Corruption and unethical behavior seem to follow Liberal politicians like a shadow. The latest scandal involves Liberal MP Lisa Hepfner and her spouse, a CBC cameraman, who improperly collected thousands in CERB funds he was not entitled to.

Once again, the entitled and out-of-touch Liberal party has been caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

Of course, Hepfner is pleading ignorance on the whole scandal, claiming she was unaware of her partner’s shady finances. What a surprise – another Liberal completely oblivious to the questionable behavior happening right under their nose.

This is just on par for the corrupt Liberal party that thinks it’s above the law for some reason.

And if Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had any integrity, he would condemn this misconduct and enact harsh penalties. But we all know ethics and accountability are foreign concepts to our virtue-signaling Prime Minister.

And with the Liberals getting exposed time and time again for their corruption and ethical lapses, the question now is – how much longer will they keep getting away with it?

The unfolding scandal involving Liberal MP Lisa Hepfner and her spouse improperly collecting CERB benefits is the latest in a string of troubling ethical lapses by members of the Liberal Party. 

Hepfner is the MP for Hamilton Mountain, and the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth, who also happens to be married to Michael Aitkins, a CBC cameraman.

A CBC employer married to a Liberal MP. Shocking.

She also previously worked as a journalist for CHCH News, so she must know a thing or two about deflecting.

This situation clearly illustrates the culture of entitlement and lack of integrity that has come to define Justin Trudeau’s government.

The Canada Emergency Response Benefit, or CERB program, was implemented in 2020 as emergency financial assistance for Canadians left jobless due to the COVID-19 pandemic and nation-wide lockdown.

While well-intentioned in theory, the rollout of CERB was crippled by poor oversight and verification processes. In fact, the federal government is still collecting $7.1 billion in overpayments it made through the CERB, and another pandemic income-support program, Canada Recovery Benefit, or CRB.

Actually, the federal government has asked Canadians to return $11.2 billion in overpayments. Canadians had paid back $4.1 billion worth of both benefits, with the rest still under collection.

This enabled widespread fraud, with ineligible recipients managing to scam taxpayers out of billions in improper payments.

And is it any surprise that those scammers are in fact Liberals?

Against this backdrop, the recent revelations about Hepfner’s spouse brazenly collecting CERB despite failing to meet the eligibility criteria is particularly appalling.

This man continued earning income from the CBC while pocketing $2,000 monthly CERB cheques meant for unemployed, vulnerable Canadians. Do these people really have no shame?

People are literally freezing on the streets, starving, sleeping in filth, and can barely feed and clothe their families. Have they no moral compass? 

At this point, this isn’t about politics anymore, nor about being Liberal or Conservative, this is about being human, which these people seem to be far away from.

Hepfner’s response has been equally troubling. She has essentially pleaded ignorance about her spouse’s finances and CERB application despite earlier praising the government for clearly communicating the rules around eligibility.

This begs the question – is Hepfner completely incompetent when it comes to overseeing her family’s finances or is she simply lying to cover up her own complicity in this scheme to defraud taxpayers? Neither option paints the Liberal MP in a positive light.

“I didn’t realize he still owed money on it until we did the financial disclosure,” she said. 

“They don’t ask for specific amounts. It’s his finances, and I don’t get involved. The way we understood it, you might not qualify but you can apply,” she said of the CERB program. “The worst that can happen is you pay it back after.”

No, actually, the worst that can happen is elite Liberals essentially stealing taxpayer money intended to help those in need, making things harder on them then they already were. 

And if we’re being completely honest, anyone who says “the worst that can happen is you pay it back after” is probably hoping that “the man” never gets around to checking.

This is called elite politicians milking the broken system, and no amount of deflection is going to make Canadians fall for it.

This is nothing but another case of Liberals avoiding accountability. The fact that her partner was improperly accessing benefits for months on end is absolutely unacceptable.

The CBC also declined to comment, calling it a personal matter. 

But let’s be real, if it was a Conservative, they would be doing a five-part special hosted by Rosemary Barton.

Beyond Hepfner’s personal failings, this scandal is symptomatic of much deeper issues rotting at the core of the Liberal Party.

Under Justin Trudeau’s leadership, Liberals have come to view government programs and taxpayer dollars as their own personal piggy banks. Party members help themselves to benefits and grants, whether eligible or not, with a sense of entitlement that they are above the rules. 

The Prime Minister often gives off the impression that ethics violations by him and his MPs and cabinet ministers are merely trivial annoyances rather than firing offenses.

The CERB fraud committed by Hepfner’s spouse would not have occurred in a vacuum. 

It is reasonable to conclude that these two individuals felt enabled to rip off CERB because they were politically connected to the Liberals in power. 

There is likely a pervasive mindset within the party that they can bend the rules with impunity because the Prime Minister will turn a blind eye. Trudeau’s past ethics transgressions and reluctance to crack down on misconduct has fostered an environment ripe for corruption.

So far, Trudeau has avoided heavily criticizing Hepfner, indicating his willingness to sweep yet another ethics scandal under the rug. 

This is consistent with his past record of failing to hold his MPs accountable for flagrant violations. I mean, he doesn’t even hold himself accountable, so how can we expect him to hold others accountable as well?

For instance, after the WE charity scandal involved multiple Cabinet members, Trudeau refused to fire anyone, instead claiming the violations were a simple mistake. 

His indifference towards misconduct makes a mockery of government ethics rules.

The CERB fraud linked to Hepfner and her spouse is a profound breach of public trust and an insult to the taxpayers who fund programs meant to assist citizens in need. 

The fact that an MP’s family felt comfortable enough to illegitimately receive CERB payments shows an appalling level of deceit. 

It was a morally corrupt exploitation of emergency funds required by vulnerable Canadians facing real hardship during the pandemic.

Liberals being liberals. Nothing to see here, folks.

For Hepfner’s spouse to fraudulently draw CERB while earning other income sources and enjoying the benefits of Hepfner’s $194,000 basic salary is beyond outrageous. 

Canadian MPs earn the second-highest salaries out of all G7 legislators, by the way.

This scandal lays bare the warped mentality of Liberal elites who feel cheating the system for personal gain is within their right.

Meanwhile, countless Canadian families struggled to pay their bills after losing jobs, relying solely and legitimately on CERB as a financial lifeline.

Their actions have single-handedly undermined trust in both the CERB program itself and the governing Liberals who presided over its rollout. And it’s not like there was that much trust there to begin with.

At a minimum, the Liberal MP and her spouse should be forced to issue a public apology for abusing CERB and misleading Canadians.

Beyond an apology, some argue Trudeau should expel Hepfner from the Liberal caucus for her complicity in CERB fraud. However, given his track record for inaction on ethics violations, this appears unlikely. 

Trudeau seems to have no problem welcoming back MPs tainted by misconduct, further weakening any accountability mechanisms within the party. Hepfner may simply receive a slap on the wrist before resuming her Parliamentary Secretary role.

Honesty, these Liberals are no different than a thief getting caught.

Ethics and Liberals are now like oil and water. Mutually exclusive. It seems that liberal corruption is now part of our proud Canadian heritage.