The Blueprint: Canada's Conservative Podcast - How much more can Canadians take？

00:00:00.000 Hello and welcome once again to The Blueprints. This is Canada's Conservative Podcast. I'm your

00:00:19.620 host, Jamie Schmael, Member of Parliament for Halliburton, Co-Ortholex, Brock, with new content

00:00:23.460 for you every single Tuesday at 1.30 p.m. Eastern Time. We ask that you like, comment, share,

00:00:27.560 and subscribe to this program. You will be notified every time we go live. You can also

00:00:32.180 tell your friends they can download and listen to this program at their convenience on platforms

00:00:36.500 like CastBox, iTunes, Google Play, and Spotify. You name it, it is out there. A little tongue

00:00:41.100 twisted this morning, but we have a great show for you this afternoon. We have a great returning

00:00:45.620 guest. Regina Luvan is the writing. Warren Steinle is the name. Thank you very much for coming back

00:00:49.640 and joining us. I'm so happy to be here, Jamie. Thank you very much for having me and looking

00:00:53.500 forward to having a great discussion. Absolutely. Do you want to talk Saskatchewan or do you want

00:00:58.020 to talk all things Canada? You know what? All things Canada. I talk about kind of the price of

00:01:02.040 living, the cost of living, and really there's always more a month than paycheck for a lot of

00:01:06.900 Canadians. And I think that's something where the cost of living is a big issue, not only in

00:01:10.600 Regina Luvan, but across the country. Yeah, that's exactly where I kind of want to focus in on,

00:01:15.120 is the fact that Canadians, no matter where you are, unless you're Uber elites, Uber rich,

00:01:21.940 the pricing really doesn't affect you, right? The price of gasoline goes up a few cents or even

00:01:27.500 10 plus cents. It doesn't really affect you. It doesn't change where you go for vacation. But

00:01:31.940 for the everyday Canadian, this is having a massive impact the way the government is dealing with their

00:01:38.260 inflation crisis. Yeah. And that's what I hear all the time when we're talking to my friends and

00:01:43.560 family and people in Regina and across the country. It's like, they always say, this government says

00:01:49.000 Canada is doing so well. But they're like, if Canada is doing so well, why don't we have more

00:01:54.620 money in our pockets? And that's the question that really lots of Canadians are asking. The

00:01:59.320 government is telling everyone, it's okay, you hear Christian Freeland and Justin Trudeau in

00:02:04.740 question period talk about how great everything is. But more and more Canadians are realizing there's

00:02:08.900 less money in their pockets. So where is all that money going? That's a very good question. Actually,

00:02:14.220 a very disturbing trend here. I'm going to read the headline here. It says, although Canadian economic

00:02:19.380 growth is just barely keeping its head above water, data is emerging that is showing for the

00:02:24.840 average Canadian, the economic situation is getting progressively worse, basically pointing

00:02:29.900 that the labor productivity market has dropped for the fourth consecutive quarter. That means people

00:02:35.320 are taking home less, and they're not compared to prices that are going through the roof right now.

00:02:41.060 It's not keeping track and people are making tough decisions at home. And it's really sad.

00:02:45.360 Yeah, and I think that's what really comes down to our economy is being less and less productive. Like

00:02:50.780 our productivity, like you said, is lower. And we saw out of all the G7 countries, we are at the

00:02:57.860 biggest risk of having mortgage defaults. And I think that's something where you have these

00:03:02.780 conversations at night when your kids go to bed, and how are we going to make ends meet? And these are

00:03:08.700 conversations that everyday Canadians are having throughout our country. And I think that's why people

00:03:13.240 are being so fed up with this government, they're so tired of this government telling them everything's

00:03:18.300 going to be okay, when these families realize it's getting tougher and tougher. And I think those are

00:03:24.000 the questions that we get asked most in our office. And it's, it's tough for Canadians right now.

