Dear Editor,
The Liberal Party has released their 2019 election platform for this election showing that they plan to run large deficits, over $20 billion, for each of the next four years with no return to balance in sight. This will add almost $100 billion dollars to Canada's debt, which already sits at approximately $768 billion. Many economists and pundits have been weighing in on the Liberal strategy with talk of fiscal anchors, debt to GDP ratios or the benefits or risks of Keynesianism and trickle-down economics. I'm sure most Canadians when they read these analysis ask themselves "this sounds great in theory but why is life continuing to get less and less affordable and my taxes keep going up and up?" As a Fiscal Conservative, I like to talk in real life terms, dollars and cents.
Canadian families and businesses, both large and small must live within their means. There is no magical money tree or never-ending line of credit to draw from. The decision to run massive deficits and increase Canada's debt has real consequences for all Canadians. Every single dollar that is spent on servicing the country's debt is a dollar not spent on programs for Canadians. The interest cost of servicing Canada's debt is now approaching $30 billion a year. Imagine what services we could provide with $30 billion dollars a year? The hospitals, schools, roads and bridges we could build. The pharmacare, dental care and free tuition that the other parties dream about, might actually become a reality. Canada might actually get closer to meeting its NATO military commitment of 2% of the GDP. There are real life consequences of fiscal irresponsibility.
The Conservative Party is the only party with a realistic plan to balance the budget and it could take the better part of 5 years. We are focusing on the affordability of life for all Canadians. Protecting the vital services that Canadians need and cutting wasteful spending such as $1.5 billion in corporate welfare payments.
Our plan will make life more affordable for Canadians by:
- Universal Tax Cut: reducing taxes on the lowest income bracket from 15% to 13.75% which will save the average Canadian $440 on their income taxes or $880 per couple
- Removing the GST off of Home Heating: Heating your home is essential, removing the GST from your bill will save households up to $200 per year
- Scrapping the Carbon Tax: the carbon tax has driven up the cost of gasoline, home heating and groceries. Removing the carbon tax will save Canadians hundreds of dollars a year
- Making Maternity Benefits Tax Free
- Reinstating the Children's Fitness and Arts Tax Credits
- Public Transit Tax Credit: a 15 % tax credit to encourage use of public transit and help you save money on the purchase of weekly and monthly passes
- Increase to Seniors Age Credit by $1,000 per year per senior, a savings of $150 per year
- Affordable Housing four-point plan to make home ownership more accessible and affordable
- Boosting the RESP grant from 20% to 30% to help parents save for their kids education
- Repealing the tax increases on small businesses and reducing red tape which are killing Canada's competitiveness
A responsible return to balanced budgets is crucial to the sustainability of social programming in Canada. It's not fair to burden future generations with paying back the Government of the day's irresponsible spending spree. A Conservative Government will live within its means and put more money back in your pocket.
Alex Ruff
Conservative Candidate for Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound
