Conservative leader visits Penticton
The leader of the Conservative Party of Canada reinforced his “common sense” messaging during his latest visit to the South Okanagan.
Pierre Poilievre was in Penticton last week for the third time in nine months.
One of his appointments was at I.B.C. International Bar Coding Systems & Consulting, where he greeted a small crowd of staffers, friends and family.
“Axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget, and stop the crime” is how Poilievre summed up his plan.
He promises to be strict about new spending if he becomes Prime Minister. But the current government recently announced the Wine Sector Support Program is getting an extra $177 million, and the CPC leader doesn’t object to it.
“I want to make sure that it’s spent in a way that helps the sector and gets the results we need,” Poilievre said Friday in a scrum interview which included The Herald.
“Not consumed by bureaucracy.”
He also pointed out how he had been calling upon the Liberal Party of Canada to cancel an incoming tax increase on alcohol. Since the time of the interview, the federal government relented and announced the tax increase will be dropping from 4.7% to 2%.
Poilievre also wants to support wineries by allowing free trade across the provinces.
“Real free trade so Canadians can enjoy great Okanagan wines tariff and penalty free.”
His visit to B.C. came shortly after a Jewish MLA quit the BC-NDP and accused other MLAs of being antisemetic.
Does Poilievre think any sitting Members of Parliament hold antisemetic beliefs?
“I don’t know for sure whether individual Members of Parliament do, but I know anti-semitism is raging across the country and we have to stand up and fight against it. Jewish people, like everyone else, have the right to enjoy freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of worship without bigotry or abuse.”
Last week’s visit also coincided with an announcement from the Prince George RCMP that 10,000 prescription pills were seized as a result of a trafficking investigation. Many of them were Dilaudid pills which can be accessed through safe supply programs.
Poilievre cited that as an example as to why safe supply is not a good idea.
“We’re going to ban hard drugs, stop giving out narcotics and instead provide treatment and recovery services to bring our loved ones home drug-free,” he told the crowd.
When asked if he thinks adults should face criminal charges if they’re caught with personal amounts of illicit drugs, he said “the better way to do it” is targeting those profiting off of drugs.
When asked about his views on crypto, Poilievre promised he will ban the Bank of Canada from creating a central bank digital currency.
“I don’t want you to ever have to deposit your money into a government bank account or have the state surveil your financial transactions and the decisions that you make. I think that would be prone to massive political manipulation, and it would cause worse inflation as politicians would attempt to use that currency at the expense of the integrity of our money.”
But for private investors, he thinks digital assets should be regulated like their “traditional economy counterparts.”
“If it behaves like a security it will be treated like a security; if it behaves like a foreign currency it will be treated like a foreign currency.”
For voters who are worried about globalist agendas, Poilievre promises to ban CPC ministers and MPs from attending the annual World Economic Forum meetings in Davos, Switzerland.
The CPC leader said he plans on visiting Penticton again in the summer.