The Liberals see selfish political gain in puffing out their chests and picking a fight with Trump. Pictured: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Photo Credit: Justin Trudeau/X.
What is currently being contemplated by our federal Liberal government is nothing short of outrageous, and Canadians of all political stripes should be outraged. The lame duck Trudeau government is talking about a “pandemic-level” spending spree to supposedly protect Canadian households and businesses from the Trump tariff threats. This should not happen for a number of very good reasons.
For starters, we have no money. Trudeau, and many of his provincial counterparts, have been so irresponsible with the spending of our tax dollars over the past decade that our debts are at record levels and will impoverish many generations to come. The notion of making this even worse by more irresponsible, uncontrolled spending should not be on the table.
During the pandemic, Canada spent about twice as much as other developed countries with no better pandemic outcomes. In fact, our performance in response to the pandemic was worse than that of other nations that spent much less. This is a key reason the federal Liberals fought against doing a proper post mortem examination of Canada’s pandemic response, which should be de rigueur after any crisis of this magnitude.
Much of the excessive funds spent by the federal Liberals using the pandemic as an excuse were dispensed with no controls or oversight, such that much of this money was squandered or directed into the pockets of their Liberal friends. For instance, billions of dollars supposedly went toward the manufacture of pandemic-related supplies such as ventilators and vaccines by businesses connected to the Liberals, yet no such items were ever produced. The pandemic ended up as a giant boondoggle to direct more taxpayer dollars into Liberal pockets.
So now the Trudeau Liberals want to repeat this disgrace, using the Trump tariffs as an excuse to drive Canadian taxpayers even further into debt? All the while denying Canadians the election a very large majority of Canadians have repeatedly said they desperately want. This is not how things should work in a supposed democracy.
It’s ironic that the Trudeau Liberals, and several provincial governments, are all puffed up claiming they will be supporting Canadian businesses by spending billions more tax dollars to subsidize them. The vast majority of businesses do not want handouts. There will always be the crony capitalists that cozy up to government in search of funding, but they tend to be businesses that would otherwise fail. Most businesses want a competitive, level playing field where all are treated equally, where the good thrive and the incompetent are not propped up by the tax dollars of the successful. The Trudeau regime has been a disaster for the solid, small- and medium-sized businesses who create the majority of jobs in Canada and scorn government subsidies.
Using the excuse of Trump tariffs to loosen the purse strings – all with borrowed money – merely means the Trudeau Liberals will once again rob Canadians and reward their partisan friends. Currently, it looks as if the Liberals will reconvene Parliament ahead of the end of their leadership contest to pass legislation to once again open the spending floodgates. Despite opposition parties’ claims they will bring down the government at the first opportunity, it increasingly seems that NDP leader Singh will once again prove his dishonesty and lack of principles by supporting a Liberal spending bill.
This represents a government with no mandate and a rogue opposition party running roughshod over Parliament. The likelihood of Mark Carney becoming the first prime minister of Canada that has never been elected to anything proves the disdain of the Liberals for democracy and the role of Parliament. Canadians must not stand for this.
The Trudeau government appears to have been oddly revitalized by the actions of the incoming Trump administration, and has foolishly chosen to bring a knife to a gunfight by promising a tariff war Canada is sure to lose. A much simpler and less costly approach would be to take substantive action on Trump’s key concerns – cleaning up our chaotic border and immigration mess, cracking down on the illegal drug trade and working toward pulling our weight within NATO. These are all issues the Canadian government should have already resolved in our own interest long before Trump came into power.
Instead of taking a constructive approach, however, the Liberals see selfish political gain in puffing out their chests and picking a fight with Trump, no matter how badly it hurts Canadians. This is a perversion of our democracy and an abdication of their responsibility to Parliament. Canadians must oppose this course of action and demand a federal election immediately. It’s time some semblance of democracy and the responsible role of Parliament returned to Canada. It has been absent for far too long.
She has published numerous articles in journals, magazines & other media on issues such as free trade, finance, entrepreneurship & women business owners. Ms. Swift is a past President of the Empire Club of Canada, a former Director of the CD Howe Institute, the Canadian Youth Business Foundation, SOS Children’s Villages, past President of the International Small Business Congress and current Director of the Fraser Institute. She was cited in 2003 & 2012 as one of the most powerful women in Canada by the Women’s Executive Network & is a recipient of the Queen’s Silver & Gold Jubilee medals.
