Hugh Mackenzie
Three statements made over the past year by senior members of the current federal government, taken together, have me worried sick. And tomorrow, (Monday, April 19) with a budget finally being tabled in Ottawa, we will see pretty clearly whether or not the writing is on the wall.
Last September, during a United Nations virtual conference, Justin Trudeau said this: “This pandemic has provided an opportunity for a reset…to re-imagine economic systems that actually address global challenges like extreme poverty, inequality, and climate change.”
Earlier this month, when speaking on a panel about “Protecting Canadians’ Health”, Health Minister Patty Hajdu said she is “eternally grateful that our country had a Liberal Government at the outset of this pandemic.”
And the whopper on April 8 by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, as a precursor to her budget tomorrow, largely hinting at universal child care, that this COVID-19 pandemic has “created a window of political opportunity.”
Taken together, I can only conclude there is a pattern of belief by our current government that being in power during this horrific pandemic—with lost lives, lost freedom, and lost income—was a windfall which will allow them to accelerate and achieve their political agenda.
And yes, before I am reminded, I clearly remember that John Snobelen, when he was education minister in the Ontario government of Mike Harris, dined out on the advantages of “creating a crisis”. That too was unacceptable and, as a result, his political career was seriously sidelined. Apparently, the same fate does not apply to federal politicians.
In a recent National Post article, veteran journalist Rex Murphy, writing specifically about Chrystia Freeland’s statement, said, “This plague has brought death and vast anxiety to very, very many people. It is, to be most gentle, in any context, more than jarring for a leading public figure to characterize it as a ‘political opportunity’.”
Rex Murphy went on to say, “This is, or at the very least certainly appears to be, a plain statement that COVID-19 could or should be seen as a ‘political opportunity’ to pursue broad ideological ambitions.”
And that brings me to tomorrow’s federal budget. Aaron Wudrick, federal director at the Canadian Taxpayers’ Association, said on Twitter, better than I can, what I fear: “[The government is] hoping everyone is so desensitized to debt because of pandemic spending, that [they] can pile up even more on stuff that has nothing to do with the pandemic, reap political credit for it, and leave a giant fiscal mess for someone else to clean up later.”
Well before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Trudeau Government was on a spending spree. Remember their campaign promise to increase the national debt by ten billion dollars in order to fund their political agenda? By the end of their first term, this had more than doubled, probably a factor, along with a weak opposition and the odd scandal, in the government being reduced to a minority the second time around.
There is no doubt that most, if not all, of pandemic spending is necessary. But it is more damaging than it needs to be to future generations of Canadians because of previous spend-thrift politics. Accountability for massive spending has never been a strength or a priority of this government. Witness the recent statement of Karen Hogan, Canada’s auditor general, that billions of federal spending is simply unaccounted for.
The government’s deficit and Canada’s debt, if fully revealed in tomorrow’s budget, will be mind-boggling. Perhaps people will be desensitized to it, or perhaps they just don’t care.
However, strong fiscal management, which by definition includes a control of spending, must be an important part of any government’s responsibility. Without it, crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be fully addressed without placing unbearable financial burdens on future generations. As well, and importantly, without strong fiscal management a government’s ability to provide meaningful social programs for those who need it eventually and inexorably dries up. Think about that.
In a tweet today by David Akin, chief political correspondent for Global News, he shared this, from Bloomberg. “By the time all money is out the door, Trudeau will probably have accumulated more debt than all 22 prime ministers who preceded him combined.” Think about that too.
I have no doubt that tomorrow’s budget will be carefully crafted with a political spin that will appeal to many people. Any government would do that. But we need to look at it carefully and understand what it really means.
All signs point to more spending on programs unrelated to the COVID-19 pandemic; an opportunity for bigger government, more reliance on government, and the provision of more social programs for which there are no funds, other than debt, to support. All of this at a time when Canada’s debt is at an all-time high. If this comes to be, I see it as a pivotal move away from capitalism (which, I agree with Winston Churchill, is not perfect) toward a form of socialism. Some will vehemently deny that. Others will enthusiastically applaud it. I fear it.
As people who read this column have heard me say many times, government cannot be all things to all people. Their job is to keep us safe from enemies and disease, to protect our human rights, to foster a strong economy, and to be there for people who through no fault of their own need assistance to survive. To that end, and to the surprise of some of my Conservative friends, I do support a basic income and essential services for all Canadians who cannot otherwise achieve them. The rest, however, is up to us.
I truly hope I am wrong about tomorrow’s federal budget. I hope it curbs spending under current circumstances. I also hope it encourages people to work hard to succeed and not to depend on government unless they really need to. I hope that they encourage excellence in all matters related to our society because individuals with aspirations and ingenuity are far more effective at improving our way of life than is government. Excellence, at least in part, is driven by reward. We should never take that away. The alternative is apathy, because government will look after all of their needs
So, that is my hope for tomorrow’s federal budget. I should add that it is also my hope that the Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup this year!
Fat chance!
Hugh Mackenzie has held elected office as a trustee on the Muskoka Board of Education, a Huntsville councillor, a District councillor, and mayor of Huntsville. He has also served as chairman of the District Muskoka and as chief of staff to former premier of Ontario, Frank Miller.
