Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has criticized the Progressive Conservative government of New Brunswick, led by Premier Blaine Higgs, for its policies on climate change, gender identity, and abortion.
Trudeau, speaking at a news conference in Caraquet, New Brunswick, on Tuesday, said he had “issues” with the Higgs government’s decision to scrap the provincial carbon tax and its changes to the province’s policy on gender identity in schools.
The prime minister accused Higgs and other conservative leaders across the country of trying to score political points off transgender and nonbinary children, who he said were “incredibly vulnerable.”
Trudeau saved his harshest criticism for the provincial government’s decision to defund abortions outside hospitals, calling it “a disgrace.”
Higgs’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The New Brunswick government has been under fire from LGBTQ+ advocates for its changes to the province’s gender identity policy in schools. The policy, which was introduced in 2021, requires students to use the washrooms and change rooms that correspond to their sex assigned at birth.
The government has also faced criticism for its decision to defund abortions outside hospitals. The policy, which was implemented in 2022, means that women who want to have an abortion must travel to one of the province’s two hospitals that provide the procedure.
Trudeau’s comments come as the federal government is considering imposing a national carbon tax on provinces that do not have their own carbon pricing system. New Brunswick is one of the few provinces that does not have a carbon tax.
The federal government is also considering introducing legislation to protect the rights of transgender people. The legislation, which is expected to be introduced later this year, would add gender identity and expression to the list of prohibited grounds of discrimination under the Canadian Human Rights Act.
