All Talk and No Action
By Damien Kurek
Battle River-Crowfoot MP
With the new year well underway, the temperature dropping, prices continuing to rise, and another “Trudeau vacation scandal,” Canadians are paying the price for eight years of Liberal failures. I have shared in the House of Commons many times, that despite flashy announcements, the Liberals consistently fail to deliver on their promises. The list of these failures is long, and the impacts hurt Canadians.
At the top of the list, is the carbon tax. It is a tax plan, not an environmental plan, which raises costs on everything, and disproportionately affects middle/lower income and rural Canadians. It is all pain and no gain, despite wordy proclamations claiming it is saving the planet, it is actually doing the opposite. It is driving innovation and investment out of Canada to jurisdictions that have terrible environmental and human rights records. This failure has hurt Canadian farmers, raised grocery prices, and contributes to the housing crisis in the country.
The list continues...While the Liberals talk of investment in Canada, they introduce bills like C-69, the “No More Pipelines Act,” which has cost Canadians their jobs and driven away billions of dollars of good paying jobs. Today, they brag about investment when the only investment that they seem to be able to attract comes with massive taxpayer subsidies. Canadians are exceptional innovators, yet the Liberals have been holding us back.
We can see this pattern of behaviour follow with Canada’s foreign relationships as well. The Government speaks of supporting our allies who are facing unprovoked aggression like Ukraine and Israel. The Prime Minister refuses to support Israel while his MPs speak out of both sides of their mouth, especially in high places where they support overtly antisemitic anti-Israel causes. On Ukraine, they talk tough, but the Prime Minister was more worried about his own reputation when he allowed a Nazi to attend the Ukraine President’s address to Parliament. Then, he promised a weapons system and munitions but fail to deliver, and even pushed their carbon tax chaos into the updates of a Free Trade Agreement (which they refused to consult Parliament on). Increasingly, Canada is not seen as a serious world player—sad but defining of Justin Trudeau’s legacy.
Another recent example of the Liberal Government’s cowardice: Just this past Monday, the Prime Minister, claimed he open to listing the IRGC (the Iranian secret police responsible for many atrocities and that is allowed to operate freely on Canadian soil) as a terrorist organization and moved the crowds to massive applause at a memorial for the Ukrainian Airlines Flight 752 victims, after Parliament demanded this happen in 2018. It is disappointing that he would gaslight victims when it suits him while for years has refused to take any real action, a snub to victims and democracy.
The question remains, what is the alternative? Since being elected leader of Conservative Party of Canada in September 2022, Pierre Poilievre has been identifying and prosecuting the problems Justin Trudeau and his Liberals have inflicted on Canada. While many political leaders wait until an election to tell Canadians what they and their party will do, Pierre is already outlining a hopeful vision for the country. From releasing mini documentaries which unpack the problems our nation faces and offers solutions, to legislation being proposed in Parliament, and most importantly is actually listening to Canadians. It is refreshing and is the leadership that Canada needs. It is time Canada has a leader who knows how to act and is not just talk and photo-ops.
As the Member of Parliament for Battle River—Crowfoot, I am proud to be a part of a national Conservative team standing up for you. And I want to hear from you, please let me know what you think. As I work for you, I appreciate hearing from the people who I have the honour of representing.