The NDP “leaving” the coalition agreement with the Government.
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Summary
In this episode of The Blueprints, Conservative MP Jamil Gagnier joins me to talk about the upcoming election, the carbon tax, and the need for a new Prime Minister. We also talk about why it's time to elect a Conservative Prime Minister and why it should be Justin Trudeau.
Transcript
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Hello and welcome once again to the Blueprints. This is Canada's Conservative Podcast. I'm
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your host, Jamie Schmael, Member of Parliament for Halliburton Corps with the Lake Sprocket
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with new content for you every single Tuesday. We look forward to you liking, commenting
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and sharing this program because there are ears that need to hear this message and eyes
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that need to see it as well. Ensure that Pierre Polyev is the next Prime Minister of Canada.
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So please do that. Also tell your friends. They can download the content on platforms
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like CastBox, iTunes, Google Play and Spotify. You name it, it is out there. Parliament has
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resumes and that'll be the topic of our discussion today. We're back in session and joining me
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today, our guest, kind of old news now, I guess by election winner, but great to have you,
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Jamil Giovanni, Member of Parliament for Durham, my geographical next door neighbour. Great
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to have you on the program. Yeah, great to be here. I'm very pumped to be back in Ottawa
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and hopefully do our part to get an election going as soon as possible.
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All right, let's talk election because I think that's on the tip of everyone's tongue,
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everyone's mind is thinking about it, almost ready to put this government out of its misery.
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And the NDP did a big flex during the dying summer months, really didn't do much, but I'd
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like to get your thoughts on that. Well, of course, I think the NDP realizes that Justin Trudeau
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is incredibly unpopular. And now they're trying to distance themselves from the Prime Minister
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they've been propping up for years. It's the same reason why they changed their position on things
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like the carbon tax. They know that they've been failing the people across this country who the NDP
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claims to be fighting for. They claim to be fighting for hardworking people. They claim to be
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fighting for the working class, the middle class, the unions. And they've been disappointing all of
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those people across this country. And now they're trying to backtrack. And they think Canadians have
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a short memory. I don't think we do. Well, it's interesting too, because the Liberal Premier
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Newfoundland and Labrador is going out against the carbon tax. The Manitoba Premier, NDP, has given
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residents in his province a break on the fuel tax, the provincial fuel tax. And now, to the
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astonishment of, I think everybody, the NDP Premier is talking about a way out of the carbon tax in
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British Columbia, which is one of the highest in the country and causing misery for a lot of
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residents. It's amazing how we went from this has to happen and punishing people to, yeah, wait a
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second, people's lives are a lot harder because of it. Yeah. And I think, honestly, it's because
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the Liberals in the NDP have been riding high on a reputation that I would argue is undeserved,
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but a reputation they've had for decades, for generations, where they're fighting for the little
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guy. They're doing their part to help people who need a hand up in our society. And now that they've
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been in power for nine years, and all these folks' lives have just gotten harder, the jig is up. You
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can't claim that you're fighting for the working class and the middle class, as the Liberals and the
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NDP have tried to do, when you're actively creating tax policies that make life less affordable for all
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of those people. And I think that's what we've seen on the carbon tax issue as it's evolved,
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is just more and more people realizing that this is not working. And now they don't have an
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alternative. And that's the thing that's being exposed, is that the Liberals and the NDP actually
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don't have an alternative. They are now just backtracking on promises they've made to their
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base about caring about the environment and exposing that the carbon tax was never about the
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environment, right? And it's really just- There's always been a tax plan. Yeah, it's always been a tax
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plan. Yeah. And we have been saying the same thing ever since the Liberals brought in
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the carbon tax. That it was, in fact, a tax plan. And that's all they had. And you're right. It's
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being exposed now. And people are seeing the effects of it. Every time it goes up, the cost of
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everything that is used, whether it be agriculture, transport, whatever, sees the subsequent increase
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in prices. Exactly. I was raised by a single mom. I grew up in a community where a lot of kids are
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raised by single moms. And I know how precarious life can be when you're in those tough economic
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situations where every dollar counts. Every dollar can be the difference between whether
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everybody gets to eat a full meal or not. Or every dollar can be the difference in whether
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you get to pay rent or not. There's a growing number of people in this country who are going
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through that right now. Even full families working hard with two incomes are going through
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that right now. Food bank rates, usage rates are sky high. And so we're seeing more and more
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people in these tough economic situations. And I think it's almost like the NDP liberal
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coalition is having its bluff called. It's a very reasonable question for a Canadian to
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ask. Why is my life getting harder as this government is in power longer? And the NDP
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think they're going to be able to abdicate themselves from any responsibility for this.
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I do not think that Canadians are going to let them off the hook. You propped up a carbon
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tax economy for years, and you can't just disown that overnight. You've got to be held responsible.
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Yeah. And I love, just as we were getting to rise this past June, a few months ago, the
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NDP were trying out some new lines, right? The NDP is a vote for change, right? That's
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the status quo. You're not changing anything. This is your agenda. This is what you wanted.
