On Parliament Hill

It hasn’t taken long for the new leader of the NDP to show his disdain for western Canada and hard-working Canadians.

Claiming that western-based energy sector jobs in the country are a “disease,” Mulcair says they are causing an imbalance in our economy and costing jobs in certain provinces—namely, Ontario.

This from a man who, by his own admission, has never even visited the places he is attacking! This from a man who claims he wants to be Prime Minister, yet he stoops to divisive tactics and misinformed attacks on the West!

The provinces have recognized Mr. Mulcair’s attempt to pit one province and one economic sector against another in an effort to divide the country. The Premiers of Alberta, Saskatchewan and the Deputy Premier of B.C. have all expressed their disappointment at Mulcair’s  irresponsible remarks. Leading economists have also had harsh words for Mulcair.

But undeterred, Mulcair’s NDP went on to mislead Canadians by also attacking our farmers and processors, Canada’s largest manufacturing sector.

The NDP recklessly claimed “dead stock” would be allowed into the processing system and “road kill” would end up in our grocery stores. The MP who made these outrageous comments even admitted to misleading tactics – “In this business you choose your words carefully and every now and again you really need to get the attention of folks and what we’ve done is got the attention of folks.” (MP Malcolm Allan, CBC’s Power and Politics)

Here’s the truth:  Deadstock or roadkill is never allowed into the food system and such reckless lies threaten Canada’s reputation and have the potential to close export markets. Given that Canadian farmers bring $44 billion to the economy by exporting their world-class products, the NDP should support the industry instead of tearing it down.

But they didn’t stop there. Mulcair also insulted the millions of Canadians who go to work every day to support their families through jobs he doesn’t think are worthwhile.

Unlike Mr. Mulcair’s NDP, we do not believe it is a “colossal waste” for Canadians to work in restaurants, in construction, on a farm, drive trucks or taxis. We support and applaud the millions of Canadians who work hard every day to improve the lives of themselves and their families.

Last year, over 250,000 Canadian jobs remained unfilled. We want Canadian businesses to turn to Canadians seeking employment first to fill these vacancies. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case.

There are hundreds of employers across the country hiring Temporary Foreign Workers when there are capable and qualified Canadians right outside their door.

We believe these jobs should be going to Canadians. That’s why we’ve committed to connecting Canadians with available jobs in their own area that are appropriate to their qualifications.

Mulcair and his NDP caucus should learn to speak and act more responsibly rather than rolling the dice with the jobs of millions of Canadians and the health of the Canadian economy.