00:03:29.440 So the Bank of Canada is trying to raise interest rates, putting a lot of pain on a lot of people

00:03:34.460 trying to cool down this economy, while at the same time, you have the government basically with its foot

00:03:39.260 on the gas, John Manley said so, you are noticing $62 billion in new spending, just running the

00:03:45.880 country on the credit card, that has impacts. The other side of it is what we can do to actually

00:03:52.180 lower prices, which is add supply. So when you're talking, we've talked about this many times on the

00:03:56.620 show, if you're talking about energy, why is our energy industry being handcuffed? Add supply, bring down

00:04:02.720 the price. You can talk about agriculture as well. Farmers are facing enormous pressures,

00:04:07.680 driving up their costs, the carbon tax, we'll get into carbon tax too in just a second.

00:04:12.340 Like, if we actually want to solve this problem outside what Justin Trudeau is doing, the answer

00:04:18.020 is adding supply. Well, for sure. And it's, it's so funny, right? Japan came, they want natural gas.

00:04:24.040 Germany came, they want natural gas. And Trudeau, the Prime Minister said no, which is so unbelievable,

00:04:30.200 because we have world class energy sector here in Canada. And our government keeps on saying no

00:04:35.840 when we can add supply, like you said, there's either you raise more money, earn more money,

00:04:41.000 or you cut costs. This government's not going to cut costs. You saw in their last budget,

00:04:45.680 they added $60 billion of inflationary fuel on the fire right now. That's why interest rates are

00:04:51.980 going up. And it's so interesting, because I remember two years ago, and our viewers remember this,

00:04:58.480 hand over heart, the government will take on debt, so you don't have to. How is that working for

00:05:05.300 Canadians now? Everyone's feeling that blowback? Well, to me, it showed the fact that this government

00:05:11.620 has no clue how the economy works, how government works, how the Bank of Canada works. That statement

00:05:18.360 alone should have put the chill down everyone's spine, especially liberal voters. Like, well,

00:05:24.520 this Prime Minister really has no clue on how to manage this. Well, that's what happens when you

00:05:28.500 don't think about monetary policy. Yeah, well, we're feeling the effects of it with the Bank of

00:05:33.180 Canada just the other day, announcing that they're going to raise interest rates again.

00:05:38.240 People are going to have to renew a lot of these mortgages which were put in when money was cheap,

00:05:42.460 and the Prime Minister basically encouraged people to buy, because the Finance Minister even said

00:05:46.460 interest rates will remain low for a long time, while people took them at their word.

00:05:51.600 Well, don't you remember, she said the biggest risk is deflation, not inflation. And now a lot of

00:05:57.900 Canadians are feeling that pinch, especially with variable mortgages. Canadians are feeling a pinch of

00:06:03.320 an increase of $700 to $800 a month on their mortgage payments. And that's a lot to ask a household to

00:06:11.320 take in. Yep, especially when you could have bought a house at an inflated price, because of course,

00:06:17.600 money went to the markets, there was more supply, there's more demand than there was supply, and a

00:06:22.180 whole bunch of other factors driving out the price of a house. And now you have to renew your mortgage

00:06:28.600 at that increased value at a higher rate. This is going to have serious impacts on Canadians, because

00:06:35.760 you know, if you renewed, or you set a mortgage for five years in 2020, you only got a couple more

00:06:41.240 years. So the government really has to get things under control before we have that crunch.

00:06:46.240 Well, that is exactly right. And not only that, like with mortgages, that's one cost of living

00:06:51.820 increase. But we talked about the carbon tax one and two. Now, I want to get to that and talk about

00:06:56.660 why that is affecting the price of groceries. So when you increase the cost for farmers who produce the

00:07:04.960 food, it affects the grocery store. So I always say it's not a rural Canadian issue or an urban issue.

00:07:10.840 If you buy groceries, this is going to affect you. The government policy of carbon tax one and two

00:07:16.940 are going to affect you and make you have to pay more at the till when you go to the grocery store.

00:07:22.760 And that's the thing that people, I think there is a disconnect that we really need to get out there

00:07:27.500 and talk to Canadians, talk about how this is going to affect your life. Because the price of groceries

00:07:32.620 is going up 34% this year, which is huge. My wife and I, we have three kids. It's a family of five.

00:07:41.640 We've seen the increase in our grocery bill. And I think every other Canadian sees that.

