Happy Anniversary to you!
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the National Citizens Coalition. As one of our supporters you have been a very significant part of our success. Since 1967, the NCC has been a beacon for economic freedom and Canadian entrepreneurship. We owe our legacy of success to you and our dedicated supporters and the commitment to more freedom through less government.
It all started on a spring day in 1967 when our founder Colin M. Brown placed a concerned ad in the Globe and Mail standing up for small-c conservatism. I can only imagine what Colin would have said if someone told him this one ad would help spawn a national conservative movement or that 50 years on there would be another Trudeau to contend with! Taxpayers needed a champion to fight back against Pierre Trudeau’s reckless tax and spend agenda. The National Citizens Coalition became that champion and now we are ready to take on Trudeau 2.0.
Our new PM is an international embarrassment for Canada with his swooning over the death of the murderous dictator Fidel Castro…..in fact it made him a global laughingstock! But his naive views can translate to real hardship for hard-working Canadians, and that is no laughing matter.
2017 will be a critical year for Canada and the NCC, and that is why I am asking for your continued support. With massive public spending increases since Justin Trudeau’s election, Canada needs the NCC now more than ever! Our motto “more freedom through less government” has never been more appropriate than it is today. This is why it is vital that our campaigns are fully funded so we can be ready for all challenges that emerge over the coming year.
In little more than a year, Justin Trudeau has managed to undo the careful economic progress achieved by the previous Conservative government. Canada needs leaders that will dedicate themselves to job creation and encouraging the growth of our economy. Instead, Trudeau 2.0 has tallied a deficit of nearly $35-billion this year alone, and economists project his government will add more than $150-billion to our national debt over the coming 5 years.
This is outrageous and utterly unsustainable. The budget will not “balance itself” as Justin Trudeau famously remarked. Immediate action is required to reduce spending and reduce our deficit. At the federal level alone taxpayers are already paying for than $30-billion each year just to pay the interest on our enormous national debt.
Instead of addressing these important issues, Trudeau has been pushing a faulty narrative and focusing all of his attentions on “climate change,” which is an issue that Canadians have repeatedly indicated is not a top priority. The reality is that Canada produces less than 2% of the world's greenhouse gases and the massive economic activity stemming from Canada’s oil sands - a frequent target of this faulty narrative - contribute approximately 5% of our country's total emissions. That means oil sands emissions account for only 1/10 of 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Yet, Prime Minister Trudeau has already pledged billions of dollars of public money to fighting “climate change” and supporting unproven “green” initiatives that will continue to cost taxpayers more money in the long run. Last year, Justin Trudeau pledged more than $15-billion to green energy initiatives including $2.5-billion project to fight climate change in other countries around the world, which will see even more taxpayer money squandered outside of Canada with no return for taxpayers. That is $2.5-billion dollars of taxpayer money that should be spent on our own critically overstressed services, like healthcare, education, services for our veterans and tax cuts to stimulate the economy.
To pay for this ludicrous spending, the federal Liberals will force a costly Carbon Tax on all Canadians, which will increase prices for nearly all goods and services. This tax will do nothing to improve the environment – it is merely a new revenue stream for a government with no respect for taxpayers’ money. This tax will hurt Canadian companies, taxpayers and workers. For our 50th anniversary we must fight it.
At the NCC we have already launched a media campaign to fight back against Justin Trudeau’s reckless policies. In fact, we have revived one of our most successful billboard campaigns to shame these “pigs at the trough”. You can visit our website at nationalcitizens.ca to view the latest material and show your support. And in the months ahead make sure to keep a look out for additional radio ads and billboards designed to keep our federal and provincial governments accountable!
We have already been influencing the national discussion, and we intend to play a central role in this year’s federal budget consultations. Even though Prime Minister Trudeau and the federal Liberals have tried to exclude small-c conservative views from their public consultations, we will not back down. We will be working hard in Ottawa and across the country to make sure your voice is heard, and we will put all MPs on notice regarding the following issues. A couple of very specific issues below that we will be working diligently on your behalf.
No Tax Increases: Justin Trudeau has once again proposed significant tax increases for many Canadians just to pay for his expensive spending promises. His Carbon Tax is being forced upon the provinces with no consultation and no mandate to do so. We are committed to fighting all carbon taxes in Canada, so please make sure to send us an additional donation this year to support our important “Stop the Carbon Tax” campaign!
No electoral reform without a referendum: Prime Minister Trudeau has already announced his intentions to move ahead with controversial, self-serving electoral reform without even holding meaningful public consultations. This is not only undemocratic, it is unconstitutional. Prime Minister Trudeau must back down from these outrageous claims and respect the strict constitutional limits of his authority. Any unilateral action by the Liberal party to pursue electoral reform will certainly be challenged and struck down by the Supreme Court, but taxpayers should never be forced to endure this expensive and wasteful ordeal. If Prime Minister Trudeau thinks Canadians want electoral reform he must engage in a national referendum and respect the Constitutional amendment process – it was designed for exactly these reasons.