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Yes. That is what I mean when I say they've had this reputation for decades, where they've
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tried to make themselves, we're fighting the machine, we're fighting the man. And it turns
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out they're the man. And they're best friends with the man. And they helped the man stay in power
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for nine years. This is not fighting the man. And I think Canadians, especially young Canadians,
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who know that the economy is stacked against them right now, who are anxious about whether
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they'll ever be able to buy a home at any point in their adult life, they're looking at the NDP and
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being like, you're not fighting the man. You're not fighting the status quo. You're not fighting for
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change. And they've been exposed. And I think that's what's happened. And you see them flailing right
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now, trying to figure out how to restore that reputation they used to have. But I think it's
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gone. I think our party, the Conservative Party of Canada, has now taken up that mantle.
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We fight for the little guy. We fight for the hardworking families. We fight for the working
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class, the middle class. And we're seeing that trend grow all across Canada. As more people get to know
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Pierre Polyev, they see a man who has a plan to lead this country in a way that actually creates
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opportunity for those who don't have it right now. Oh, absolutely. So let's go to the press conference
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where Jagmeet Singh was doing his little stunt. And let's queue up cut one. So he continued to
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just deflect on the simple question, would you vote in a non-confidence vote to trigger
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an election? He would not do that. So let's hear cut one.
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What do you need to see from the fall economic statement or spring budget in order to support
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the Liberals on votes? For any question around votes, we're going to make that determination
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on a vote-by-vote basis. So we're going to see what the government presents. And as an opposition
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party, we'll look at it and then we'll make our decision. But because I ripped up the agreement
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with Justin Trudeau, I know this now means that election timing has become more uncertain,
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more likely. And we know that that means people will have a choice to make.
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So what the NDP did, I still can't understand this flex, right? Now they have no power at all.
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So of course, the Bloc, Québécois, ran in, filled that gap. And so the NDP are just left in wilderness now.
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The strategy, I have no idea what they were thinking. I have no idea to get in the mind of a socialist,
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but that makes no sense. I can't make right or wrong of this.
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Well, it seems to me that Jagmeet Singh thought this through as far as wanting to run around all
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summer saying he ripped up the agreement. And talked him tough.
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That was the line he wanted to deliver all across the country. You didn't really think
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it through after that. So I don't think they have much of a plan. But I think you're right.
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As soon as they stepped back from that agreement and the Bloc Québécois then stepped in to fill the
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void, it exposed what we've been saying this entire time, which is that the Liberals could not be doing
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what they're doing without another party willing to prop them up. It was the NDP. Now it's potentially
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the Bloc Québécois. I don't know. But what we do know for a fact is this is not just a liberal
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problem. It has been an NDP liberal problem because the Liberals just couldn't get what
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they've done done without somebody else willing to have their back. And now they can say they've
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ripped up the agreement all they want. I am sure we're going to give them plenty of opportunity
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to vote non-confidence in Justin Trudeau and non-confidence in the Liberal government.
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Let's see. Are they actually willing to back up their tough talk or is this all a show? Many people
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will call this a stunt. We'll see if that's what it is or not. But that might wind up being the most
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accurate way to describe what Jagmeet Singh is up to. Well, let's see if they get a backbone. Let's
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keep up cut two here. So this is Melanie Jolie, the Foreign Affairs Minister, who I think is doing a
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terrible job and can't get her messages straight on what's going on in the Middle East, saying that
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Canadians want them to govern. Play cut two. Canadians don't want elections. They just want us to do the
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job. They just want us to govern. And that's what we're doing. We're governing. We're taking tough
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decisions. Why? Because times are tough. And so, wait, wait, let me finish. I'm speaking.
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He's got to have that hard close at the end. But times are tough. Well, who's been in charge
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Yeah. I mean, you know it's bad when a Liberal minister is having an uncomfortable moment with
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the media. Because usually it's smooth sailing. Yeah, what's your favorite color for breakfast?
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Yeah. But even the media is having to ask him some questions now. I mean, the reality is this. We just,
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this week, will have the newly elected Member of Parliament from Toronto, St. Paul's, Don Stewart,
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the first Conservative to be elected there in 30 years, joining our caucus, being here in Ottawa. And that
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is a sign of how much even people who voted Liberal for a long time have lost confidence in this
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government. They can say that Canadians want them to govern. I would say most Canadians believe they're
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governing poorly. They're making bad decisions. And that is why people want change. There are real
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problems in this country. And when we talk about things like the carbon tax, or we talk about housing
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construction, or stopping crime, the reason Canadians want an election is because we have problems that
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need to be fixed. And this current government's not fixing them.
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Well, prior to Don Stewart's by-election in Toronto, St. Paul's, it was yours.
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You must have heard all that at the doors, right? You could hear and see and sense there was a
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bubbling under the surface that a lot of people are feeling a little anxious about the economy and
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the direction of the country. Yes. And even people who would say to me straight up that they voted
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Liberal their entire life, or they voted NDP their entire life, we're talking retired union workers,
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or people who recently moved to Durham from places like Toronto, and they would say, we need a change.
