Canada’s economy doing well despite the Liberal government

Editor: You have got to love the announcements by the prime minister when it comes to federal income tax changes. He erroneously throughout the news conference refers to the “tax code” (U.K. and U.S. term) not the Income tax Act and Regulations, which is the Canadian system.

Only after presenting a terribly flawed and crippling plan to change tax rules for small- and middle-class businesses and being deluged with millions of voices pointing out the negative economic impact, flaws and votes, do he and the finance minister relent and appear to withdraw their legislation proposed.

Then, he claims to go after cheats who “sprinkle salaries” to family not working in the business, when, in fact, that is in the Canada Revenue Agency’s Audit process and when found is tax evasion already; so nothing new here, just smoke and mirrors.

Fortunately for the extremely wealthy, their expensive and skilled tax lawyers and accounting professionals will be sure to structure an “avoidance plan” within the family trust to achieve the same result, but which is not illegal.

Once again the wealthy get better treatment than ordinary Canadians; will the Liberals change that, I think not.

The prime minister pointed out that Canada is the best of the G7 nations in economic growth. It was the Conservative Harper government created the only economy in the G20 that did not fall into a recession, but instead grew during the worldwide financial crisis starting in 2008 running until 2013.

While the Canadian economy was doing just fine, the Liberals came to power and dispensed billions in off-shore pledges and spending, while making no change to the underlying economic structures left by the Conservatives.

They inherited a sound economy and then by denying pipelines and mandating high carbon taxes, they destroyed the oil and gas sector and the economies that were the engine of Canadian economic strength based in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and northern B.C., and the source of billions of dollars in transfer payments to Quebec and the Maritime provinces.

The present strength of the Canadian economy is not because of Liberal economic policy, it is in spite of it.

Broken election promises, the $10-million payout to Omar Khadr, protection of tax privilege for wealthy friends, non repayable “loans” to Bombardier, anti-resource strategies, lack of action on 40,000 illegal immigrants, lack of nationwide infrastructure building, inaction on pressing Indigenous problems, inaction by the commission on missing and murdered indigenous women, delayed military equipment procurements, planning to buy used Australian jets (Remember the used British subs bought in 1998 by the Chretien Liberal government?), failed negotiations on Boeing’s and softwood lumber duties, mandated affirmative action (not talent based) on cabinet appointments, enacting policy that caters to the liberal base of idealist, often radical special interest groups, the unfair tax changes all point to failing experiments, not good governance.

When will we learn? Doug Waines, West Kelowna