You already know about many of our accomplishments –the National Citizens Coalition has been holding federal and provincial governments accountable and standing up for taxpayers for the past 50 years. In fact, the National Citizens Coalition has played a leading role in all of the significant small-c conservative political reforms over the past decade in Canada, ranging from successful MP pension reform to eliminating taxpayer subsidies for political parties. We didn’t hesitate to go all the way to the Supreme Court to stand up for freedom of speech. We led the campaign for Bill C-377 to bring about union transparency, and we were there side by side with Western Canadian farmers in our fight against the Canadian Wheat Board. Together we prevailed, and Western farmers now enjoy market freedom and more money in their pockets every year.
The National Citizens Coalition is also an instrumental part of the effort to get Canada’s provincial economies back on track. Across the country Canada’s provinces continue to tally multi-billion dollar deficits and squander their economic opportunities. Many provinces are turning to job-killing taxes and higher public spending levels, so we are working hard to provide better alternatives. Increasing taxes is only a short-term fix that will have major long-term consequences for all Canadians.
In Ontario, the situation has reached crisis point. Electricity rates in the province are the highest in North America, and have destroyed the provincial manufacturing sector. Families and businesses alike are struggling to keep the lights on, yet Premier Kathleen Wynne has no plan to address the issue. She recently admitted that her government had not paid close enough attention to rising electricity prices, which is difficult to excuse because every economist in the province has been writing and warning about this issue for the past decade.
Premier Wynne has utterly failed to address the numerous problems facing Ontario’s economy, and instead she has made the situation much worse. The province is set to incur more than$50-billion of new debt over the next 5 years, because this government has no plan to balance the budget even after 9 straight years of deficits. Since 2003 Ontario’s debt has doubled and now stands at more than $310-billion. The only way out of this mess is to reduce spending and reduce the debt burden, otherwise taxpayers will continue to pay more than $12-billion every year just to cover the interest fees.
Healthcare reform must be a major part of this process in Ontario. Ontario must reduce the number of bureaucrats employed by our healthcare system and restore all funding to front-line services. Currently, the Ontario Medical Association is taking the province to court over its latest policies, which threaten patients’ access to important life-saving services. Taxpayers should not be asked to pay for this government’s mistakes with reduced access to services.
In Alberta, there are similar concerns about high public spending and new taxes stifling opportunities for economic growth. Rachel Notley and the Alberta NDP government have failed to make good on their promise to stimulate the provincial economy, and instead they have compounded the problem by increasing taxes on many families and urban centres. Alberta has been hit hard by job losses – with nearly 100,000 jobs lost last year, and 25% of that total in the oil and gas sector alone.
Now, Alberta is saddled with a budget deficit of nearly $11-billion for the current year and taxpayers are facing uncertain economic prospects. The National Citizens Coalition has warned about this situation developing in Alberta for several years. Yet, with total disregard for our advice this government has continued to rely on “future economic growth” and “high energy prices” to pay for increased spending. This is grossly irresponsible and they are putting Alberta's hardworking taxpayers and families at risk. Declining natural resource revenue is a serious concern, and instead of reducing spending to account for reduced revenues this government has put Alberta on the path to more than $40-billion of new debt over the next four years.
Premier Notley must restore business confidence amid a difficult economic situation by reducing taxes across the board. The reduced revenues from lower energy prices are felt across many business sectors, not just by the provincial government. Lower taxes will encourage businesses and investors to maintain their projects, thus preventing further job losses in the province. Tax cuts, not increases, are the best way to stimulate the provincial economy and there is no doubt that this is exactly what the province needs right now. Help us fight to keep more money in taxpayers’ pockets and to keep permanent, high-paying jobs in Alberta, and across the prairies.
In British Columbia it is incumbent upon the Clark Liberal government to recognize that pipeline agreements with Alberta are in all Canadian’s best interests. In fact, BC needs these agreements almost as much as Alberta does to ensure the provincial economy continues to flourish. With Alberta’s economy hampered by low oil prices and unfavourable export conditions, British Columbia will be paying a greater share of federal equalization payments. British Columbia’s economic growth is expected to slow down by 2018, and the best way to provide renewed momentum is through an aggressive slate of reduced personal and business taxes.
The overall tax burden in British Columbia is nearly the highest in Canada, and coupled with the high cost of delivering government services in the province, BC taxpayers are receiving some of the worst value in Canada. Of course, British Columbia has already implemented its own costly carbon pricing scheme, the consequences of which will only be magnified by the introduction of competing federal policies. Eliminating this costly tax and the associated costs to oversee and administer it must now be a top priority for the province.
Together we will fight to make sure Canada remains a beacon of economic freedom, entrepreneurship, and strong leadership. Stand with us by making a donation right away! 2017 will be a critical year for Canada, and with your help we will continue to stand up for more freedom through less government.
After 50 years, we’re proud of the legacy we’ve been able to create thanks to your continued support of our shared values. Let’s celebrate our 50th anniversary together fighting for more freedom through less government.
Here’s to 50 more!
Sincerely,
Peter Coleman
President and CEO
National Citizens Coalition