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I mean, there clearly needs to be a change right now. And they're not saying it because they're
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obsessed with politics. This is not about politics for them. This is about their families. This is about
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what is the country we're leaving behind for the next generation, and genuine concern over the
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direction of this country. That is what I detected when I was knocking on door after door after door,
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when we were at community events, even throughout the summer. It was my first summer as an MP,
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I was running around as MPs do during summer time, trying to meet as many people as possible. And
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the number one message people had is, we need change. The status quo is not working. And that is
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the burden that Canadians are carrying right now, feeling like, man, what's happening? Where are we
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going from here? We're trending downward in so many metrics, and we need confidence that we have a
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government that can actually make that change. They do not have that confidence in the current government.
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And one thing that did jump up was the unemployment rate. But more specifically,
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the youth unemployment rate is higher than I think many are comfortable with.
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Absolutely. It's so frustrating to see that for years and years and years,
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the Liberal Party has tried to make any conversation about immigration policy a matter of race.
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Even though people from all across the spectrum of different cultures and backgrounds want to have
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a serious conversation about immigration. As soon as we start pointing out the consequences that
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temporary foreign worker programs, high rates of student visas are having on the labor force,
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the amount of young people not getting access to opportunity because of the logjam in the labor market,
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all of a sudden, the Liberals want to say, oh, we need to pivot on immigration. There have been people
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making this point for a long time. And the Liberals are the ones pointing a finger in their face and
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saying, you're a racist for even asking a question. They were shouting down any time you talked about
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that. And now they want to- again, it's the same thing we're seeing with Jagmeet Singh. These guys
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who've been in power for years think that we all have short memories. Like we're all goldfish. We can't
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remember. Wait, weren't you the one who just made this decision two years ago? And now you want to
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disown it and pretend that we don't remember that you were there every step of the way when things got worse.
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So these guys think they're going to evade accountability. And the reason why Canadians want an election
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is to hold them accountable and to bring in change. And that is what we're going to do.
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Well, I remember there was the talk when the Liberals many, many years ago released the requirement for
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visas for visitors from Mexico coming into Canada. And the warnings were people saying there's warnings about
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this. Like, just be weary. The Liberals during the summer put that back on. They did a whole bunch
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of things, brought in some of Jason Kenney's policies when he was minister back under their
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Harper about companies requiring a certain amount of domestic workers before they can even think about
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going to a temporary foreign worker or a foreign worker through different permits, etc. And again,
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like you just said, these voices were shouted down when they were brought up as reasonable arguments
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against a Liberal position. Yeah. And that's what they do. It's the same thing that happened with
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the carbon tax. They said, oh, you don't care about the environment. It's like, what? We don't want
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people having to pay an increase in their grocery bill every month, their home heating bill every month.
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We have construction companies saying the carbon tax is making it more expensive to build the houses
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that Canadians need. And they want to say that this is an environmental issue. What we've said all along,
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you have a tax plan, not an environmental plan. But this is what they do. They put people who have
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reasonable objections to their bad policies in a corner. And they're used to people being afraid to push
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back. But now we've got a growing movement, a beautiful growing movement across Canada that is now saying,
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we're tired of it. And we're not putting up with this anymore. You're not going to bully us.
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You're not going to call us names. You're not going to point a finger in our face and get us to be afraid of
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telling the truth. And the truth is that the country needs change. And that is why we need an election.
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And as soon as they give Canadians the opportunity to vote, I am very confident that Canadians will send
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that message loud and clear from coast to coast to coast. Change is needed.
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Well, it seems like a couple of surveys during the summer pointed that out. Like, I think people have tuned out
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the prime minister, they've tuned out the Liberal Party, and they're just waiting to put this government
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Well, I mean, you even have Liberal MPs who are saying publicly that they don't even have confidence
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in their leader. I mean, that would be the interesting thing. In a non-confidence vote,
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will all the Liberals even vote to keep their own leader?
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There's a growing number of people on their side who are saying,
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recognizing their party is not getting the job done. And Justin Trudeau is a failed prime minister.
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So yeah, look, I know I'm not the only MP who's coming back to Ottawa this week saying,
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the number one sentiment from my constituents is, please give us an election now. And I agree with
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them. I would love to have this election as soon as possible.
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Yeah, I heard the same thing too. I have a few more topics to get in with you, but unfortunately,
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Maybe you'll invite me back and we can continue the conversation.
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Well, it's a little nerve wracking. A former broadcaster being interviewed. I don't know what
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it was like on the other side. Did you find it okay?
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You have to say that because you don't want to insult the host.
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All right, Jamil. Thank you very much for coming on the show. Really appreciate it. We'll get you
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We can really dive into, especially the economy. A little shaky out there right now.
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Yeah. Jamil Javani, Member of Parliament for Durham,
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Mike Geographical. Next door, a neighbour. We appreciate his time. We appreciate yours as
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well. Don't forget to like, comment, subscribe, share this program. This message needs to be heard
00:16:16.340
to ensure that Pierre Polyev is the next Prime Minister of Canada. Tell your friends too. They
00:16:20.100
can download it on platforms like CastBox, iTunes, Google Play, and Spotify. You name it,
00:16:24.100
it is out there. New content every single Tuesday, 1.30 p.m. Eastern time. Until then,
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remember, it's low taxes, less government, more freedom. That's The Blue Point.