The Conservative Party has a plan to secure the future and secure our economy. The Liberal Budget 2021 does the opposite.
After two long years, a ‘fiscal snapshot,’ and a ‘fall economic update,’ the Federal Liberal Government has finally released a budget. At 724 pages long, this budget could be used as a substitute booster seat for children, as many of you may remember, much like phonebooks used to be some few years ago. Make no mistake, the density of this budget is by design. It’s jam packed with Liberal promises page after page – and no one will have the time or patience to read it. But that’s what the Liberals want. This is clearly an election budget. We see billions in spending promises, almost like it’s straight out of the NDP playbook. It is plain to see that the Liberal Party of today – Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party – is by far the furthest left-wing government this country has ever seen far more socialist than the Chrétien Liberals less than 20 years ago. This government is activistic: selecting certain campaigns and social issues to support, while forgetting others like protecting our Canadian Energy industry from foreign interest and influence.
In recent weeks we’ve been able to comb over the budget. The clear standout is that the 2021 budget will add $330 billion to national debt over next 5 years, and federal debt will pass $1.2 trillion this year – meaning that every Canadian citizen, man, woman, and child owes over $33,000 in federal debt. Your children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren will be burdened with paying for this for years to come.
By 2026, Canada will spend $39 billion on debt interest payments alone, more than childcare ($8.3 billion), EI benefits ($25.6 billion), or Canada Child benefit ($27.9 billion).
This government has been printing cash – billions a day – in fact creating more money than collecting in tax revenue. It’s unsustainable, will raise the cost of living, and when the bubble bursts, it won’t be pretty. Some are familiar with German hyper-inflation in the 1920s, and more recently with Greece and Venezuela.
What’s most concerning however is that according to studies, more than 50% of Canadians are within $200.00 of insolvency. This is a disaster waiting to happen.
I’ve been hearing from concerned constituents about the way this government has handled the economy, the pandemic response, and social issues among other things, and the response has been that this government is a resounding failure. A failure to protect Canadians from the incoming virus in the first place because the border wasn’t closed. A failure to look out for Albertans’ interests with the Keystone XL expansion. A failure in vaccine procurement to get us out of the misery we’ve been living in for more than a year.
And now, the federal government is denying Albertans the opportunity to get vaccinated south of the border, even though the Blackfoot Nation in Montana has an excess of vaccines and has graciously offered them to us.
All of this and more led to this calamity of a budget – the most money spent in Canada’s history. If there is one legacy Justin Trudeau will leave behind, it’s his audacity to spend taxpayer money without regard, and claim he’s shouldering the burden himself. It’s disingenuous and it’s wrong.
The Conservative Party has a plan to secure our economy by spending responsibly and balancing the budget.
I can be reached by email at martin.shields@parl.gc.ca. My Brooks office can be reached at 403-793-6775, and my Strathmore office at 403-361-2980. Please don’t hesitate to contact me on any federal issue.