00:07:46.920 The prime minister doesn't because he hasn't paid a bill in his life.

00:07:49.620 He won't be affected. He's so wealthy.

00:07:51.080 He's never had to balance a budget. But when it comes down to it, it's so hard for Canadians to make

00:07:57.220 those ends meet. And it's government policy and especially handcuffing your farmers. 0.73

00:08:02.980 The carbon tax one is going to actually increase the cost of an average 5,000 acre farm by 2030,

00:08:11.700 $150,000 a year. It's what they're paying in carbon tax.

00:08:15.340 $150,000.

00:08:16.260 How do you not think that's going to affect your price at the grocery till?

00:08:20.060 Absolutely incredible. Okay, what is carbon tax two then? Tell me about carbon tax two.

00:08:23.440 Well, carbon tax two is going to increase across Canada. In Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan, for example,

00:08:30.420 carbon tax one and two is going to increase the cost of living to every person in Saskatchewan,

00:08:35.420 $2,800 a year.

00:08:39.180 This is incredible. When people are already stretched to the limit and we're dealing with

00:08:43.100 potentially mortgages that need to be renewed in a few years at higher interest rates,

00:08:48.720 this is really serious. Productivity is dropping.

00:08:52.700 I think the answer aside from a new government here in Canada is the fact that the government

00:08:59.220 actually has to listen to the opposition here. And I know our leader, Pierre Polyev, has said,

00:09:04.380 we're willing to work the summer to rewrite the budget to get this under control. The Liberals

00:09:08.680 and NDP probably won't take us up on that, but something needs to be done.

00:09:12.180 Yeah, Pierre's done a great job telling the story. And you're right. What has to happen is

00:09:17.180 a government has to, once again, take control of their finances. Because no other household can

00:09:23.700 actually survive on deficits forever. Because we saw in this budget, we're never going to have

00:09:29.100 a balanced budget. That doesn't work for the average family household. It doesn't work for a

00:09:33.540 business. So it doesn't work for a government. So our team with the Conservative Party and Pierre

00:09:38.920 Polyev can really get that under control. And we've had motions passed where we have to see

00:09:43.340 a balanced budget. Or at least, if you're going to bring in new spending, like the two-for-one

00:09:48.080 law, where if you bring in new spending, you have to find cuts in other departments. That's being

00:09:53.220 responsible. And I think that's what Canadians are looking for. They're looking for a responsible

00:09:56.980 government that can actually get our financial health in order.

00:10:00.240 Well, that too. And the fact that as government continues to grow, it gets slower. It gets

00:10:07.880 ineffective. And when you're trying to lure capital to the back of this country, and it's

00:10:13.520 a competitive market all across the world for infrastructure projects, you're talking

00:10:16.920 oil and gas, you're talking mining, whatever. When you have a regulatory process that is so

00:10:23.220 onerous, capital, like anything else, like water, will take the path of least resistance.

00:10:27.700 And we have a big, bloated federal bureaucracy.

00:10:32.920 So I was once told by a mentor of mine is government's kind of like a tropical fish.

00:10:38.100 It will grow to the size of its fishbowl. So if you create more space for government,

00:10:45.080 it will fill that space. And that's really something that we should think about and realize

00:10:49.020 that you're right. We need to trim where we can, provide the services Canadians need.

00:10:54.760 And there's so much waste. They talk about spending during COVID. 40% of that spending,

00:11:00.660 40% of the budget didn't go to COVID.

00:11:02.560 Nothing to do with COVID.

00:11:03.580 Billions of dollars to McKinsey. Billions of dollars to outside consultants and liberal

00:11:07.880 insiders. Frank Bayless. Billions of dollars for respirators.

00:11:13.420 There is so many...

00:11:13.980 That they never actually made. Nor did they have a history of making.

00:11:16.680 Yes, that's right.

00:11:17.300 So there are so many examples of where you can actually find efficiencies without affecting

00:11:23.900 the services that Canadians need.

00:11:26.760 Well, we just saw news this week about the Asian Infrastructure Bank and the fact that

00:11:31.560 we're still giving millions to the Asian Infrastructure Bank. So specifically, that helps

00:11:37.600 out China. Why are we helping out China after everything that's been happening?

