Photo: Adam Scotti

I’ve spent the last few months interviewing all the leadership candidates — aside from the dropouts, who always seemed to withdraw right before our interview — and I did the last one yesterday with Trudeau. Check out more from my Trudeau interview — and all the other candidates — on Xtra. Check out the full text of my Trudeau interview below the jump

What will your first opposition day as leader look like?

I haven’t thought about that.. there will be discussions with caucus around that. So far all the questions I’ve asked have been entirely focused on how the government talks a good game about the economy — and how we’re doing better than Spain — but keeps missing the boat on things that are actually going to help out the vast majority of Canadians who are not doing well. I don’t doubt that it’ll be something around the issues that are important to Canadians that Harper is missing the boat on.

This race has focus a lot on issues of harm reduction, between things like sex work and drug legailzation — how would you tackle those issues?

[My policies would be] grounded in science, whether it’s the great work being done with Insite, and the interest in replicating that particular model around addiction, or whether it’s what we know about where the money is going on the failed war on marijuana. A lot of it is with respect to what the organizations on the ground, the academic studies, … the police forces, and the municipalities are telling us about what works and what doesn’t. I’d certainly put taxation and legalization of marijuana and safe injection sites in that catagory.

On the isue of prostitution, I’m not entirely there yet in terms of legalization. Obviously it’s something that we need more broadly understood science on. I want to hear from more people on it. I understand the need to protect sex workers from violence, and the artifacts that make it legal for someonebody in the street but illegal for somebody in their own home. So I definitely know that we need to look at our prostition laws. But the exploitation of women is something I’m very concerned about. We need to know a little more before we go down that road.

Would you be open to decriminalizing other drugs, apart from marijuana?

I don’t think so at this point, but obviously there’d have to be some very compelling science and some clear reasons why to do it. Anecdotally I’ve heard from other places around the world, whether it’s Amsterdam or elsewhere, where that has been tried and it hasn’t been an unmitigated success, so I worry about going further than marijuana.

You faced some criticism because you missed several House votes while you were campaigning, one one getting cheap pharmaceuticals to Africa, and another on protecting transgendered rights — what’s your reaction to that?

Both of those are position that I’ve staked out very very cleanly, very clearly, very strongly. I’m a big supported of trans rights. I was one of the ones to take a strong stand in the house while the Conservatives were snickering, in response to the trans rights bill. I was pushing the transport minister on that abberation of an identification law that came forward. My support for the LGBT community is well-known. I was not worried that that wasn’t going to pass. On the [Canada’s Access to Medicines Regime] bill, I voted for it the first time in a previous incarnation. When it came through the last time, I voted for it again. But again, it was a situation where I realized where my vote wasn’t going to make a difference either way. What’s more important is to eventually replace this government.

Did you attempt to pair your vote?

The Conservatives have been completely opposed to pairing since they’ve had a majority.

Would you be open to doing something like the NDP has done and establishing a critic role for LGBTQ issues?

I think it’s a worthwhile idea. I don’t know that specifically targeting those issues with one person is necessary. I’d like to think that my entire caucus, whatever critic role someone has, that they would be sensitive to an LGBTQ lens, a gender lens, a youth lens, a senior lens, and think about all those things. If ever a particular issue or concern came up for that, I’d be open to it … Doesn’t Hedy [Fry] do this already in a wonderfully responsible, but not necessarily formalized, way? I certainly know that I’ve engaged with her on a lot of these issues. She’s always been a very strong spokesperson. I don’t know that we need to formalize it.

But there ministerial roles for seniors, status of women, youth — is there really a problem taking that one last step?

Hang on, a ministerial role - that might be different. But a critic’s role, I guess I’m not as wrapped up in the symbolism around critics’ roles. But certainly around a ministerial role, I can see us doing that.

The House has been up in arms over Mark Warawa’s anti-abortion bill. Do support that coming before the House, or do you think the committee was right to shut down debate on it?

I’ve committed to freer votes and more freedom for my MPs, assuming I get the leadership. But I have reserved issues around elements of the policy platform, on which MPs get elected, issues on confidence or direct budgetary matters, or issues around fundamental rights and freedoms of Canadians. For me, with the Supreme Court’s Morgentaler ruling, I consider that the freedom for a women to choose is a fundamental right. Therefore I’m coming at this from a values perspective, as opposed to Mr. Harper who seems to come at it from political expediency. He doesn’t want to re-open the abortion debate. I’m pro-choice, so I’m not comfortable with MPs coming out and suggesting that we can legislate on a women’s right to choose in a negative way.

There are members of the Liberal caucus who are pro-life. Would you be okay with having someone in your caucus who is anti-abortion and wants to pursue that?

I am pro-choice, the Liberal Party, if I am leader, will continue to be pro-choice in its policy direction, and its legislation. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. The idea that we can legislate away a women’s rights on this, is not something I’m comfortable with. And we’ll have to see what happens in the future.

How would you feel if a member of your caucus introduced an SO-31 that was anti-abortion?

Listen, I’ve always been very open to introducing SO-31s on issues that are important to the member or their constituency. So, for me, I’m going to have to wait and see what kind of caucus I get and see what kind of candidates come forward. But I am pro-choice, and the Liberal Party under me will always be pro-choice. Where we draw the line between freedom of expression and responsibility of representing constituents’ views, versus a position on fundamental rights, is more complex than a simple Q&A on the phone right now can actually deal with.

Does your party vet SO31s?

No, we don’t vet. We try and encourage people to be timely and we let people come forward, but no, there’s no vetting. But we have a much smaller caucus that we know very, as opposed to a large caucus. It is an opportunity for a member to present things important to their constituency.

Is there one or two things you’d like to see change in the House if you become leader, or Prime Minister, to make it more democratic?

I think freer votes goes a long way towards that. You can actually have substantial, substantive debate, you can actually have people putting forward modifications to a bill that might actually be adopted. I think there are a lot of things that can make Parliament actually work the way it’s supposed to, and be a place or reasonable discourse and an exchange of opinions and try to think of the best way to legislate good solutions for all of Canada. That’s something, in terms of tone, that I certainly hope we’re going to change.

You put out a statement recently ruling out a pre-election coalition with the NDP, but would you be open to have a post-election coalition?

The Liberal Party has always committed to working with whoever gets elected on an issue-by-issue basis, but I’m not interested in any formal coalition — even afterwards. I think the important thing is to make Parliament work, if we can, with the views of a broad range of people from across the country.

Would you be interested in doing a deal of any kind with the Greens?

Like I said to Elizabeth May, if the Green Party wants to suggest that its members vote Liberal, I’m more than happy with that. But there isn’t going to be any quid-pro-quo on that.

Thanks!

Thank you!