The full text of a CHP Press Conference delivered by CHP Leader Rod Taylor to the Ottawa Press Gallery on May 8, 2024

A hearty welcome to the Ottawa Press Corps and to all who care about the future of Canada . . . who care for Canada’s children of today and for the generations to come. I’m Rod Taylor, national leader of the Christian Heritage Party of Canada; today, I want to address the topic of federal overspending and how that is making us all debt slaves.

All Canadians want their children to be strong and healthy, confident and skilled, with the opportunity to prosper, to have access to services, to be free of fear and to be functional members of a compassionate and thoughtful community.

The actions of our current government have sabotaged those hopes and dreams and have strewn obstacles in the paths of upcoming generations.

The goal of home ownership has become—for many—an unattainable dream.

The cost of post-secondary education has become prohibitive for all but the wealthy . . . and the quality of our current primary and secondary education has failed to prepare many students—even those who can afford it—with the character and habits necessary to achieve high levels of academic excellence.

Even vehicle purchase, maintenance and fuel have become so expensive as to hinder young adults who need reliable transportation for work or school.

For couples beginning to bring children into the world, the skyrocketing increase in the cost of basic needs—food, clothing and shelter—have caused many to fear that they won’t be able to feed and clothe a growing family . . . this fear is stunting natural population growth and decreasing—over time—the availability of entry-level workers for businesses . . . ultimately shrinking the pool of responsible, tax-paying citizens desperately needed to pay the legitimate bills of government: federal, provincial and municipal. Canada’s current fertility rate is 1.483 births per woman, far below the 2.1 births required to sustain our population.

The government’s answer to that gap has been to bring in millions of immigrants—many of them poorly-vetted and poorly-equipped to fill the actual needs of the job market . . . and requiring vast amounts of government resources for housing, education, language accommodation and other aspects of adaptation to our culture, our climate and our commonly shared values. The most obvious impact of this influx of adult residents has been on the housing market. The need for new housing has far outstripped the ability of Canadian builders and investors to provide high-quality housing at affordable prices. Offshore purchases of existing homes and land for future development has added significantly to the baseline price for developers and for aspiring home owners.

The price of land, the cost and time involved in securing permits and navigating the regulatory waters, combined with the soaring cost of labour, materials and transportation has pushed the price of new homes to record highs and many young couples have abandoned the dream of ever owning their own home.

All these costs—of course—are driven inexorably higher by the federal and provincial carbon taxes, which do nothing for the environment but employ a small army of regulatory bureaucrats to administer. And no, the average Canadian does not receive more back in rebates than he or she pays in carbon taxes. The system itself consumes precious tax dollars to operate. The laws of both physics and finances dictate that energy is lost in the machinery of government. The rising cost of everything well outweighs the pathetic and partial rebates of money that should never have been taken from Canadians in the first place.

In the long list of profligate and extravagant spending by the federal government, here are a few examples of unnecessary—and in many cases—harmful expenditures:

Excessive salaries and benefits for MPs, Senators, judges and federal bureaucrats at all levels. Just last month, MPs gave themselves yet another raise; base salary for a backbencher is now over $200,000. I did not hear an outcry from any of the parties now represented in the House.

Current MPs—Liberal, Conservative and NDP—also continue to benefit from the political welfare that goes to the larger, well-established parties and their candidates. After every election, taxpayers are forced to reimburse those parties and their candidates who obtained more than 10% of the vote. In 2015, this amounted to over $100 million. Meanwhile, smaller parties, like ours, are denied access to those same funds, further entrenching and enriching the status quo.

Corporate welfare, sold as “attracting or retaining businesses” is an insult to Canadian taxpayers and to small business owners working hard and pinching pennies to make ends meet. The Trudeau government’s $13 billion to Volkwagen is the largest single tranche to date but only one of the many financial concessions and outright gifts to businesses that should be making it on their own. In 2022, the federal and provincial governments of Canada combined to give $52 billion in handouts to corporations—many of them international corporations—besides the privileged access to customers they received during the covid lockdowns.

Then there’s the cost of sending large groups of politicians and bureaucrats to extravagant international gatherings, hosted by the UN, the WEF, and the WHO, to hobnob with the world’s globalist elites. One conference alone in 2023, COP28, a UN conference on climate change, cost taxpayers $1.4 million. And of course, they all flew there using fossil fuel.

Foreign aid to other countries . . . when we can’t pay our own bills or look after our own veterans. In 2021, Canada spent $8.4 billion on foreign aid. And we all remember the PM’s curt response to veterans who risked life and limb serving our country, saying they were asking the government for more than it could afford.