00:11:41.140 Well, it's not only that. It's so amazing that this government will spend money on building

00:11:47.740 pipelines outside of Canada, but the most ethically sourced natural resources in the world are

00:11:55.660 in Canada, and we can't build pipelines to get our resources to other countries.

00:12:00.880 Isn't that unbelievable?

00:12:01.840 While China's interfering in our elections, while China's has police stations in Canada,

00:12:07.340 while China's intimidating members of parliament and their families abroad, and we're threatening 0.84

00:12:13.340 them, and then we're still giving the money. This is the mind of the Justin Trudeau liberals

00:12:19.040 right now. How is this okay on any level?

00:12:22.560 Well, it's... He said it himself. It's no mystery. He admires a basic dictatorship.

00:12:30.100 He said it. That's why it's confusing when people are surprised.

00:12:33.740 This man wants to be a dictator. And when we look at all of his history, we should not be surprised

00:12:42.860 by anything he does. And what we really need to do is talk with Canadians, get out there and make sure

00:12:48.440 that they realize that we need a government that puts Canadians first, that's going to bring home

00:12:53.480 paychecks, that's going to bring home common sense, and that's Pierre Polyev and the Conservative Party.

00:12:58.020 Actually, you touched on something I was going to... I should have mentioned earlier, but the fact that

00:13:04.360 this Liberal government and their policies are almost to the point breaking the back of the middle class

00:13:10.480 here in Canada, right? They are pushing more pressures with inflation, price increases, currency

00:13:16.380 manipulation, you name it. It's being brought on the back of the middle class and the lower income, 1.00

00:13:22.520 the poor, if you will, because the rich don't feel that, right?

00:13:25.160 So these policies continue to be pushed on.

00:13:30.620 You will eventually create a class, a new class of people who, unfortunately, no matter how hard they work,

00:13:39.040 no matter how many hours they put in, the taxes are too high, the price to live is too high,

00:13:44.580 and then they will become dependent upon government.

00:13:47.660 Well, I think that's the point.

00:13:49.900 Yeah, well, you created a dependent on government.

00:13:52.540 The point of this government is, they really are trying to look after people from cradle to grave.

00:13:58.160 And I believe Canadians can make their own choices.

00:14:00.920 And this is one of my sayings I always say is, a dollar in the pocket of someone that earned it

00:14:06.740 is worth twice as much as the government took it from that person.

00:14:09.580 So I believe Canadians know how to best to spend their money.

00:14:13.020 So the weirdest thing that happens with this government, with Trudeau and Jagmeet Singh,

00:14:18.000 who's propping him up as the most unethical government in the history of our country,

00:14:21.840 is they want to take money from Canadians, and then they want to look like heroes when they give it back.

00:14:28.880 We'll give you some of your money back.

00:14:30.340 Yeah, so I always say, like, why do you guys champion giving money back to Canadians in these programs you make up?

00:14:37.880 Don't take it from them in the first place.

00:14:40.600 Everyone's like, oh, conservatives are going to cut, they'll cut.

00:14:43.800 Well, yes, we will cut.

00:14:45.200 We'll cut your taxes.

00:14:46.620 We'll give your money back to you.

00:14:48.480 That's what we're going to do, because we believe you can spend your money better than the government can.

00:14:52.440 But how can politicians then, if they're letting people keep more of the money they earn,

00:14:57.840 spend it on their own priorities, which my priorities are different from yours and everyone else.

00:15:02.260 It's all different.

00:15:03.040 There's no one in the same.

00:15:04.300 How then will government be able to come in on the hero horse and say,

00:15:09.820 look at me, I'm going to solve a problem here.

00:15:12.180 Don't look behind the curtain, because I created the problem, but I'm going to come in here and solve it,

00:15:16.300 which they never do, because the solution to every government program is another government program.

00:15:20.680 Which never works.

00:15:21.380 That never works, and we just go around in circles.

00:15:23.780 Exactly, and that's what you get with a liberal government.

00:15:26.540 So when we talk, I actually went to a school and talked to kids.

