Right in the Centre - Looking ahead to many tomorrows

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Published on Friday, October 23, 2015

By Ken Waddell

Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press

The two following quotes make an effective summary of what happened on Monday night. As a person dedicated to democracy, I can relate to both quotes listed below.

“We beat fear with hope. We beat cynicism with hard work. We beat negative, divisive politics with a positive vision that brings Canadians together,” Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau said in his victory speech.

“We have built a Canada that is stronger than ever,” Harper added. “Our economy is growing and new jobs are being created, the budget is balanced and federal taxes are at their lowest in 50 years.” - Prime Minister Stephen Harper

I say “dedicated to democracy”, having run in more than a dozen elections or nomination races between the age of 20 and a couple of years ago. I have worked on many election campaigns, my earliest being the PC Manitoba leadership race in the late 60s for George Johnson. My personal political career cost me a lot of money over the years but gained me a lot of experience. No regrets.

So what happened Monday night?

Harper, and the Conservatives should have won. They had a good, solid economic record. They had done exactly what they said they would do, that is reduce the size of government and reduce the tax load. So what went wrong?

Well, they didn’t sound nice, they sounded mean. I took it as firm, but the Canadian public  took it as mean. I hope those same people are on the front lines when we have to stare the Islam extremist Sharia law straight in their covered faces as, assuredly, that day is coming. Canadians may well appreciate firm when that happens. Trudeau, the elder, faced down terrorists, hopefully, Trudeau, the younger will muster the courage to do so when it comes.

And I hope Trudeau and all his supporters are there standing up for the rights of all faiths when the politically correct folks in the universities and media world make it illegal for us to hold or express certain opinions.

So that’s the losers’ side. What about the winners?

Justin Trudeau overcame an overworked campaign ploy by the Conservatives that said he wasn’t ready. Of course that was true, he wasn’t ready and maybe he still isn’t ready but he got off his backside and proved that he looked ready. He showed his father’s backbone and denied the odds, faced the people and without saying his father’s famous words “ Just watch me,” he demonstrated them.

Obviously, I didn’t vote Liberal. My wife worked for the CPC campaign and on a local basis, it was very successful. You can see the full results in this issue of The Banner. We are Conservatives, but not blindly so. We are Conservatives because in most elections, they portray the values that most clearly represent our own. We make a logical choice each and every election. I stand by our choice this time as well.

That said, Justin Trudeau is a very nice man in public. Who knows what anyone is like privately, but I have met Trudeau and he was gracious. When he was here in Neepawa during his leadership race, he was apologetic to me when one of his supporters publicly attacked me in a very personal and unfortunate way. He obviously has a very nice family. He cares deeply about his task, otherwise he wouldn’t have launched into this whole political thing. He has some good people with him.

However, if he does what he has promised, we will be in for a tough time. He says he will legalize marijuana, that’s a big mistake on many fronts. By actions, if not in actual words, he has intimated he will legalize some other things that will harm our society. He’s going to send money to foreign countries to fund abortion. May God have mercy on him and us. Abortion is a procedure that should only be performed in the rarest of circumstances.

He’s going to raise taxes on the rich to tap into that mystical pot of money whereby one percent of the population will somehow finance the needs of the 99 per cent. It’s a hair-brained scheme.

I doubt that Trudeau will ever ask me, but I mentioned experience, my experience, and this is what I would suggest he do. Canada should have a flat tax for all. There should be personal flat tax and a corporate flat tax. The personal tax exemption should be on a per adult and per child basis and it should be at least as high as the poverty level. It’s particularly stupid and cruel that we tax people on their income when their incomes are below the poverty level. There should be no taxpayer money going to corporations except perhaps for technology or research tax credits. GST and PST should be harmonized. Government needs to be more transparent and easier to understand.

You will notice that I didn’t lay any of Trudeau’s father’s legacy at his feet. For now at least, I will take him at his word that he is different than his dad. I hope so, as his dad did a pile of damage to Canada, but I forgive him for that and I will give Justin the benefit of the doubt. He is a man of many words and I will hold him to his word.

God bless Canada, God save the Queen and may God bless our new prime minister.