Then there’s the cost of self-congratulatory promotional ad campaigns, telling Canadians how great the government is; they should convince us by their actions, not by using our taxes to tell us that it is so. Government records show over $140 Million was spent on this advertising in 2021.

The covid hype and the massive spending that went into vaccine promotion and distribution; followed by the cost of poorly-executed compensation programs to individuals and businesses damaged by mandates and restrictions. And costs will continue to pour in as compensation for vaccine injuries is begrudgingly doled out. According to True North, Canada spent over $624 billion implementing and enforcing ineffective covid protocols. And of course, the cost of lost productivity, lost classroom time and loss of respect for government have yet to be calculated.

Another broad area very difficult to estimate is the economic damage caused by the misuse and overuse of police forces and the courts to enforce unconstitutional mandates. Vast and valuable human resources were deployed against peaceful protestors before, during and after the Truckers Freedom Convoy; police officers ticketing churches, handcuffing maskless shoppers and smashing truck windows would have been much more usefully employed pursuing car thieves and murderers in Toronto.

The courts have also been endlessly preoccupied with disputes between freedom fighters and various arms of federal and provincial government. Knowing the shortage of police officers for day-to-day operations and the drain on court times already strained by procedural delays, this is a particularly egregious misuse of public funds.

The outrageous annual funding of the CBC—over $1.3 billion for this year—including generous bonuses for well-paid anchors and administrators . . . and the subsidizing of other news networks . . . reeks of influence peddling; it’s clearly a device to control messaging and clearly a device that has been effective in creating a monolithic version of reality meant to hypnotise and polarise public opinion.

This government has also used vast quantities of taxpayer money promoting and providing abortion both at home and abroad. It’s also spent horrendous amounts on pushing its philosophy regarding gender and sexuality, including—through its provincial health care subjugates—destructive puberty blockers and hormone treatments for teens and irreversible and fertility-ending surgeries. The damage caused by these policies goes far beyond finances, but is easily seen as yet another drain on healthcare dollars. The biggest cost, however, is the devastation of young lives. “Regretters” around the world are beginning to sue irresponsible governments that encouraged them to self-mutilate. Their stories are now being told and will be remembered in the future as another shameful chapter of Canadian history.

There are many other egregious misuses of taxpayer money; together, they have contributed to creating a national debt of $1.2 trillion, double what it was in 2015. Interest payments on that debt have now reached the astonishing rate of $120 million every single day, nearly a billion every week . . . and rising as we speak. This government, in its recent so-called budget, says that it plans to use our national credit card again this year to rack up another $40 billion in debt. There is no hint, not even a false promise of ever paying off the debt.

Regarding debt and deficit, it's important to remember that the Harper government, in its last years in office, also failed to bring the federal budget back to balance (as it had promised), and had—in fact—added more than $150 billion in red ink during its tenure. A far cry, however, from the $600 plus billion added in the past seven years. It’s too easy for politicians to promise to provide what they think voters want and to effectively buy votes with taxpayer money. Empty promises with real consequences.

The dashing of the hopes of the young in terms of economic possibilities and the resulting downward emotional spiral of cynicism has led some to withdraw from or reject all the essential institutions of public interaction: trade, family, faith and participation in the electoral process . . . for many that pathway has caused depression, homelessness, joblessness and friendlessness. Some of these precious young people who could have been and should have been vibrant achievers and contributors to society have instead become its detractors and dependants.

Ironically, our Prime Minister, who claims to be serving the young people of Canada, has unwisely put in place policies that are robbing the younger generation of the tools and opportunities they need to prosper and to lead in the rebuilding of Canada as an economic powerhouse and a showcase of just and democratic principles.

The Christian Heritage Party has long promoted a policy of mandatory balanced budgets. We do not allow deficit spending in our campaigns, nor do we rely on taxpayer funds to operate. As government, we would cut useless and wasteful spending and ensure that hard-earned tax dollars are used for essential government services that fall within the legitimate reach of the federal government.

We would end the use of the taxpayers’ credit card and begin to pay down and eliminate the national debt and the crippling interest payments that come with it. We would end the automatic raises in pay and perks for MPs. We would help businesses prosper by cutting excessive taxes and regulatory burdens . . . not by handing out taxpayer dollars to giant corporations.

We would end the carbon tax / climate scam. We would prohibit the use of federal funds for abortion, euthanasia and genital mutilation. We would encourage the development of our abundant natural resources and make Canada energy-independent. And we would cheerfully and effectively work with the members of every other party in the House to restore Canada’s freedoms, justice and prosperity for future generations. Canadians deserve no less.

Thank you for your attention. As fellow Canadians, we can accomplish much if we work together for a common cause and we don’t care who gets the credit. You can learn more about our policies and principles at chp.ca. Thank you for listening!

—30—

PDF Download