The consequences are adding up.
Let’s consider three recent stories:
A PBO report on government spending.
The vaccine mandate for truckers.
As we learned on Wednesday, Canada’s inflation rate hit the highest level since 1991:
“Canadian consumer price inflation accelerated to the fastest level in three decades in December, adding pressure on the Bank of Canada to quickly start raising interest rates.
Annual inflation was 4.8 per cent last month, Statistics Canada reported Wednesday in Ottawa, from 4.7 per cent in November. The December number was in line with economists’ expectations.”
As also noted by BNN Bloomberg, “Inflation has now exceeded the central bank’s 1 per cent to 3 per cent control range for nine straight months as global supply chain bottlenecks push up prices. Since Canada introduced inflation targeting in the early 1990s, the inflation rate has averaged about 1.8 per cent.”
Of course, inflation on the ground seems far higher than what the government claims, so even 4.8% seems to be an underestimate of the true rate of price increases.
Then, there was a PBO report on government overspending:
“Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is giving no indications of plans to rein in government spending after a critical report by the parliamentary budget officer questioned the Liberals’ case to spend tens of billions in planned stimulus.
The Liberals had promised up to $100 billion in economic stimulus, subject to a series of spending guardrails to determine whether the economy had recovered enough from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Budget officer Yves Giroux’s report released Wednesday morning said those benchmarks, largely tied to the labour market, appear to have been met. He said that suggests any stimulus should be wound down before the fiscal year ends in March.
Giroux added that the rationale for the planned stimulus of up to $100 billion no longer exists, unless the government has changed the policy yardsticks.
Speaking at a late-morning news conference, Trudeau pivoted away from questions about the spending guardrails, and pointed instead to the Liberals’ plan to keep the debt as a percentage of the economy, known as the debt-to-GDP ratio, on a steady decline.”
Trudeau keeps changing his story to whatever ‘justifies’ massive spending and state intervention.
Finally, there’s the vaccine mandate for truckers, a disastrous policy that Trudeau continues to double-down on:
“Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is defending the federal government’s decision to implement a vaccination mandate for truck drivers despite warnings that it could worsen price increases and shortages.
Mr. Trudeau told an Ottawa news conference on Wednesday the federal government has been clear since November that the requirement for truckers would come this month.
But critics say the mandate is poorly timed, coming in the winter, when Canadians rely on international supply chains for fresh produce, and that it will push already high levels of inflation even higher.
Until Saturday, truckers were among the essential workers the government had exempted from border rules requiring travellers to be fully vaccinated or quarantine on arrival. Unvaccinated or partly vaccinated foreign truck drivers are to be sent back at the border.”
All connected
It’s important that we see how all of these stories are connected, as they all stem from government intervention and the damage that intervention is doing to our country.
The government has printed a bunch of money, vastly inflating the money supply. Inevitably, with more money chasing fewer goods, you need more units of currency to buy things, hence prices rise.
Inflation and government overspending are also linked.
Trudeau’s planned $100 billion in new spending isn’t affordable, in that the government hasn’t taxed that money. Instead, it’s borrowing it, and that means more money printing.
So, the more the government runs deficits and the more they rack up debt and finance that debt through money printing, the more prices will continue to rise.
The distortionary impact of money printing also impacts supply chains. When the government floods the economy with fiat currency, there can be a surge in demand that throws things out of whack.
And that brings us to supply chains.
Our supply chains rely heavily upon truckers.
Until recently the government understood that.
A reader recently sent me an email, noting how the government seems to be contradicting itself by imposing a vaccine mandate on truckers.
The government first defined essential transportation workers:
“Essential transportation workers are defined as workers supporting or enabling transportation functions in any transportation mode (i.e. road, air, rail, marine), in support of the continued essential movement of goods and people, in circumstances where non-essential travel is restricted. For greater clarity, this includes but is not limited to:”
Then, they talk about truck transportation workers:
“Truck transportation employees, including drivers, dispatchers, maintenance and repair technicians, warehouse workers, truck stop and commercial vehicle inspection station workers, rest area workers, and workers that maintain and inspect critical infrastructure (including those that require cross-border travel)”
Here’s where it gets interesting.
The government goes on to say that essential workers – a category which includes truckers – should keep doing their jobs if they have no symptoms of covid:
“Workers who deliver essential services and functions should continue to do their jobs provided they have no symptoms of COVID-19 disease. Employers of these workers should take all possible steps to protect their health and safety by implementing practices and procedures recommended by public health authorities and providing appropriate protective equipment and products. Further, workers who can perform their tasks remotely should do so.”
What this demonstrates is that Justin Trudeau and the Liberal government know how important truckers are, yet have decided to ignore that reality and instead try to coerce and control them while dividing the country further.
Their policies give off every impression of attempting to deliberately sabotage and further wreck Canada’s economy.
Truckers For Freedom
In protest against Trudeau’s disastrous policies, the Convoy for Freedom will soon begin. There will be three, all starting in different places and ending in Ottawa.
One will start in BC, one will start in Windsor, and one will start in Nova Scotia.
Here is what the the Convoy for Freedom says on their GoFundMe page:
“To our Fellow Canadians, the time for political over reach is over. Our current government is implementing rules and mandates that are destroying the foundation of our businesses, industries and livelihoods. Canadians have been integral to the fabric of humanity in many ways that have shaped the planet.
We are a peaceful country that has helped protect nations across the globe from Tyrannical governments who oppressed their people, well now its happening to us. We are taking our fight to the doorsteps of our Federal Government and demanding that they cease all mandates against its people. Small businesses are being destroyed, homes are being destroyed, and people are being mistreated and denied fundamental necessities to survive. It’s our duty as Canadians to put an end to this mandates. It is imperative that this happens because if we don’t our country will no longer be the country we have come to love. We are doing this for our future Generations and to regain our lives back.”
You can learn more about the Convoy and donate if you choose at this link. Already, over $700,000 has been donated to support the Convoy.
If Justin Trudeau wants to act in a dictatorial manner and put our economy at risk by imposing a vaccine mandate on truckers, it’s only right that truckers push back and stand up both for themselves, and for our freedom as Canadians.
Holding the government accountable
As we’ve discussed for a while, Justin Trudeau clearly wants to damage the economy while blaming others for the damage, and then use the ensuing anger and chaos to grab more power.
That’s why it is essential for us to keep the focus on how the actions of the Trudeau government are making things worse.
In a video ripping Trudeau’s ‘Vaccine Vendetta,’ Pierre Poilievre made it clear that Trudeau is to blame here:
Vaccine vendetta.
#JustinFlation
Vaccine vendetta. #JustinFlation pic.twitter.com/uRGoRkSNoA
— Pierre Poilievre (@PierrePoilievre) January 19, 2022
Each of us has an important role to play here. As the economic damage piles up, whenever you hear someone try to blame unvaccinated people or truckers for what’s happening, we need to push back and explain how it’s Justin Trudeau and the Liberal government who are responsible for surging prices and breaking supply chains.
The truth must win.
Spencer Fernando
Photo – YouTube
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Our rights and freedoms are under assault from power-hungry politicians and bureaucrats. Independent Media is one of the few remaining sources of truth left in our country. If you value my writing and perspective, you can show your support by making a contribution through PayPal, or directly through Stripe below.
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