Hugh has served on a number of provincial, federal and local boards, including chair of the Ontario Health Disciplines Board, vice-chair of the Ontario Family Health Network, vice-chair of the Ontario Election Finance Commission, and board member of Roy Thomson Hall, the National Theatre School of Canada, and the Anglican Church of Canada. Locally, he has served as president of the Huntsville Rotary Club, chair of Huntsville District Memorial Hospital, chair of the Huntsville Hospital Foundation, president of Huntsville Festival of the Arts, and board member of Community Living Huntsville.
In business, Hugh Mackenzie has a background in radio and newspaper publishing. He was also a founding partner and CEO of Enterprise Canada, a national public affairs and strategic communications firm established in 1986.
Currently Hugh is president of C3 Digital Media Inc. and enjoys writing commentary for Huntsville Doppler.
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Anna-Lise: My answer to your question to me above, is an emphatic “No”.
Mr. Mackenzie: is the following statement true?
“Ford has passed a new law that allows his wealthy donors to give twice as much. In the middle of a pandemic, this is his priority. Not paid sick days, rent relief, climate action, or a vaccination strategy for all, but lining his party’s pockets from the rich and well connected.”
This seems to highlight the priorities of the Ford Conservatives during a pandemic.
There seems to be some irony in your article, when compared with the very action of the Provincial Cons in power.
Let’s start with some facts, from the parliamentary budget office.
20% of Cdn familes have 74% of the wealth.
The next 40% have 25% of the wealth, leaving for the bottom 40%, not quite 0.
Let’s assume that federal taxes come in approx the same spread ie the top 20% pay 74% etc. The top 20 don’t need much government assistance. The rest do, to varying amounts. The bottom 40 need a lot.
When conservatives think about this, they just want make sure no more is collected from the top 20%. Oh ya, the middle 40% too, you dont want to pay more right?
Bottom 40, you dont count, your not taxpayers.
So Conservatives are the party of the top 20. Naturally, the top 20 are the ones that fund them. They also fund bloviators like Rex Murphy to schill on their behalf.
When I look at that data, my thoughts are that the purpose of government is to make sure that everyone gets the important things in life ie health care education, housing, food, jobs etc. That does require spending, and the important thing is that it achieves the goals.
Conservative talking points, taxes bad, debt bad blah blah are just protecting their backers and not furthering the real goals.
Naturally they want to ensure that if a better job is done, they don’t have to fund it. So, better to leave things as they are, the Conservative credo.
Conservatives are always talking about protecting wealth and wealth creation. They rejoice in mocking anyone who doesn’t buy in. They are the party of the wealthy, their actions speak clearly.
Does this budget improve the well-being of ALL Canadians is the real question for me.
I hope so.
Living as a Canadian and paying your share of taxes is a requirement of every citizen in this country. So one has to wonder at the lack of compassion being shown by every level of government and the contempt for our senior population. The federal and provincial government had no problem implementing excessive taxation mechanisms throughout your life limiting your ability to save for retirement.
Now that your finally retired in Canada after years of working and contributing to the system you are no longer a priority. Allowing our elderly to suffer because our institutions have failed to provide a minimum standard of care is abuse beyond belief. The neglect being perpetuated by this provincially regulated industry has become a disaster. And yet after all these people died needlessly because of avoidable problems such as dehydration , malnutrition,. A lack of food and water something we still have in abundance of in this country.
The death toll in long term care should be a wake up call for all of us. Once you stop working and paying taxes you become a liability. So you better save your money so you can afford to live out the rest of your life with little or no help.from the government. Who in their right mind would put a loved one in long term care now?
The federal budget has allocated billions of dollars towards childcare the biggest issue facing the nation obviously. How many lives have been lost in our current child care system? Preventable deaths or adequate child care that must have been a tough decision for the Liberals. These people dying needlessly require and deserve to be treated with compassion and not contempt. But are federal budget does not reflect the reality of the situation we are currently facing as a nation. Is this cause for concern , your dam right it is.
Mr. Mackenzie, when I think that the Stephen Harper government may have been in power during this pandemic, I literally shutter – that would be extremely scary to me.
You are correct in assuming that there will be a light shone on achieving political agendas during a pandemic – do you mean to suggest that our Conservative Provincial government is not achieving its ends during this time? Seriously, Rex Murphy’s comments could easily apply provincially here in Ontario.
Development planning in green areas has continued, money withdrawn from a non-profit tree farm, and of course the court challenges to DF’s stickers on gas pumps concerning the carbon tax.
What am I missing here about the forwarding of “political agendas” during a pandemic? The political plays are the same. The content different, but the plays the same.
The NDP will no doubt step in to support the spendthrifts John , sarcasm or not .Bleak times beyond the Covid Crisis are looming !
Hugh, fear not, we have a strong NDP and GREEN PARTY presence that will surely stand up for Canadians and keep this Liberal government in check. My favourite comment last week was that $8 out of every $10 spent on Covid was from the Liberals not the Federal Government but the Liberals. I hope your Scotch supply is good, you may need more than one shot for this Budget.
Well done, Hugh. Tomorrow will be very interesting for I fear the present government has a very awful lack of understanding of the situation that we are all presently in. There is a serious need for the government to take the lead and demonstrate that Canada is presently at a time to demonstrate that Canada is in a position to lead the world in the global recovery of the earth. Interesting times.