The Prime Minister of Canada needs to show he has the best interests of all citizens at heart during this COVID-19 pandemic crisis, and not be stubbornly hanging onto a failed tax regime that accomplishes nothing but to hurt citizens of certain provinces, including Saskatchewan.
After seeing him give daily updates from in front of his residence in Ottawa, Canadians have been lulled into a false sense that he might actually care what happens out here — but then he hurts Canadians during a time of a pandemic crisis when thousands upon thousands of people have lost their jobs or been laid off and their incomes are in jeopardy.
What does he do? Does he make a compassionate and reasonable act like cancelling the April 1st increase in the federally-imposed carbon tax? No, he does not. Does he cancel the automatic pay hike that he and his cronies in the Commons also received on April 1? No, he does not.
What he does is make a grand gesture of donating his pay hike towards paying for the COVID-19 pandemic measures, but such a donation will do little other than make him feel better about getting a pay increase when others are hurting financially.
An action like cancelling the unreasonable carbon tax increase would have actually meant something, particularly to the Western Canadians that the Liberals have been punishing with this regressive tax. It would also have made an actual difference in cancelling a price increase that no one can afford right now.
Even laying aside the politics of the carbon tax (and make no mistake, it is purely about politics), just on the principle of helping out Canadians financially at a time when many are facing a real crisis in their pocketbooks because they cannot work right now, he should have acted in a positive way.
The carbon tax does absolutely nothing to combat climate change, and it does not recognize the legitimate efforts provinces like Saskatchewan have made to address climate change.
To perpetuate this tax at a time when no Canadian of any political stripe can afford any increase in their expenses is morally wrong, and it is bad politics on his part, not to mention very poor leadership.
The lack of any positive action on the tax also shows what a callous disregard Trudeau has for the West, which he has never made any effort to hide. To be continuing with that callousness now when all Canadians need help just shows what level of apathy he has for the West or helping it in any way.
This complete lack of compassion also calls into question his previous announcements of appearing to help them, because giving with one hand and taking away with the other is just pure deception, and it’s playing politics at a time when that should be laid aside.
