We are finishing up our Spring session on Parliament Hill, and gearing up for what will be an incredibly important election. In the final stretch of this Parliament, the Prime Minister is showing us yet again why he doesn’t deserve another term.
The Prime Minister’s signature policy has been his carbon tax. He claims to be an environmentalist. However, this plan has nothing to do with the environment. It’s a tax plan disguised as an environmental plan. On June 13th, we learned from the Parliamentary Budget Officer that the tax would need to rise to $102 a ton to meet the government’s 2030 targets. That’s five times more expensive than the carbon tax is set at today.
This is just the latest proof that the Prime Minister has no plan to actually lower emissions. He has a plan to tax Canadians on every day necessities. Meanwhile, he jets around the world telling foreign audiences what a great environmentalist he is. I think Canadians have had enough of his behaviour. Unlike this Liberal tax grab, our Conservative plan will take meaningful action to protect our environment while also protecting Canadian taxpayers.
As if the carbon tax wasn’t enough, the Prime Minister is fueling a national unity crisis by refusing to cancel Bill C-69. The Trudeau government has rejected the majority of the amendments put forward by Conservative Senators to Bill C-69. This comes after the premiers of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, and Northwest Territories, wrote an urgent letter to the Prime Minister telling him that he must accept every last one of the amendments or he will be threatening national unity.
I think the Prime Minister’s complete disregard for the democratically elected premiers of 59% of Canada’s population is another example of his failed leadership. In fact, 9 out of 10 provinces raised serious concerns with Bill C-69.
The Prime Minister promised a new era of collaboration with the provinces, but he has delivered the opposite. He sends his ministers to attack provincial counterparts. He’s imposing his carbon tax on provinces that disagree with him. He’s dividing province against province and region against region. And he blames others when his failed strategies blow up in his face.
Conservatives will deliver a real environmental plan, not a job-killing carbon tax. We will take action to get pipelines built, not “phase out” our oil and gas industry like Trudeau has said he wants to do. Canadians will have a clear choice in October, and I think they will make the right one.
I can be reached in Ottawa at martin.shields@parl.gc.ca. My Brooks office can be reached at 403-793-6775 or martin.shields.c1@parl.gc.ca, and my Strathmore office at 403-361-2980 or martin.shields.c1B@parl.gc.ca. Please don’t hesitate to contact me about any federal issue.
