OTTAWA, ON— Member of Parliament for Lethbridge, AB, Rachael Thomas, reacted to the federal government’s budget shortly after it was tabled by the Liberal Finance Minister in the House of Commons.
“The NDP-Liberal government has doubled down on their uncontrolled borrowing and higher taxes. The budget projects more than $56 billion in new spending. Sadly, this will offer short- term relief followed by long-term pain. The cost of living will continue to skyrocket due to inflation and those who are already struggling will bear the brunt of it.
“Think about what this means for Lethbridge. We currently have the highest level of child poverty in the province and foodbanks are already overwhelmed by the present demand. Imagine what will happen when more and more people are unable to afford to pay their bills and feed their families.
“To control inflation, you have to control spending. To put it simply, the government has failed. Mr. Trudeau is continuing his tax-and-spend agenda to satisfy the demands of the NDP made during their backroom negotiations.
"Today’s government spending becomes tomorrow’s taxes, but tomorrow has arrived. It has come in the form of inflation. We currently have an inflation rate of 5.7 percent, the highest in 30 years. Instead of reigning in the excessive spending, the NDP-Liberals are pouring gasoline on the fire.
“The Prime Minister promised to grow “the middle class,” but in reality, his policies are making it more and more difficult for Canadians to make ends meet, let alone make financial gains.
“Many have come into my office, heating bill in hand and tears in their eyes, because the cost of heating their homes is overwhelming—especially for someone like Charlie or Emma who are seniors on fixed incomes.
“It’s not hard to spend money—especially when its someone else’s. It seems the NDP-Liberal solution to everything is spend, spend, spend, but since when is the amount of money spent a credible metric for success? Never! Success is not measured based on how many government cheques are written. Success is measured based on what’s achieved by that spending.
“People are always better off when they are empowered to be masters of their own destiny, not slaves to an over-taxing government.
“It pains me to know that we are dead last among the OECD countries when it comes to economic growth. This is due to the government’s negative attitude toward business owners and entrepreneurs, along with their insistence on driving out investment.
“In this budget, there is no grand vision to restore Canada’s reputation on the world stage, nor is there a plan to harness the economic power of our natural resources and generate wealth for the country.
“The NDP-Liberals like to say they have Canadians’ backs, but all of this excessive spending is driving up the price of goods and crushing the value of hardworking Canadians’ dollars. This is the very opposite of care, compassion, and support.
“So, what is the solution? Less government and more Canada. It is not a leader, a political party, or the government that is going to restore economic prosperity and future success for this country—It is the Canadian people.
“Despite the misguided agenda of the federal government, I remain confident in our future because I remain confident in Canadians.”
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