On Parliament Hill

Liberals Try to Distract From SNC-Lavalin Scandal

  • Ted Falk, Author
  • Member of Parliament, Provencher

It’s 2019 and the budget still hasn’t balanced itself.

With the Trudeau Liberals in full blown damage control mode, Budget 2019 is a simple, two-step plan: Throw around billions of dollars to distract from the Liberal’s SNC-Lavalin scandal before the election and pay for it with tax hikes after the election.

Justin Trudeau promised the budget would balance itself in 2019. With this budget he is now breaking yet another promise. He’ll be borrowing an additional $19.8 billion this coming year alone, all to distract from his own corruption scandal.

If Justin Trudeau thinks he can get away with corruption by trying to distract Canadians with their own money he is wrong. Canadians are smarter than that.

With Budget 2019, Canada’s Conservatives had hoped to see Justin Trudeau and the Liberals tackle the affordability crisis facing Canadians.

According to a recent IPSOS poll, nearly half of all Canadians are within $200 a month of not being able to pay their bills and service their debt. Roughly the same number say missing one paycheck would result in financial hardship.

In the three years since Justin Trudeau was elected, wages have stagnated and taxes have risen. Canadians are worried. They’re worried about having enough money left over at the end of the month. About having enough money to send their children to university or having enough to retire.

More than 80% of middle-income families have seen their tax bills increase under the Trudeau Liberals. And when Justin Trudeau’s Carbon Tax officially takes effect in two weeks, that number will only go up. This is a crisis. One Justin Trudeau helped create with his massive deficits and tax increases.

Budget 2019 should have acknowledged that Canadians are struggling and offered significant tax relief. Instead the Liberals remain focussed on diverting attention from the ongoing SNC-Lavalin scandal.

Canada’s Conservatives are committed to helping Canadians get ahead, not just get by.