We've had lots of substance here, but I wanted to add a little more substance. I have some materials that I think are critical to add to the debate.
I'll start out with a respected reporter, John Ibbitson. I won't read his entire article, though it probably merits doing so. For the sake of brevity, I'll just read parts of it.
He starts by saying that Prime Minister Trudeau could point to some “accomplishments”, and then says, “every prime minister's highest priority should be to leave the federation stronger, or at least not weaker, than [he] found it.” It says, “By that measure”—and these are Mr. Ibbitson's words, not mine—“Mr. Trudeau's tenure has been a failure.” He continues, "Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, whose United Conservative Party was elected on a platform of challenging Ottawa, is threatening to pull the province out of the Canada Pension Plan. While we can debate whether the LifeWorks assessment of how much of the CPP's assets Alberta would be entitled to—or that of [the] University of Calgary economist Trevor Tombe, or some other formula—the fact remains that the pension plan in particular, and Canadian unity in general, would be [weaker] were the province to leave."
The article goes on to say, “It's not surprising, then, that Mr. Trudeau would come to the defence of the CPP. What is surprising is [his] depth of...hostility.”
The article states that Prime Minister Trudeau wrote to Ms. Smith and said, “'I have instructed my cabinet and officials to take all necessary steps to ensure Albertans—and Canadians—are fully aware of the risks of your plan, and to do everything possible to ensure the CPP remains intact'”.
That's interesting. The article goes on to quote Mr. Trudeau as saying, “'We will not stand by as anyone seeks to weaken pensions and reduce the retirement income of Canadians.' Ms. Smith, in turn, dismissed the Prime Minister's warning as 'overwrought.'”
It states, “Employment Minister and Edmonton MP Randy Boissonnault further manifested Ottawa's get-tough approach [on] Sunday, when he warned on CTV's Question Period that if Albertans leave...CPP, 'it's a one-way ticket.'”
Mr. Ibbitson's article goes on to say, “There is no need...to panic. We are a long way from Alberta pulling out of the CPP. The province's former treasurer, Jim Dinning, is [a] leading public [consultant], which may or may not lead Ms. Smith to call a referendum on the issue. Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has urged Albertans not to leave the plan, while sympathizing with their frustration.”
It goes on to say, “But it's worth pausing to reflect on the damage Mr. Trudeau has inflicted on Canadian unity after eight years in power.”
I hesitate because I don't want to overstate this, but it's been a pattern of the Prime Minister that when this nation is at its most vulnerable, instead of being a great unifier, he becomes the great divider, whether that's with respect to personal health independence or, in this case, with respect to the CPP. The Prime Minister has the choice to be either a statesman or a politician, and clearly he's chosen the latter. He has once again put his own personal interests above those of our country.
This is the most damning of criticism of any leader because for any leader to even be in the ballpark of successful, they must put their country first, as many prime ministers in the past have, even ahead of their own political ambitions and even over the ambitions of their parties. This is clearly not the case.
That's what's really troubling about what this motion is all about. My colleague Mr. Chambers said that we could walk out today with a unifying motion that the NDP, the Liberal Party and the Conservatives could all agree to, which would encourage Albertans to stay as part of the CPP.
Instead, the Liberal Party has chosen to amplify this Prime Minister's message of division. This should cause self-reflection, I would think, by everyone at this committee, not the least of whom is the NDP member who, instead of being a force for collaboration and unity, is instead encouraging amplifying division.
I will continue to read:
Progressive centralizers in Laurentian Canada tell each other that Ottawa must act on this or that “in the national interest.” But the national interest is emphatically not served if their actions anger large swaths of the country.
When the Liberals won their majority government in October, 2015, they had a golden opportunity to reverse decades of Liberal unpopularity in the West. The Grits had taken 17 seats in British Columbia, seven in Manitoba, four in Alberta and one in Saskatchewan. They were well placed to grow that vote with policies that consulted rather than dictated, that recognized the importance of the resource-based Western economy and that respected the distinct societies of the Prairies and B.C.
Mr. Trudeau inherited a federation at peace. In Quebec, the Parti Québécois was out of government and in decline, and the federal Bloc Québécois was decimated, having taken only 10 seats in the 2015 election. Things were quieter on the federal-provincial front than at any time since the 1950s. Surely this was a time to strengthen national bonds – between English and French, between the Heartland and the West.
Eight years later, the Bloc is resurgent, with 32 of Quebec’s 78 seats. Coalition Avenir Québec Premier François Legault is stoking French-English tensions, most recently by almost doubling out-of-province tuition for students attending English universities.
And Alberta is perhaps even more estranged. If the government did hold a referendum on withdrawing from the CPP, it would in reality be a referendum on increased sovereignty for the province.
Meanwhile, and not coincidentally, polls suggest the Conservatives would trounce the Liberals if an election were held today.
I'm honestly not concerned with the politics of the day. Polls will come and go. Liberal governments will come and go, Conservative governments will come and go, and maybe one day an NDP government will come and go. However, we have, as members of Parliament, a sacrosanct responsibility to our country, which I firmly believe is the greatest country in all the world, to do everything in our power to put it first.
Our country is starting to fray, not at the edges, but at the main seams that hold us together. The Prime Minister could have handled this very differently, but that cat is out of the bag, so there's nothing we can do there. However, this finance committee can still do the right thing. Instead of going for political points, maybe for a story here or there, I don't know, it might even help the Liberal Party. I don't know. I don't think it would, but maybe their calculus in the PMO is that it somehow helps them.
We've got to have our eye on the long game on national unity. There simply are not many objectives that are more important than national unity. The scars this government has been creating with respect to division will long outlast this government.
Honestly, in all candour, I have respect for my colleagues across the way. I got to know them a little bit on the trip and I know them to be intelligent, respectful, good people. I would just tell them to talk to the PMO and say, this is an opportunity, I think, even to win politically, to look like the bigger party in a unifying way, but know that this is creating damage. To get a story here or there, continuing to inflict pain and to create division among our country, just isn't worth it, guys.
I'll continue on here. Mr. Ibbitson continues:
What went wrong? In a word: bossiness. The Liberals imposed conditions on the provinces before granting health funding. They imposed a carbon tax on provinces that didn't meet carbon-reduction targets. Bill C-69 imposed such intrusive conditions on resource development that the Supreme Court ruled the law unconstitutional. The Liberals decided that national priorities justified using...spending power to dictate terms to the provinces. They were willing to let the Prairie oil-and-gas sector suffer in order to meet [their] carbon reduction targets. The result: increasing resentment toward Ottawa across the country. This is Canada today, on Justin Trudeau's watch.
Once again, I know that we all have pressures, and the pressure to win on the latest face-off or the latest scrimmage is powerful, as is getting that great social media clip where you're taking a shot at the Conservatives, and you feel good in the moment. To somehow spike the ball on Danielle Smith is perhaps because, as my colleague said, they see that as a richer target, or a better foil than our official Leader of the Opposition.
These jobs that we have are serious. They come with incredible consequences. We have a choice every day in every action we take. Either we can be a voice of reasonability, a unifying voice, a voice for a better Canada or we can go for the cheap political points.