JUSTIN TRUDEAU TELLS SCARBOROUGH: THERE ARE NO SECOND CLASS CANADIANS

SCARBOROUGH – Liberal Party of Canada leader Justin Trudeau visited the office of Scarborough Centre candidate Salma Zahid on Friday, telling a packed house of Liberal supporters that the party stands firmly opposed to the Conservative government’s Bill C-24 and will repeal it when a Liberal government is elected.

The Conservative legislation, which was shamefully supported by local Conservative MP Roxanne James and came into effect earlier this year, effectively creates two tiers of Canadian citizenship. If you were born out of Canada, you were born in Canada but have another nationality, or are eligible to obtain another nationality, you could be stripped of your Canadian citizenship and be sent to a country you have never known.

“There is no such thing as two classes of Canadian citizenship. A Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian,” said Trudeau. “Mr. Harper is forgetting what makes Canada great. We are stronger not in spite of our differences, but because of them!”

Scarborough Centre has one of the higher percentages of citizens born outside Canada of any riding in the country putting our community most at risk by this dangerous Conservative legislation, which is rooted in the worst kind of politics and a warped view of Canada’s rich cultural diversity.

“I am also proud to stand with a party that is resolutely and firmly opposed to Bill C24, and recognizes that there are no second class citizens in Canada,” said Zahid. “My family moved to Canada 15 years ago, and today I’m running to be a Member of Parliament – it’s that equality of opportunity that makes Canada the envy of the world.”

Zahid and the Liberal team have a plan for real change that will help middle class families. Our changes to the Canada Child Benefit and our middle class tax break will make a real difference to parents and their children struggling to make ends meet. We will also be a partner with the city and the province to ensure Scarborough has the transit it deserves.

“Under our Conservative representative, Scarborough’s concerns have gone unheard for too long. Scarborough Centre needs real change,” said Zahid. “I am ready to be the strong Liberal voice that our community needs and I know that, as part of a Justin Trudeau government, we will bring real change to Scarborough, and to all of Canada!”