Open Letter to Canadians
June 8, 2021
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Red Deer – Mountain View, AB
Budget 2021 Highlight: Women in the Economy
Issues: Will a one size fits all daycare program work well in a very diverse country? Would Quebec’s daycare program (the template being used for this program) be possible if it did not receive subsidies via tax revenue from other provinces? Is it fair to force individuals to subsidize daycare if they don’t use the service?
Solutions: In order for all Canadians to return to work, provincial health restrictions need to come to a permanent end. Instead of creating a centralized daycare program doomed for cost overruns and inefficiencies, the government should commit to full scale tax reform. Programs aimed at certain groups of people or areas of the country are nothing more than vote buying schemes. Tax reform would enable those wanting to use daycare services to better afford to do so without penalizing Canadians who do not use the service. Child care services are the responsibility of the provinces. Removing the federal government from the social transfer system would force provinces to become more competitive in the delivery of daycare services. Competition leads to better quality and lower priced services.
Budget 2021 Highlight: Opportunities for Canada’s Youth
Issues: Is paying students to stay home good policy? Should student debt be forgiven? Is this fair to previous generations? Can Canada afford to forgive student debt at this juncture? Should the government be involved in providing skills training programs for youth and students?
Solutions: Yes, many jobs that youth typically fill in summer months were not readily available last year. Due to slow provincial reopenings, this is now possible for 2021 as well. Provincial leaders need to do everything possible to return life to normal. Youth and students are largely exempt from serious outcomes from COVID-19 and should be able to return to work over the summer months safely. The federal government needs to be removed from the social transfer system. Funds for post-secondary education should be collected through the provinces. This would greatly increase the competitiveness of the education system as provinces would not be able to rely on a federal backstop. This would lower tuition fees in the long term and allow students to better afford post-secondary education.
Budget 2021 Highlight: Investing in Skills, Training, and Trades
Issues: The government should be a referee in the economy, not an active player. Enacting policy that picks winners and losers and forces Canadians out of work when the free market would otherwise employ them is unconscionable.
Solutions: The federal government must revoke Bill C-69 and Bill C-48. Additionally, the powers of the Canada Energy Regulatory should be abolished. Consultation regarding major infrastructure projects should be completed among the parties directly involved, not arbitrarily overruled based on the ideological philosophies of the federal government. Eliminating federal government involvement will boost competition between provinces as Premiers aim to foster a strong investment climate without the equalization system in place to cover inefficiencies and poor decision making.
Budget 2021 Highlight: Valuing Canada’s Workers
Issues: Minimum wage laws hurt the very workers that they were intended to protect. Cost of basic necessities, costs to small businesses and the use of automation in big box stores all increase. The number of jobs available in the private market decrease. None of this benefits the worker. It only benefits multi-national corporations.
Solutions: Workers have the ability to find gainful employment and advance their careers when they are able to compete with each other. One of the main ways that employees are able to compete is through the wages they receive. Enacting minimum wage laws force new and younger workers out of the market as employers are not willing to pay the same to these individuals as an experienced worker. This leads to lost employment opportunities in jobs that would typically be filed by students. A “minimum wage” is inherently built into every job. No employee is going to work for a private sector employer for a rate well below what he/she deems as market value. Instead of setting minimum wage amounts, government should instead focus on tax reform that leaves more money in the hands of those willing to work and get ahead.
Sincerely,
Jared Pilon
Libertarian Party Candidate for Red Deer – Mountain View, AB