People's Party of Canada leader Maxime Bernier got an enthusiastic welcome from about 150 people in Owen Sound Tuesday night. He made a campaign stop in support of Bruce-Grey Owen Sound PPC candidate Bill Townsend.
Bernier's speech was interrupted by numerous rounds of applause. One of the loudest came when he repeated his opinion that there's no climate crisis. He admitted the climate is changing but said it's not because of carbon emissions or human activity.
In an interview prior to his presentation, Bernier brought up the name of climate activist Greta Thunberg as someone who's causing unnecessary panic.
"When you speak about panicking, you know Greta, that's what she said, the little girl, 16 years old, she said you know we must panic and we must feel her fears. We must not base public policies on panic and sentiments like that," said Bernier.
P.P.C. leader Maxime Bernier addresses Owen Sound audience Tuesday night (photo by Kirk Scott)
On immigration, he said the Liberal Party's promise of increasing immigration to 350,000 a year is ill-conceived.
"350,000 immigrants a year, that will be the number in 2021. For us, that's mass immigration. At 350,000 a year that's a million people every three years, that's the population of Nova Scotia. We can not afford that."
He said his party would limit immigration to 150,000 people a year.
Bernier promised lower taxes and is very much against supply management, which he calls cartels.
He said the People's Party of Canada is not afraid of being politically incorrect and said their policies are based on individual freedom, personal responsibility, respect and fairness.
"I don't try to please everybody. I know if you try to please everybody you end up pleasing nobody. If you like what I'm saying, I hope you vote for us. If you don't like what I'm saying, you have a lot of choices to vote for the traditional political parties."