Many things are better since Liberals came to power

It has been stated that I’m star-struck with Justin Trudeau. Not so – I just admire his and the Liberal Party’s platform.

With the advent of Stephen Harper, the Conservative Party’s platform has been mainly to reduce taxes for the well-to-do and slash social programs. This is true at both federal and provincial levels. This is well-documented.

Think about the great improvements that the federal Liberal party has made to all aspects of this country. And the only ones who saw a tax increase were the wealthy — earnings over $200,000 saw a 4% tax increase. The wealthy certainly didn’t like that — and there is more to come.

Consider: the Liberals change to Canada Pension Plan which will significantly improve future pensions; improvements to the OAS and the GIS; significant improvements to veterans’ benefits; expungement of criminal records for simple possession; 850,000 children have been lifted out of poverty; child day-care is about to be reasonable; and many others too numerous to list here.

I don’t think anyone believes the Conservatives could have handled the COVID-19 crisis better than the Liberals — and I understand that this is hard to sell in the Okanagan Conservative fortress.

All parties have “kicked the can down the road” on infrastructure repairs and maintenance. The Liberals have tackled this now, when interest rates are low and costs are lower. Future generations will appreciate what the Liberals are doing.

Trudeau is not perfect, and he has made some silly blunders in his personal life – but nothing criminal. The Conservatives will continue to harp on these meaningless follies and will forever look over the field of roses and see only the thorns.

Patrick MacDonald, Kelowna