FERNANDO: Trudeau's Socialist Experiment Has Failed

Trudeau’s Socialist Experiment Is Crushing Our Standard Of Living, It Must Be Brought To An End

By Spencer Fernando, Exclusive to the National Citizens Coalition

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Enough is enough.

We are long past the time in which there is a debate over the merits of Justin Trudeau’s economic policies.

Those policies have failed.

Housing is increasingly unaffordable, something that is completely appalling given Canada’s nearly limitless landmass.

Violent crime is surging.

Per capita GDP is in decline, meaning Canadians are getting poorer in real terms.

Social services are crumbling.

Drug use and deaths of desperation are rampant.

The few ‘positive’ economic announcements we see are backed up by tens of billions in subsidies, representing a horrendous misallocation of financial resources.

Canadians are increasingly finding themselves unable to make ends meet.

In short, a country of abundance is turning into a country of scarcity.

Above all, there is one reason why this is happening:

Canada is being subjected to Justin Trudeau’s socialist experiment.

Now, some quibble with the use of the term ‘socialist’ to describe Justin Trudeau’s economic agenda, because Canada still has a large private sector.

However, what matters is the direction in which things are going.

With that in mind, ask yourself this:

Can you think of even one area of the economy in which Justin Trudeau and the Liberals have reduced government interference?

Can we point to any economic sector and credibly claim the Liberals have stepped back and let the market work?

I certainly can’t think of any.

Instead, everything has moved in one direction, and one direction only: More state intervention, more spending, more control.

The Liberal government has imposed a carbon tax that drives up the cost of living and which represents a state-directed attempt to influence behaviour through economic coercion.

The Liberal government has sought to expand state control over the internet.

The Liberal government has sought to expand state control over social media companies.

The Liberal government has sought to expand state control over the energy sector by using hostile taxes and regulations to cancel oil and gas projects, and weaken the profitability and viability of the oil and gas industry, while increasing taxpayer-funded subsidies for ‘green’ energy. Now, they are imposing a ‘net zero’ emissions plan that – by the government’s own admission – will drive up energy costs even further.

The Liberal government has increased the overall tax burden on Canadians, directing more money into state coffers.

The Liberal government has massively expanded the public sector workforce, thus increasing the number of Canadian workers who are under the direct control of the state.

The Liberal government has significantly ramped up immigration, while their state-directed ‘housing plan’ has failed to increase supply at anywhere near a proportional rate.

The Liberal government has significant deficit spending while their aforementioned ‘net zero’ policies and hostility to the energy sector constrain productivity and weaken investment. Unsurprisingly, this has led to a cost-of-living crisis as more money is chasing fewer goods.

State-induced scarcity

Another way to describe socialism is to call it ‘State-Induced Scarcity.’

Look at what socialists managed to do in Venezuela, turning a country with massive oil reserves and wealth into a nation so poor that millions fled, and starvation ran rampant. Had the Venezuelan government simply stepped back and taken no action, life for Venezuelans would have been far better.

This is a cautionary tale for Canada, as it shows that socialist-minded leaders can decimate the economies of nations with tremendous resource abundance.

There can be no doubt that Canada is being subjected to state-induced scarcity.

We have a housing shortage in a country full of space, a shortage that is completely abnormal when compared to other peer nations.

We have a shortage of freely available online information (thanks to Bill C-11 & C-18) even though the combination of the internet and a supposedly free nation should preclude that from happening. 

We have a shortage of affordable energy, as rising energy costs are eating away at the earnings of Canadians.

We have a shortage of effective social services, with healthcare declining due to unsustainable population increases, weak productivity, per-capita GDP stagnation, and state-imposed restrictions on private healthcare delivery.

And of course, we have a growing shortage of safe communities, as violent crime and open-air drug use continue to expand.

Our standard of living is being decimated because of deliberate policy choices made by the Liberal government.

None of this has to be this way.

None of this should be this way.

It is all being artificially induced by a government that is desperate to expand its power and control at the expense of individual freedom and individual initiative. 

The more Trudeau tries to move Canada in a more socialist direction, the worse our lives are getting.

That’s why Trudeau’s socialist experiment must be ended. Canadians gave it a chance. We’ve tried it for eight years. The results are in. It failed.

Enough is enough.

It’s time to put economic power and trust back where it belongs: With the Canadian People who actually produce and earn wealth, not the government that takes it.

Spencer Fernando is one of the most popular and prolific political voices in Canada. He is a Campaign Fellow for the National Citizens Coalition. For more from Spencer, visit his website, and follow him on Facebook and Twitter

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