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Trudeau continues to shutter democracy and ignore the rules

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a number of challenges for Canadians. I’ve heard from many residents in Kootenay-Columbia that say they are concerned but optimistic for the future. Going forward: who do you trust to lead Canada through the recovery? Who do you trust to stand up for democracy and respect taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars?

It’s clear that at a time when Canadians require accountability and leadership from their federal government, Justin Trudeau and his Liberal government have let Canadians down. The WE Charity scandal is the latest example of their continued attempt to take advantage of reduced oversight by way of looking after their wealthy Liberal friends.

With the help of the NDP, the Trudeau Liberals shut down Parliament this spring. They won’t allow Opposition parties to provide vital oversight, have Opposition Days, request Emergency Debates, debate Private Members Bills, order the publication of government documents, or debate and vote on committee reports. The NDP is now speaking out against the Prime Minister’s involvement in the Liberal WE Charity scandal, but they were complicit in the shutting down of the oversight (Parliament) that laid the groundwork for the scandal.

What does this all mean for Canadians? It means less government accountability. In a global crisis, oversight is more important than ever. At a time of record spending, Canadians deserve to know where their money is going and how it’s being spent. The Prime Minister would like to believe that Government funds and tax dollars are two separate things – they are not.

Hundreds of thousands of people continue to fall through the cracks because of unnecessarily rigid pandemic aid programs that Justin Trudeau refuses to fix. The Liberals have announced billions of dollars in new spending but guided it through Parliament in mere hours. The Auditor General doesn’t even have enough funding to conduct proper audits of government programs.

This isn’t how democracy is supposed to work. Canada’s Conservatives will continue to hold Justin Trudeau accountable during the COVID-19 special hybrid committee this summer. We are standing up for democracy because we believe Canadians deserve to know and see where their tax dollars are going.