PM was child of privilege

Dear Editor: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is continuing his grand tour to reconnect with ordinary Canadians after the bruising he’s taken over his Christmas holiday on the Aga Khan’s private island and his fundraising activities with Chinese billionaires.

But he’s never really been connected to ordinary Canadians. He’s a child of privilege and his family wealth and circle of elitist friends have kept him well insulated from the problems and concerns of ordinary people, again showing that life often resembles a tree full of monkeys. The monkeys on top look down and only see smiling faces. The monkeys below look up and see monkey butts.

He’s never had to hold down a real job or worry about the pressures of mortgage payments, finding affordable childcare or making tradeoffs between buying groceries and paying exorbitant electrical bills resulting from failed energy policies.

Trudeau grew up in an artificial world accustomed to approving pats on the head from an eclectic assortment of billionaires, dictators, presidents, and rock stars. No wonder he feels out of touch with ordinary people. He’s spending too much time running with the glitterati and burning a monumental carbon footprint.

Liberal financial schemes are a smack for Canadians who they claim to champion. According to Federal budget analysts, children born today will be 33-years-old before they see a balanced budget. And they’ll be retired before they can dig themselves out of the debt hole.

They’ve exposed the middle class to further tax exploitation by eliminating income splitting, cutting back on TFSA contributions and lumbering us with a painful $50 per ton carbon tax which will cost the average household $2,569 annually. Now there’s a $100 carbon tax on cremations, so taxation continues after death. All of this would make the greediest NDP tax collector blush.

Please, less bling and more substance. Political personality cults only seem to work in North Korea these days.

If Mr. Trudeau wants to serve ordinary Canadians, he needs to stay in the office and get to work with full recognition of the new realities after Jan. 20.

We need realistic financial plans which will let people be self-reliant and enjoy a quality of life where they aren’t being suffocated by the high taxes and government debt created by off base, ideological decisions.

That octogenarian tribute to plastic surgery, Jane Fonda, nailed him, and unwittingly herself, when she said, “Don’t be fooled by good-looking Liberals.” John Thompson

Penticton others. What most don’t seem to realize is that foreign aid pays huge net returns for Canada.

Our foreign assistance increases peace and political stability in poor nations: Desperate people are ripe for exploitation by extremists and it’s a lot cheaper preventing extremism than fighting it.

Supporting healthcare in other countries slows the spread of increasingly drug resistant diseases that no know borders. Recall that the worst epidemics in our history started in other nations, and there are strains of TB emerging that have no effective treatment.

Lastly, the battle against climate change is supported by Canada’s foreign aid, as economic development can reverse desertification and deforestation, and encourage sustainability.

Underdevelopment, inequality, poverty, political instability, human rights violations, and environmental degradation are all interconnected, and impact Canada in many subtle and not so subtle ways. Security, economic growth and trade, climate change and public health are impacted.

This is well known and long researched, yet our aid commitment is far less than most developed nations.

It’s a long neglected government file that gets little thanks or public praise, and that needs to change. When we take care of others in this interconnected world we take care of ourselves. Nathaniel Poole

Victoria