Heated Debate After Whining

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau could barely contain himself before launching into a tirade against critics of his bloated budget.

Like a petulant child, he threw a tantrum at the first sign of dissent. He let loose a barrage of attacks portraying all opponents as greedy multi-millionaires out to crush average Canadians.

His comments attracted the attention of Pierre Poilievre who proceeded to Debate Trudeau on the costly budget in the house of commons, leading to Trudeau repeating the same ad hominem about Poilievre supporting the wealthy over the middle class.

But when even your former Finance Minister and the Tech industry is warning you over the capital gains tax hike will hurt investment and growth in the economy, then something is seriously wrong with your policies.

Canada needs steady leadership and pro-growth policies. Not defensive diatribes divorced from reality.

Trudeau revealed the empty rhetoric behind his budget. His attacks exposed the weakness of his position. And his tantrum signalled that Canadians deserve better.

Trudeau Throws Shade

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau could not wait a day or more before having to prematurely whine and cry about all the justified and rightful criticisms he was getting in response to his abysmal and costly budget that he tabled alongside his equally corrupt deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland.

Trudeau managed to do the whole dance by speaking during the weekly meeting of the federal Liberal caucus in Ottawa.

A lot of unfounded confidence was running through his veins as he talked about all the sacrifices and the hard work that the Liberals are definitely doing, just to make Canada a fairer place for every generation, and especially young Canadians that are looking to start their adult life properly and with the same leg up their parent and grandparents had when they were starting out as well.

Trudeau blabbered a lot about all the places he visited and all the speeches he made about all the policies that he will be too incompetent to properly implement. Policies that will come about and be paid for after Trudeau and the Liberals tax the ever living hell out of wealthy and successful Canadians.

And then Trudeau proceeded to end his lousy speech with a general call out to all conservative politicians that are somehow standing with the wealthy Canadians against the middle class.

This is Trudeau’s way of distilling his opposition’s position into a vague cloud of negativity just because they rightfully denounced his out of touch and costly federal budget.

Rather than have a reasoned discussion on the budget, Trudeau resorts to distorting the Conservatives’ position.

He creates a false dichotomy between helping average Canadians and supporting the wealthy. In reality, the Conservatives believe in empowering all hardworking taxpayers, not dividing them into warring classes.

Trudeau Head to Head with Poilievre

It didn’t take long for Trudeau’s comments to spark a heated debate in the house commons between him and the conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, who has been adamant in opposing the 2024 federal budget to the point of scheduling a press conference right after the budget meeting to publicly express his disdain for the Liberal agenda that will over spend taxpayers’ money on vanity “woke” projects and failed programs.

Poilievre started the back and forth with Trudeau by highlighting how the Liberal budget will not be paid for by the ultra wealthy like Trudeau and Freeland would have you believe; the federal budget with all of its wasteful spend will be paid for by the average middle class Canadian, that is already taxed to hell and back with the Carbon Tax, and now his life will suffer less affordability because Trudeau thinks his corrupt policies will make him hip with the youth and get him back the young vote he lost to the conservatives.

The Prime Minister then had to embarrass himself, retorting back by asserting that any form of opposition to his tax hikes, will ultimately mean that the Conservatives have put the interests of the rich over those of ordinary Canadian citizens. Very cool to see Canada’s prime minister do a little propaganda live and in front of our very eyes.

But the humiliation did not stop tere, with every point Poilievre brought out against Trudeau’s fiscally irresponsible policies, Trudeau then proceeded to ignore the point entirely and focus on how conservatives are supporting the ultra rich.

Funny, considering that between Trudeau and Poilievre, Trudeau is the one that enjoys luxurious Caribbean vacations on the dime of his ultra wealthy friends. I’m definitely having trouble figuring out which one of these two is truly serving the one percent of Canada and trampling all over the lower classes.

Trudeau’s rhetoric is an attempt to paint the Conservatives as puppets of the elite. But it is the Prime Minister who is out of touch with the needs of everyday Canadians.

His budget does nothing to address skyrocketing inflation, unaffordable housing, rising interest rates, and record household debt.

Canadians deserve substantive ideas, not partisan attacks. Yet Trudeau cannot seem to have a civil policy debate and instead resorts to mud-slinging.

His comments about Conservatives “standing against fairness” are disingenuous when the Liberal budget contains no measures to actually make the economy more equitable.

There is no Fairness with this Budget

And what fairness is it exactly when he is promising to tax any successful business more, even small businesses are not immune to his sleazy tactics.

His fiscal policies are going to do absolutely nothing beneficial in the long run and will only negatively affect the already broken economy and will send signals to the world that Canada will not welcome competitiveness in the free market. Don’t believe this? Well maybe the words of Canada’s former finance minister will add to the worth of this notion.

Bill Morneau, who served as Canada’s finance minister from 2015-2020, has voiced concerns that the tax hike will hurt economic growth and investment. Criticising current Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s announcement of an increase in the capital gains inclusion rate from 50% to 75%.

This effectively raises the tax rate on capital gains from 27% to 45% for amounts over $250,000.

Morneau stated this is a policy he specifically resisted implementing while he was finance minister. His objection stems from worries about damaging Canada’s growth prospects.

As Morneau explained, “This was very clearly something that while I was there, we resisted. We resisted it for a very specific reason: concerned about the growth of the country.”

The former finance minister argues that hiking the capital gains tax will discourage business investment at a time when Canada needs it most.
With high inflation, rising interest rates, and economic uncertainty, penalising investors makes little sense.

The Trudeau government claims Canada had even higher capital gains tax rates from 1990-1999. However, the global investment environment has changed dramatically since then. We now face fierce competition from jurisdictions like the United States where rates are much lower.

Morneau joins provincial finance ministers and business groups in criticising the capital gains tax increase. All note that punishing investment and success will undermine Canada’s competitiveness and productivity.

Even the tech sector, which Trudeau had glazed incessantly with his A.I technology investment fund, is not particularly happy with the federal budget and the capital gains tax hike.

Tech leaders warn the tax hikes will drive investment and talent out of the country, undermining growth and competitiveness at a critical time.

Tech industry groups like the Council of Canadian Innovators have been quick to sound the alarm about the consequences.

As president Benjamin Bergen stated, the best way to boost government revenue is to encourage economic expansion, not stifle it through excessive taxation.

Many entrepreneurs and venture capitalists share this concern and have criticized the capital gains tax increase. They argue it will discourage investment in startups and hurt Canada’s ability to attract talent.

We have already seen signs of the damage being done. Independent MP Kevin Vuong shared a message from a tech founder already planning a move to the U.S., saying Canada no longer celebrates innovation and talent.

No doubt many other startups and investors are considering similar moves.

With high inflation already eroding incomes, Canadians need affordability, not government measures that restrict growth and opportunity.

We can build a prosperous economy that works for everyone, not just the privileged few. But excessive taxation of capital gains takes us in the wrong direction.