Check It Out: One of the most consequential elections in Canadian history
By Joan Janzen
A golfer hits a ball, and it misses the green by inches. His partner says, “That’s called a son-in-law shot. It is not what you expected, but you will take it.” When Mark Carney became Canada’s Prime Minister, it felt a lot like meeting a new son-in-law for the first time, who you had never heard about before. He’s not what you expected, but you accept it because you have no choice.
Steven LeDrew commented on LeDrew’s 3 Minutes: “People don’t even know who he is. We have somebody who is from England, Ontario, Alberta.” He also gave a bit of a history lesson as follows:
History has shown that people who were elected as Prime Ministers were known to the people as cabinet ministers or premiers. In 1891, Sir John A. MacDonald died, followed by four Prime Ministers who had all been previously elected to office and were acceptable to the people. In 1984, John Turner, who the people previously knew as the Attorney General, replaced Pierre Trudeau. In 1993, Kim Campbell, who had been the Minister of Justice, was elected.
“This small group of Liberals changed that,” Steven said. “But people are saying these are tough economic times; we need someone who knows all about the economy.”
Brian Lilley from the Toronto Sun weighed in on the topic on Bridge City News. “The fact that you have a PhD in Economics doesn’t mean you’re immune to bad ideas. And Mark Carney has a lot of bad ideas in terms of leaving natural resources in the ground, not building pipelines, and keeping emission caps in place.”
The Prime Minister has also publicly stated that they are announcing a plan to fight crime, to protect Canadians and to build communities that are safe, secure and strong. He continued to explain this will be accomplished by limiting people’s speech. Once you lose your ability to speak freely it is very difficult to get it back and it hinders you from addressing important issues.
Clyde Nichols reported on a recent happening on his podcast. Megan Murphy, a former leftist who was running as a PPC candidate had her bank account frozen. When she inquired at the bank she was given a number to call. She was then told the person who she needed to talk to was on vacation for two weeks and would get back to her on their return. “She wasn’t a big threat,” Clyde concluded.
Brian Lilley continued to say, “Carney is registering in offshore tax havens and avoiding billions in taxes while running a very successful company that he recently moved the headquarters to New York. So don’t tell me you’re captain Canada and avoiding taxes by moving your headquarters to the US.”
Steven LeDrew also had more to say about the Canadian Prime Minister. “Speak to people in Britain, and they say Carney doesn’t know about the economy. Read Carney’s book. I think you’re going to find out we have been fooled.”
Joe Warmington from the Toronto Sun said in an online interview: “Remember, that behind the scenes with Trudeau it’s always been Carney. Everything you hated about the Trudeau government, you’re going to get again if they get a majority government. And he doesn’t even hide it. I hope Canadians are smarter than that.” Sometime after April 28th we’ll find out if they are.
Speaking of April 28th, Project Confederation made the following report on where the individual parties stand on several issues:
The Liberal Party plan to eliminate the consumer carbon tax; however Carney said he plans to hike the industrial carbon tax. Conservative Party plans to scrap both carbon taxes. NDP plans to scrap the consumer tax but keep the industrial tax. Green Party say they will switch to 100% clean energy and People’s Party will cut both taxes.
The Liberal Party will keep the emissions cap in place. Conservatives plan to repeal the oil and gas emissions cap. NDP will keep the emissions cap. Green Party have criticized the cap for being too soft. People’s Party want to abandon unrealistic emissions targets.
The Liberal Party will not repeal Bill C-69 (the no more pipelines Bill). Conservatives have pledged to repeal Bill C-69. NDP support keeping Bill C-69 in place. Green Party say they will stop all new fossil fuel projects. People’s Party will repeal Bill C-69.
The Liberal Party will not change equalization payments, and both Conservatives and the NDP made no promises regarding equalization payments. The People’s Party wants to reduce equalization payments.
Brian Lilley made the following observation on Bridge City News: “You’ve got one group of voters who are obsessed with tariffs, and you have another group that are saying my big issue is affordability. Rising crime is not a result of tariffs, neither is our broken immigration system. Rising unemployment numbers predate tariffs; lower standard of living predates tariffs,” he observed. “If you want to fix what’s broken don’t vote for the Liberals, because Liberals still advocate for the same policies.”
All the recent news reports agree on one thing: the federal election is one of the most consequential in Canadian history.
The views expressed by columnists are their own and not necessarily the view of Your Southwest Media Group.