Editorial: Trudeau government must deliver the "real change" it has promised Canadians

The dust has settled on Canada's 42nd general election, and after voting the Harper Conservatives out of power, Canadians are anxiously awaiting the "real change" that Justin Trudeau's Liberals promised to voters during the election campaign.

Putting aside the fact that – once again – our first-past-the-post electoral system rewarded the winning party with a disproportionate number of seats, while punishing the other parties with fewer seats than their popular vote warranted, there is much to celebrate in last week's result.

For starters, Canadian voters overwhelmingly rejected the mean-spirited and xenophobic campaign run by the Conservatives, and as a result, Stephen Harper and his divisive, rightwing, and undemocratic government are now gone. As well, Canada's new Parliament is the most diverse we've ever seen, as a record number of women, First Nations, and Muslim MPs were elected to office. And voter turnout was 7 percent higher than in the last federal election, thanks in part to a pilot project that attracted 70,000 students to vote at advanced polls.

But it remains to be seen whether Justin Trudeau's Liberal Party will govern to the right after campaigning to the left, or make good on its commitment to bring "real" progressive change to Ottawa. Should the Liberals choose the former approach, that would be a shame, as poll after poll has shown that the vast majority of Canadians want change, and two-thirds voted for progressive parties in the election.

So with that in mind, and in light of the mandate for change that voters have given to the Liberals, these are the key issues that the Trudeau government should address as soon as possible in power to show Canadians that it is serious about achieving "real change":

1. Provide relief to students grappling with rising tuition fees and ballooning student debt

The Liberals should quickly implement their pledges to increase the maximum Canada Student Grant for low-income students, halt student debt repayments until graduates are earning at least $25,000 a year, and provide an additional $50 million a year to support indigenous post-secondary students.

Over the long term, the government should follow Newfoundland and Labrador's lead by replacing student loans with needs-based, non-repayable grants. The Liberals should also take a page from the Green Party platform by working to eliminate any existing or future student debt above $10,000.

2. Regulate unpaid internships through the Canada Labour Code

While the Liberal Party platform did not contain any language regarding the growing use of unpaid internships by employers, former Liberal leader Stephane Dion indicated in an interview with Think Forward that his party might be open to regulating unpaid internships, noting that we need to "prohibit the type of abuse what we are seeing now."

The Liberals should therefore act to regulate unpaid internships through the Canada Labour Code to ensure that interns enjoy the same health and safety protections as other federally-regulated workers, and to guarantee that interns who perform the work of employees are paid for their work.

3. Tackle youth unemployment by creating jobs for young graduates

With youth unemployment at 13.5 percent, the Trudeau government should move immediately on its commitments to invest $1.3 billion over three years to create thousands of jobs for youth through a renewed Youth Employment Strategy. It should also keep its promise to waive unemployment premiums for 12 months for any employer that hires a young person between 18 and 24 for full-time work.

Going forward, the Liberals should expand federal apprenticeship initiatives and work with colleges, universities, and employers to better inform graduates of available job opportunities.

4. Repeal the (Un)Fair Elections Act

Instead of addressing the problem of low voter turnout among youth, the Harper Government actually made it harder for young people to vote by introducing new ID requirements under its ironically-named "Fair Elections Act."

Given that the Trudeau government has committed itself to democratic reform, this one should be a no-brainer: the Liberals should repeal the (Un)Fair Elections Act to eliminate the barriers to voting for students, First Nations, and low-income Canadians that the Act entrenches.

5. Take bold action on climate change

During the election campaign, the Liberal Party promised to fight climate change by putting a price on carbon, ending subsidies for the fossil fuel industry, and "making significant new investments in green infrastructure." Thus, the Trudeau government should take swift action on these priorities while also setting clear and ambitious targets to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. With the Paris Climate Change Conference just weeks away, moving on these issues sooner rather than later is all the more important.

6. Reform our voting system

The Liberals have famously said that they want to "make every vote count" by ensuring that the 2015 Federal Election is the last election conducted under our first-past-the-post voting system.

Accordingly, the Trudeau government should make good on its promise to introduce legislation enacting electoral reform within the first 18 months of its mandate.

7. Kill Bill C-51, Harper's invasion of our privacy

Earlier this year we wrote about the numerous problems with Bill C-51, warning our readers about the increased powers the bill provides to government agencies to spy on Canadians, and the ways in which it undermines our privacy rights and the security of the internet.

The Liberals initially voted in favour of Bill C-51, but later said that they were committed to repealing aspects of the bill if they formed government. Now that the party is in power, it should go a step further and repeal Bill C-51 in its entirety, as the bill does nothing to enhance our security and serves as a major threat to free speech in this country.

8. Scrap anti-worker Bills C-377 and C-525

In Parliament, the Liberals voted against Bills C-377 and C-525, claiming that the former places “an unfair administrative burden” on unions and the latter “drastically alters how unions can be formed and dissolved.” Justin Trudeau also committed to repealing both bills if the Liberals won power, noting that Bills C-377 and C-525 are unnecessary, ideological attacks on workers and their unions. As such, the Trudeau government should waste no time in scrapping both bills.

9. Address income inequality by investing in our collective future

The Liberal promises to create a new income tax bracket for Canadians earning more than $200,000 a year, apply full taxation to stock options, and enhance the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) should go a long way in addressing income inequality for citizens of all ages. Given that income inequality is on the rise, and many Canadians do not and will not have enough money to comfortably retire, the Trudeau government should move forward on these commitments as soon as possible.

There’s much more that will need to be done to address the damage that the Harper Government has inflicted on our country, but quick action on the above issues will show Canadians that the Trudeau Liberals are indeed serious about achieving “real change.”