Check it Out: Why Canadians need a voice
By Joan Janzen
joanjanzen@yahoo.com
A wife said to her husband, “I think you need a hearing test.” He replied, “Why do I need a hairy chest?”
Most Canadians want their voices to be heard by those individuals who have influence in the decision-making process. The numerous petitions that are distributed on line appear to provide proof of a people who want to be heard. Those same Canadians may become disillusioned when the petitions they have signed are ignored or brushed aside.
What other options do they have? They can contact their local representatives - MLA’s, MP’s and their Prime Minister - relaying their concerns. However, the response, if any, may be a form letter or an automated reply.
What other options do they have? One option is their representatives who speak on their behalf in Parliament. One of those representatives is the Conservative shadow minister of the Ministry of Finance, Pierre Poilievre, a free market activist and six time Member of Parliament who advocates for employment of people with disabilities.
“I’ve felt the urge to continue to fight for what I believe in, and thought parliament is the best place to do that, so I keep running,” he explains. Pierre grew up in Calgary; his dad is a French Canadian from Saskatchewan.
“Parliament is often viewed as a truce machine,” Pierre observes. “We should be fighting for the things we believe, fighting for the people for whom we work.” And if you’ve observed him as he speaks in Parliament, you will realize he fights for what he believes.
“That is how our system is designed; it is deliberately adversarial. There are two sides, and the official opposition has the job of holding the government to account. That’s the role I play right now,” Pierre said, and goes on to explain why his role is vital at this point in time.
“The projected deficit for 2020 is at $343 billion. Half of Canada’s public debt has been accumulated under Justin Trudeau since 2015. Canada’s credit rating has been reduced from triple A to double A plus, and the government has publicly announced more spending of $40 billion.” He stresses that the situation has become non-partisan.
Pierre went on to explain the gravity of the situation. “Historically, we have in all of Canada’s history, two world wars, the Great Depression, and a global recession. The deficit is now 17 percent of GDP, which is about twice what it was in the worst year of WWI, three times what it was in the worst year of the Great Depression, and four times bigger than the worst year in the great global recession.”
In 1943 it was 23 percent of GDP, but when our grandparents got home from the war they paid off the debt. In 1947 we had the biggest single budget surplus with 5 percent of GDP. Our grandparents didn’t leave the debt to their grandkids, but today the federal government wants to keep on spending,” Pierre explained.
He added another serious concern, saying “A non-partisan bureaucrat, appointed by Trudeau, said we have one year, maybe two, at this rate, before the money runs out. Finance bureaucrats are telling journalists, off the record, that they are literally frightened.”
He ended by explaining the rumours of an upcoming election. “An election may be on the horizon to avoid the truth coming out regarding the corruption of the WE scandal, and to hide from the people the true cost of his economic mismanagement.”
“Canadians deserve the most transparent government. When I was asking for the true cost of the carbon tax, they said it would jeopardize national security if they told us the full cost.”
Those are a few of the many reasons why Canadians need to have a voice.