A Legacy of Liberal Lies

November 23, 2005

If this minority Parliament is finally, and mercifully, put out of its collective misery next week, this could be the last column I write for a couple of months. Perhaps longer should I fail to win your trust again on voting day.

Every morning when I walk into my office in Ottawa, my eyes are drawn to a dominant, one-word sign that hangs above my desk … INTEGRITY. Fittingly, directly beneath it is a 1942 picture of my father operating a bulldozer clearing the right-of-way for the construction of the Alaska Highway.

The sign, and picture, serve as constant reminders of both my roots and the values my father, and mother, instilled in me growing up on the farm south of Fort St. John.

Most Canadians believe integrity seems to be in short supply these days in Ottawa … and who can blame them?

The sponsorship scandal and Justice Gomery’s findings that millions of tax dollars were stolen from taxpayers and funnelled to the Liberal Party of Canada top the list of reasons why Canadians don’t trust politicians. However, the federal Liberal government under Paul Martin has done so much more to undermine voters’ faith in government.

This week, Public Works Minister Scott Brison was forced to issue a written apology for maliciously false remarks he made on behalf of the Martin Liberals about Stephen Harper in an attempt to discredit a Conservative proposal to bring accountability and integrity to government.

It was no different during the last election campaign when the Liberals spouted several lies about Conservative Party policies.

The Liberals ran TV ads suggesting we wanted to buy American-style aircraft carriers. False. They said Conservative tax cuts would pitch the nation back into deficit and were based upon miscalculated surpluses. False. In fact, the Liberal surplus estimate for last year proved to be a whopping $7.2-billion lower than reality.

This election campaign hasn’t even begun, and already the Liberals are casting their shameless web of deceit.

Paul Martin says soldiers will not get their pay raise if the opposition parties force an election. False. Soldiers received those pay hikes in April, eight months ago. The Liberals threaten that an election will mean no harsher penalties for gun crimes, no increased benefits for seniors, no purchase of planes and helicopters for the military, and no personal tax cuts. It’s all false.

Plus, these are the same Conservative policies the Liberals have harshly derided as impossible in the past. Plus, the Liberals had more than 12 years to get these things done.

Suddenly, now that Paul Martin is worried sick he’s fast-tracking towards defeat, long-awaited legislation has been magically tabled. He’s also gone on a $26-billion pre-election panic spending spree, making $10-billion worth of announcements this week alone!

That’s your money. That is your federal government. Are you willing to let the Liberals continue to taint it with deceit and corruption for even another week let alone four years? Or do you believe that the values of accountability and integrity that my parents taught me should be the standard for individuals and government alike?

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