Trudeau flips and flops as popularity slips

It may be the middle of winter but there are more flip-flops on display in Ottawa this week than at a Waikiki beach store.

The one that got all the attention Wednesday was the Justin Trudeau government’s sudden reversal on the promise to overhaul Canada’s electoral system.

Trudeau promised repeatedly during the 2015 election that Canada would drop the first-past-thepost system for electing MPs and a move to a new system of proportional representation or some other model. This was exciting news for parties usually locked out of power in Ottawa — the New Democrats and the Greens — and Trudeau strung everyone along on the promise for more than a year.

Until Wednesday, that is, when the government dropped the idea, saying it did not have the broad support of Canadians.

The opposition was furious, especially the NDP’s Nathan Cullen, the firebrand MP from northern B.C.

“What Mr. Trudeau proved himself today was to be a liar,” Cullen fumed.

The anger from the New Democrats and Greens is understandable, especially since Trudeau specifically committed the 2015 election would be the last one contested under the existing rules.

But this flip-flop should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with the status-quo system and realized it was not in the interests of Trudeau’s Liberals to change a thing.

In the 2015 election, the Liberals received just 39 per cent of the popular vote but won 54 per cent of the seats in the House of Commons and 100 per cent of the power in Ottawa.

Why would the Liberals throw away a sweet deal like that? They would be kissing off their best hope for staying in power.

Liberal strategists and string-pullers undoubtedly drove the point home with the prime minister. They realize surrendering an electoral edge would be especially foolhardy at a time when Trudeau’s personal approval ratings are slipping.

The Liberals’ dilemma was illustrated in another change of direction on Wednesday, when Trudeau suddenly ruled out a potential new tax on private health benefits enjoyed by many Canadian workers.

Millions of employees are covered for dental and extended-health expenses under benefit packages provided by their employers. It’s currently a non-taxable benefit.

Speculation ran wild before Christmas that the government might tax these benefits, arguing it wasn’t fair to exempt them when other employer-provided benefits — such as life insurance or a company car — are taxed.

The government could have argued the exemption was unfair to the 40 per cent of Canadians who don’t get health benefits at work.

These typically lower-paid workers must pay the dentist or the physiotherapist themselves with their after-tax income, effectively subsidizing the wealthier people getting a free ride from the taxman.

After two days of badgering by the Conservatives — and a well-funded anti-tax campaign by dentists, optometrists and other health-care providers just starting to heat up — Trudeau threw in the towel.

“We are committed to protecting the middle class from increased taxes and that is why we will not be raising (those) taxes,” Trudeau said in question period.

Here’s the problem for Trudeau: He also promised to eventually balance the budget. He’s spending like a drunken sailor and racking up huge deficits instead.

Keep an eye on your wallet. Trudeau needs revenue. He will be looking for any new way to get it.