By Patrick Meagher
I want three things from the party that wins the federal election on Oct. 19.
Firstly, stay away from my wallet.
The Fraser Institute reports that almost half of what Canadians earn each year is taken in taxes to satisfy the voracious appetites of municipal, provincial and federal governments. Income taxes, property taxes and taxes on almost everything we buy from a 40 % gas tax to HST on toilet paper. Three levels of government have their hands in my wallet as often as I do.
I like it when my wife doesn’t spend beyond our means. It’s responsible home economics. I’d appreciate a government doing the same. But Justin Trudeau’s Liberal party is campaigning on running a deficit. When asked by CTV’s Steve Murphy how much new spending the Liberals have announced, Trudeau replied, “Uhh . . . a fair bit.” When pressed for actual numbers, Murphy was told to go to the Liberal website and figure it out for himself. The guy who wants to be Prime Minister either doesn’t want you to know his budget or doesn’t know himself.
Contrast that with the current balanced Conservative budget of a $5-billion surplus and the promise of more tax cuts.
I can actually imagine the NDP with a reasonable budget because a minority NDP government would be on a short leash. It’s hardly an assurance that the NDP has abandoned the social dream for common sense economics. So, is the NDP broadening its appeal for the eventual bait and switch? Play along with an acceptable budget to gain Canada’s confidence, then hope to capture a majority and the mask comes off? After all, socialism is the NDP’s raison d’être. The NDP base are rabid socialists. They have their demands. Recall recently that NDP leader Thomas Mulcair heaped praise on the Manitoba NDP government that has Manitobans paying the second-highest income taxes in Canada. Manitoba raised the retail sales tax and increased provincial sales tax three times, while boosting the gas tax and the land transfer tax. The result? Manitoba’s credit rating has been downgraded. In a recent poll, Manitobans are least likely (only 23 %) of all Canadians to vote for the NDP federally.
How ironic that after all these years of calling the Conservative Party names, we discover that on economics Justin Trudeau really is “scary,” and that the NDP, which voted only two years ago to scrub its constitution of all references to “socialism,” is the most likely to have a “hidden agenda.”
Secondly, I want my government to protect freedom of expression.
It would have been totally unnecessary 20 years ago to worry about freedom in the western world. Western civilization was founded on a fierce love of freedom. Judeo-Christian principles (honesty is the best policy; do unto others as you would have them do to you) were the glue that held western civilization together and allowed for free-market capitalism and democracy to flourish.
But today, we are post-Christian. Too many are suspicious of capitalism and Canadians have never felt so disenfranchised as bureaucracy grows, overshadowing the spirit of democracy. Many people keep their thoughts to themselves on a plethora of issues. If they don’t agree with the left-wing media, they become the “haters.”
At the same time, recall Trudeau’s bigoted ban of pro-life candidates and the bigoted attack on the Catholic Church by the NDP’s communication’s director Shawn Dearn, who said, “Stop calling the misogynist, homophobic, child-molesting Catholic church a ‘moral authority.’ It’s not.”
These are outrageous statements that reveal a stunning intolerance. There are no consequences and their parties don’t even seem to notice. Meanwhile, many Christians across the country feel as if they have bull’s-eyes on their backs.
To its credit, the Conservative Party declawed the politically-correct attack dog of freedom of expression, the federal human rights commission. And while the Conservative Party is not openly embracing the Christian minority, it’s not attacking it.
Thirdly, ensure that the government’s most important job — protecting the security of our nation — gets done.
This means Canada has to do more than defend democracy abroad. We have to be prudent about those we want to join the Canadian family. If we open our doors to anyone, then why have a border? Do we want Canada to experience a future with no-go zones that already exist in cities in England, France and Germany, where only Muslims go because everyone else, including police, are terrified to enter?
If we allow people to change our laws about the niqab (the full-face mask) before they are even Canadian, what will they want to change when they are Canadian? This is not a call to ban Muslims but an agreement with the Conservatives for prudent screening. Canada needs to recognize that some ideologies are incompatible with our values and the Muslims who love this country agree. On the other hand, if we accept anyone, it will ensure a continuous erosion of our security as more and more politicians seek to appease an increasingly hostile new culture.
When it comes to the three things I most want, it’s not hard to guess where I’m going to hang my hat.
