebec City that Scheer needed to be honest with Canadians about his dual citizenship and noted that he had apologised repeatedly for the blackface incidents.
“Mr Scheer continues to not take responsibility for his choices of the past, his actions of the past, his mistakes of the past,” Trudeau said.
Scheer earlier yesterday told a Toronto news conference that the Conservatives would introduce a five-year minimum mandatory prison sentence for violent gang crime, and the same penalty for possession of a smuggled firearm.
Scheer's chances of victory could be increased if disaffected Liberals decide to stay home or choose not to vote for Trudeau.
In a move that could alienate indigenous voters, the federal government said yesterday it would appeal a human rights ruling last month that ordered Ottawa to compensate aboriginal children who had been removed from their homes and put into welfare.
Trudeau told reporters that while he agrees with the idea of compensation, the government needed time to consult with its partners. Such talks could not take place during an election campaign, he added.
Scheer said yesterday he agreed with the idea of an appeal. — Reuters
