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Q: One of the major points in the election was the barbaric cultural practices tip line announcement. Can you walk me through what you thought of that idea originally, when you made that announcement?

A: My intention that day was to stand up for victimized women and girls and let them know that if they had the courage to speak out and ask for help that we would be there for them … This announcement was based on a piece of legislation that was put forward in the House that the Conservative caucus supported, as did the entire Liberal caucus. As you can imagine, I’ve had a lot of time to think about this since the campaign and as I’ve mentioned in the past, I can’t go back in time. I can’t change the announcement that day. I would. I’ve taken responsibility for that. The campaign is over, I’m not going to point fingers at people, but at the end of the day I made the announcement that I did because I care about young people, I care about women and girls and my track record with respect to protecting young people can’t be questioned.

Q: Would that be an example of what you talked about earlier — something that is a good idea but wasn’t communicated as effectively as it could be to the public?

A: I think you’re absolutely correct on that. Here is a decision that was taken in order to protect women and girls, and make sure that young women who were being put in harm’s way by being forced into an early marriage at a young age — which we know cripples their ability to access health care and puts them in harm’s way — and we were attempting to provide support for them and I think all Canadians would agree with that. All Canadians would want to protect young women and girls from any atrocity, and we didn’t articulate it clearly that day. The important part of the message was overtaken, and I take responsibly for that.

Q: What are your views on national carbon pricing?

A: I think that there should be no carbon tax. I think Canada can be a world leader in the green economy, I think Canada can invest in clean technology and supporting the environment to create world class companies in the green economy, but I do not under any circumstances support a carbon tax. This a tax on a tax — Canadians already are having challenges making ends meet and this will only make it worse.

This interview has been condensed and edited.

jcharlton@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/J_Charlton