The Liberals & NDP know they could make things easier for Canadians, yet refuse to do so. They’re allowing ideological rigidity to take precedence over the financial well-being of the Canadian People.
The Liberals & NDP are spending a lot of time trying to empathize with Canadians who are struggling financially.
And while that’s all well and good, the fact is that those in power are supposed to actually take action.
Empathy should be the start of taking action, not the end, but both the Liberals and the NDP seem to think that all they have to do is admit that Canadians are struggling and then somehow their work is done.
By doing so, they act as if they are helpless observers to a process they can’t influence.
Meanwhile, there are actually some simple things the government could do to lower the cost-of-living.
Cut the carbon tax
The carbon tax is explicitly designed to make life more.
That’s the whole point of it.
If everything is more expensive, people will consume less, and consuming less is supposedly the way for the government to ‘save the planet.’
Of course, making everything more expensive is also highly inflationary when combined with significant levels of ‘money printing’ and higher government spending.
Cutting the carbon tax would thus provide Canadians with some relief.
Even partially removing the carbon tax – taking it out of the food supply chain for example as the CPC proposed (and Liberals & NDP rejected) – would help.
Restrain federal spending
Right now, the only place Canada should be increasing spending is on our military. As the global security environment deteriorates, Canada’s moribund armed forces need a rapid infusion of both personnel and equipment.
After years of demoralizing potential recruits with endless military scandals and the denigration of Canadian history, and with our procurement system still deeply broken, that is no easy task.
But increasing military spending is how it has to start.
Elsewhere, non-military federal spending has increased dramatically over the past two years, and had been going up even before the pandemic.
So, spending reductions or freezes would simply bring us back to a historic baseline.
Many problems in our country – such as the crumbling socialized healthcare system – can only be fixed through significant reform, rather than more infusions of spending.
Additionally, the Bank of Canada is pressured to raise interests rates even more to counter the inflationary aspects of excessive federal spending, and removing that pressure means interest rates could be stabilized at a lower level, which would take some pressure of already deeply indebted Canadians.
Ramp up the energy sector (AKA get out of the way)
This last point is the simplest of all.
Energy powers civilization.
Canada has lots of energy.
Our allies are desperate for energy.
Our allies are willing to pay us for energy.
Being paid for energy enriches Canada, brings wealth into our nation, and can drive down energy costs here at home by broadening the overall energy supply.
This is exactly what our nation needs.
And to make it happen, the federal government really just needs to get out of the way.
Germany came knocking looking for LNG, and was rebuffed by Trudeau, so they went and signed massive contracts with the U.S., Qatar, U.A.E, and are getting more energy from Norway.
Japan is now asking for more Canadian LNG, and that’s an opportunity we need to take.
The overarching theme
You’ve likely noticed that the overarching theme that links the three ideas above is that they all run counter to the current ideological preferences of the Liberal government.
Yet, effective leaders are able to recognize when their ideological preferences don’t fit the moment, and that people in other parties may have some good ideas.
Right now, Canada needs more fiscal conservatism and needs to embrace the energy sector in Alberta in order for Canadians to start getting some financial relief.
Trudeau – and Jagmeet Singh – could demonstrate effective leadership by acknowledging this.
But alas, they so far seem committed to putting their rigid ideology ahead of the economic well-being of Canadians, meaning they will continue to ignore the many good ideas that could help our nation get back on track.
Spencer Fernando
***
It is important to stand up for the truth and hold the government accountable. If you value my independent & rational perspective, you can contribute to support my work through PayPal or Stripe below.
PAYPAL
[simpay id=”28904″]