00:15:29.960 I said, well, what's the biggest difference between liberals and conservatives?

00:15:33.440 And I always say, liberals in the NDP, which Agnit Singh, believe government can fix all your problems,

00:15:39.900 and conservatives believe that it's better solved by the individual in the private sector.

00:15:46.580 It's simple.

00:15:47.260 Yeah.

00:15:47.540 Like, if we let people keep more of their money, take farmers, for example.

00:15:51.700 Could you imagine what a farmer that has the entrepreneurial spirit, ingenuity, could do with an extra $150,000 a year?

00:16:01.980 Could you believe the progress he could make and the things he could possibly change on his farm,

00:16:07.260 be more efficient, more environmentally friendly with that money?

00:16:10.560 Maybe.

00:16:11.060 But the government wants to take it from him and then create environmental programs.

00:16:17.320 And more paperwork.

00:16:18.220 And more paperwork.

00:16:19.060 And more regulations.

00:16:19.080 And more regulation.

00:16:19.920 More tape.

00:16:20.560 And then say, well, are you sustainably accredited?

00:16:23.920 Well, yeah.

00:16:24.320 Every farmer is.

00:16:25.140 So, why don't you let that farmer keep that $150,000 a year and make his or her own decisions? 1.00

00:16:33.780 That's what conservatives believe.

00:16:35.180 And that's why we're going to be so much different after we win a peer pollio.

00:16:38.580 Not only that, farmers might actually have a better chance at making a living if they're able to keep that $150,

00:16:45.060 instead of trying to figure out how to navigate the tax system and the bureaucracy on just trying to produce food for all of us to eat.

00:16:51.740 That would be kind of nice if they were able to catch that.

00:16:54.680 Then we might have more young people interested in getting into the trade if they don't have to break their back from 5 a.m. onwards.

00:17:01.940 And who knows whenever.

00:17:02.940 It depends if you're calfing season or whatever.

00:17:04.780 However, if you're able to make a living, there might be more attraction.

00:17:08.940 Otherwise, the question is, why are farms getting bigger?

00:17:12.180 Are people starting to phase out of the trade?

00:17:15.480 Because young people don't want to get back into it. 1.00

00:17:17.360 That's a major issue.

00:17:19.440 Well, that's 100% right.

00:17:20.700 And actually, the Canada Farm Progress show is going on in Regina, Saskatchewan right now.

00:17:25.000 Amazing show.

00:17:25.840 So, it started today.

00:17:27.340 And there's so many reasons why people should get involved in agriculture now.

00:17:31.060 And actually, the same school I was talking to said, you don't actually, jobs in agriculture now aren't just car hearts.

00:17:38.940 You can also wear a white lab coat because there's so many innovations in science when it comes to agriculture.

00:17:44.760 And there's so many different aspects of agriculture now.

00:17:47.660 It's an agribusiness.

00:17:48.060 But so proud of our agriculture community because, really, one of the things is we have done more with less.

00:17:55.940 We have lowered our emissions with zero tillage, rotational grazing, rotational crop rotation, and precision agriculture where we've done such a good job.

00:18:06.760 So, Canada actually has 75% efficiency in fertilizer more than any other country in the world.

00:18:15.140 And our agriculture emissions are 2% of Canada's total emissions.

00:18:19.640 Oh, two to five.

00:18:21.180 And I think we need to realize how good we're doing in agriculture and actually take that story and tell it around the world.

00:18:28.260 That should make a good point because I think if you want to look at the message that we're trying to get out there is that if you want to lower emissions,

00:18:36.400 if you really want to ensure we're doing the best we can be,

00:18:40.660 it's agriculture is probably nine times out of ten leading the way in a lot of these advancements to ensure we're doing the best we can and being as efficient as possible

00:18:50.660 while producing a good quality product, which is Canadian-made food.

00:18:54.360 Well, what's amazing is when it comes to emissions, we've doubled our output and decreased our emissions.

00:19:02.160 And that's something where people need to take into consideration.

00:19:05.280 And I think that's what, when you get a liberal government with Trudel and company is they don't understand or respect the agriculture industry.

