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It’s not hard to see why. Andrew Scheer has tried to exploit Justin Trudeau’s flexible approach to transparency by suggesting this time around it is the Liberals that have a hidden agenda – that if re-elected, Trudeau would legalize hard drugs, raise the goods and services tax, and impose a 50 per cent capital gains tax on the sale of homes.

Trudeau was asked about the claims and dismissed them all as “entirely untrue” at his press conference in Whitby. “It’s unfortunate that the Conservatives are making up attacks against us when all they are offering is cuts. Perhaps that’s all they can do,” he said.

But the Liberals are not amateurs in the black art of disinformation. Scheer has been dogged by accusations that he would introduce legislation on abortion if he was elected, even though he has stated point blank he would not. When he was joined earlier in the campaign by pro-life candidate, Rachel Willson, veteran Liberal Carolyn Bennett asked on Twitter: “Is the abortion debate really closed?”

Trudeau was asked about the double standard on Friday. “Andrew Scheer has not said he would stand up for access to reproductive services on abortion,” he said, pointing to the case in New Brunswick, where the province’s only abortion clinic is closing its doors. Trudeau has blamed Conservative premier Blaine Higgs for the closure, but Higgs has pointed out that the decision to close the clinic was made four years ago. He said Trudeau is using the impending closure as an election issue. That fact did not stop the Liberal leader from continuing to hammer on the issue. “We need a government that will fight for a woman’s rights, which is what we are doing in New Brunswick for access to reproductive rights and services limited by Conservative governments,” he said.