As Parliament Resumes Sitting it Remains Unclear What Direction Canada Will Go

 

With everything back in place, Canadians will get their first hard look at the Carney Administration's plans for the upcoming year and into the future, where uncertainty and instability seem to reign over Carney and his Cabinet for the foreseeable future. Canadians will be watching closely at what transpires. 

This morning, he emerged from his cabinet planning and priorities meeting, telling Canadians that the budget being brought down is one of austerity and growth. If this sounds like an oxymoron to you, it is! fear not; you have not awoken to a new reality where you will somehow get both.

Carney, who is, by and large, a conservative by any other definition, is likely to do more harm than good, ultimately failing to achieve any significant recovery or major projects in the process. What he intends to do is to rob Peter to Pay Paul.

His austerity program is going to make considerable cuts to the federal public service and programs. Having seen this play out throughout Canadian History, his next act will be cutting back transfers to the provinces, downloading critical funding cuts to vital provincial programs such as Medicare.

So, the plan is to stabilise Canada by destabilising it, by clawing back transfers, and laying off people or outsourcing work customarily performed by public servants to private companies.

Now, without knowing the specifics of the budget's allocation, it might be too soon to take a shot in the dark on this. Still, considering past practice in austerity measures, the future seems almost predetermined. It is a fair question for the administration to consider just how deep they plan to cut programs, transfers, and services.

This will be a far cry from the elbows-up big show that the Liberals hijacked from the Resistance Movement cause, with its leading spokesman, former NDP member of parliament, Charlie Angus, watching both Carney and Poilievre and the twists and turns the two are going to dance together to.

Poilievre still appears to be heading down a very slippery slope, attempting to incite anger.  This time, it is the Temporary Foreign Workers Program (TFWP). Now, this program I was against from the start, it allowed for the systematic abuse of workers from other countries while taking away vital opportunities for young Canadians to develop skills and build a better future for themselves. It also allowed Provincial Governments the ability not to change minimum wages across the country to a more just living wage. Basically, it was a modern version of slavery without the whip or chains.

Last night I sat back and listened to the political pundits crying racism and the fact that Canadians would never take these jobs. Yes, I will agree with them in one part, and that is, Poilievre runs the risk of using the language that he does, of creating a racial backlash against TFWs, as well as other Canadians of ethnic origins. This is becoming increasingly evident on YouTube and other social media, as hate, described as some so-called news story, is poisoning and agitating the public at large.

Many Canadians, including younger individuals, have historically relied on these positions to achieve significant milestones, such as purchasing their first vehicle or financing their education. There is no justification for attaching stigma to these roles, as the perception of such work as inferior lacks merit. Employment at all levels holds value; however, government policy needs to ensure adequate compensation through appropriate legislation. Notably, the Temporary Foreign Worker Program was implemented, in part, to facilitate the stagnation of minimum wages, having been introduced by Jason Kenney with the involvement of Pierre Poilievre.

Yes, the program must come to an end, and those in the country must be sent back. I know it sounds mean-spirited, but according to the news report from yesterday, there are 2.9  million people here on temporary permits. Which works out to be 7.1 per cent of the population. Far too many to house and sustain without affecting Canadians and future Canadians as a whole.

For the New Democrats, it appears that they remain stuck in the realm of identity politics and have forgotten the fundamental principles that led to the creation of the CCF. Judging by the rules set down in the leadership race, those administering the NDP are not prepared to budge from this, which now holds little or no relevance in Canadians' minds. Canadians do not care if you are straight or LGBTQ+ anymore. If you need proof, attend any Pride march or festival. A more significant indication of this is the growing backlash against Alberta Smith's government's book bans in school libraries. Clearly, the Federal NDP is lost in an endless cycle of self-destruction. Don Davies could try to change this, but as an interim leader, I suspect he feels in an impossible position.  

Regardless of the results of the fall session, once all matters have been settled, it is likely that Canadians will face another election, engaging with familiar debates rather than focusing on opportunities for future progress.

What we need in his country is not hate spin doctoring or rhetorical bantering back and forth. What we need is leadership and a clear vision of what the Canada we love should strive to be in the future!