00:19:14.100 And I think that's a big problem.

00:19:15.700 And I think they still have this vision of a farmer with suspenders throwing seed on the ground.

00:19:22.120 And they don't realize how much it has evolved and how well we have done when it comes to,

00:19:27.340 there's no producer out there that wants to actually put, have more input because it costs money.

00:19:32.120 Of course, you'd lose money.

00:19:32.900 It's a business, right?

00:19:33.800 So no one wants to use more fertilizer or fuel than they have to.

00:19:38.420 So I think we need to respect agriculture and do way more consultations than what has happened.

00:19:44.240 When they brought out the fertilizer reduction targets, like to reduce fertilizer, they didn't talk to any producer.

00:19:51.220 And they don't realize how much we producers put into trying to ensure that they don't have the inputs that they don't need.

00:20:00.640 So I think that's really important when it comes down to it is the consultation process.

00:20:04.700 This government is so backwards when it comes to it.

00:20:07.360 They tell producers what they're going to do and then they talk about it after.

00:20:11.140 And I think that's a huge mistake that this government's made.

00:20:13.140 Well, purposely shorting the food supply, the government purposely shorting their food supply.

00:20:18.120 You saw that in the Netherlands, right?

00:20:19.340 That's pretty scary stuff when the government decides you're not going to eat this anymore.

00:20:24.240 Government should be maximizing your freedoms, not trying to control your behavior.

00:20:28.100 And I think this government here in Canada is a pretty bad example of the wrong path to take.

00:20:36.820 But at the same time, I think that's a good topic for another show.

00:20:40.280 Maybe we'll get you back on to talk about the fact that innovation leads the way.

00:20:46.260 Innovation can get us to where we want to go, I should say, while at the same time producing a better product.

00:20:54.260 So actually, I've been in the Ag Committee for a couple of years now.

00:20:57.660 And I asked one of the higher officials in the agriculture, I said, so what government policy brought in zero tillage?

00:21:06.680 There wasn't one.

00:21:07.560 What government policy brought in crop rotation or rotational grazing?

00:21:11.900 And I said, oh, there's no policy to do that.

00:21:14.880 I'm like, you know why?

00:21:16.140 Because producers will always try and take that next step to be better.

00:21:21.820 Of course.

00:21:22.240 To be more innovative.

00:21:23.100 To be more entrepreneurial.

00:21:24.380 And to make sure that they are sustainable, their soils looked after, and they're being financially responsible.

00:21:31.440 I like the way you say that, because that brings me to another topic as well.

00:21:34.560 We can also talk about how the bureaucracy has become so powerful that they're able to implement policy and rules and regulations without a vote in the House of Commons, right?

00:21:42.240 You're having unelected, unaccountable, faceless bureaucrats implementing rules, regulations, and red tape for people in the farming industry, in transport, you name it, and without getting a vote in the House of Commons.

00:21:55.700 I think that's the problem.

00:21:56.540 We've got to get out of here soon.

00:21:58.040 Question period's coming up.

00:21:59.200 Last word goes to you.

00:22:00.200 Well, I just want to say thank you, and it's great to have this opportunity to talk to Canadians and make sure that they realize that we're always going to be on their side.

00:22:08.600 We're fighting for them, and we're fighting for common sense in Ottawa.

00:22:11.860 Warren Stiley, Member of Parliament, Regina Lou Van in the beautiful province of Saskatchewan.

00:22:15.960 We also have the Agriculture Show going on in Regina starting today.

00:22:19.420 If you're in the area, take a look.

00:22:21.660 We appreciate his time.

00:22:22.640 We appreciate your time as well.

00:22:23.840 Don't forget, new content for you every single Tuesday, 1.30 p.m. Eastern Time.

00:22:27.140 We ask that you like, comment, share, and subscribe to this program.

00:22:30.360 We are not taking time off this summer.

00:22:32.260 We will be back next week.

00:22:34.260 And until then, low taxes, less government, more freedom.

00:22:37.420 That's the blueprint.

The Blueprint: Canada's Conservative Podcast - June 23, 2023

How much more can Canadians take？

Episode Stats

Summary

Transcript