Move forward, not backwards
Dear Editor:
It’s incredibly telling that the only thing Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer and his supporters want to talk about is this supposed “scandal” that wouldn’t even make the evening news in any other country.
The only positions of Scheer’s that I’m aware of at this point is he is against action on climate change and against the food guide (huh?).
Have the Liberals been perfect? No, not by any means — not following through on electoral reform is the most glaring for me, personally. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his party have made mistakes. That said, I’ll take a party that makes mistakes while trying to make this country better for all than a party that seems out to harm certain people based on their ideology. Here is a far from exhaustive list of things that Scheer and the CPC have voted against since they lost the last election:
1. The Child Tax Benefit, which according to Statistics Canada has played a role in lifting as many as 826,000 Canadians (children and families) out of poverty between 2015 and 2017.
2. The Middle Class Tax cut
3. Strengthening CPP & QPP
4. Restoring OAS/GIS to age 65
5. Putting a price on pollution
6. Investments in affordable housing, transit and child care
7. The Pay Equity Act (yes, they actually voted against this)
I haven’t even delved into Scheer’s voting record and stances when it comes to women’s reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ issues and climate change. Scheer has a perfect voting record and an A+ rating when it comes to pro-life advocacy groups. He has publicly stated that gay marriage isn’t legitimate and questioned whether gay couples should be raising children. The man can’t bring himself to show up to a pride parade to show that he cares about all Canadians. Of course, he wouldn’t want to upset the social conservative wing of the party that effectively made him leader.
On the flip side, the Liberal party since the last election has not only voted in all of the things listed above. They’ve also created more full-time jobs and faster than the previous regime. Real wages are rising at the fastest pace in nearly a decade. The biggest monetary gains have gone to low and middle income earners (as opposed to those who don’t need it under the CPC). Unemployment is at a 40-year low and more people are finding work than ever. Also, according to the World Index, in 2019 Canada ranks as the No. 1 country on the planet for “Quality of Life.”
I get that there are still people out there who agree with Scheer’s stances, but the decision seems rather easy. I hope to keep moving in a forward direction and not go backwards. John West