Wayne Easter
Guest Opinion
I am writing to correct the outrageous misinformation peddled by Diane Francis in her op-ed “Liberal MPs Jumping Ship in Droves” that appeared in Postmedia papers on June 13 (and in The Guardian on June 14).
I would agree with one comment in her article: “When it’s enough already, it’s enough already.” Yes, Diane, it is enough already – enough of the outright fabrications, hyperbole, and fictional narratives that you seem to be more interested in perpetuating.
Let me first turn to her headline assertion that Liberal MPs are jumping ship “in droves.” The fact is that there are MPs from all parties that are not running again, which Diane conveniently ignores to target the Liberals. If you actually do the arithmetic, you’ll find that there are 19 Liberals not reoffering, which represents 10.3 per cent of our caucus. On the other side of the aisle, there are 15 Conservatives MPs and 14 NDP MPs who won’t be running again, representing 15 per cent and 31 per cent of their respective caucuses. So, in fact, Liberal MPs are reoffering at a higher rate than any of the other parties – but you wouldn’t hear that from Diane, would you?
More egregious are Diane’s assertions on the economy. For a journalist that purports to be a financial expert at a financial paper, Diane and the Financial Post are strangely reticent to talk about the very real achievements this government has made with respect to the economy. So let’s talk about some facts.
Fact: Canadian GDP has grown more over Justin Trudeau’s first term than Stephen Harper’s entire tenure.
Fact: Canadian families are, on average, $2,000 better off today than they were in 2015.
Fact: We lowered taxes for Canadian small businesses.
Fact: Canadian businesses now enjoy new competitive advantages thanks to policies outlined in the fall economic statement such as accelerated investment incentive and capital cost Allowance.
Fact: Canadian exports have grown to record levels.
Fact: One million new jobs have been created in Canada since 2015, bringing our unemployment rate to an all-time low.
Fact: Thanks to policies like the Canada Child Benefit and cutting income taxes, over 300,000 kids and 825,000 Canadians have been lifted out of poverty.
Are you getting the picture, Diane?
I get it – certain people don’t like Justin Trudeau, and would gleefully celebrate his loss this October. But to suggest with a straight face that the economy have been “hobbled” or that Canadians aren’t doing better today than they were four years ago is objectively false.
Wayne Easter is the Liberal member of parliament (MP) for Malpeque.
