March Community News

I think that I can sum up March in just a few words – the Liberal scandal over foreign elections interference and the recent budget.  The Liberals and the Prime Minister in particular made the most extraordinary efforts to try to distract, divide and cover-up his failure to protect Canadians from foreign interference. They filibustered a committee for three weeks to stop the PM’s Chief of Staff from testifying on what she knew before they finally announced that she would testify. Then the PM announces that former Governor General David Johnston would be an “independent special rapporteur” for him on this.  David Johnston served honourably as Canada’s Governor General but the fact that he was on the Board of the Trudeau Foundation when the foundation accepted a $200,000 donation from a Chinese Communist intermediary. That makes him an entirely inappropriate choice for this position. Also, “he has spent a half century supporting Beijing’s strategy to draw Canada into its orbit of influence.” More from Terry Glavin of the National Post here.  The Liberals actually wonder why Canadians would be suspicious of them?  Conservatives believe this should be an open and transparent process and want Canadians to know what the PM knew and when he knew it. Why was he hiding information that affected the choices that Canadians were making at the ballot box? Canadians have the right to know.  Information on this week’s big-spending budget below.  In happier news, Spring is officially here. The clocks have sprung ahead, the kids have started spring breaks and the weather is slowly getting warmer.   In your service,

Jasraj Singh Hallan Member of Parliament Calgary Forest Lawn

Budget Update !Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland of the NDP-Liberals government introduced her latest budget this week and it clearly shows that they are out of ideas.  Canadians are hurting and this NDP-Liberal government needs to put out their inflationary fire that has been growing out of control. Instead, PM Trudeau threw gasoline on that fire guaranteeing that costs will continue to go up. Of course, Liberals are always blaming someone else for their failures, sometimes even saying it’s still Stephen Harper’s fault. If you were waiting for Freeland’s promised fiscal restraint, you will be very disappointed. They plan to run a $40 billion deficit this coming year, continuing to add to our national debt which is well over a trillion dollars now. They didn’t even pretend to make an effort to slow down their spending. This budget also includes $43 billion in new spending which will cost each household $4,200 and add to the inflation you are already having to pay for. The really terrible aspect of this government’s high tax, high spend agenda, is that it does not matter whether times are good or bad, they spend more of your money. Conservatives led by Pierre Poilievre have brought forward common sense plans for the common people. We will bring home more powerful paycheques, lower prices, and more affordable homes. It’s time to turn hurt into hope.

Carbon Tax Increases If you are out driving this morning, you probably noticed that gas prices have risen again. You can thank Justin Trudeau and his latest carbon tax increase.  My Conservative colleagues have repeatedly asked the NDP-Liberals to get rid of this destructive, inflationary tax completely but to at least consider not raising it this year. We can see the difficulties that Canadians are having in this economy and with household costs growing rapidly while salaries are not.  The misinformation that the Liberals have put out for years says that more Albertans would get back more in carbon tax rebates than what they would pay in tax has been exposed as a lie. The Parliamentary Budget Officer revealed that this week in a request I put in to check the numbers. When Liberals triple this tax, Albertan families will pay an average of $2,773 out of pocket.  The carbon tax hasn’t helped emissions come down and the NDP-Liberal costly coalition haven’t met a single emission reduction target they set for themselves. They will only make the price of gas, groceries and home heating go up when they increase the tax April 1st.  Not only did they refuse to at least postpone the increase, taxes are also increasing on alcohol and there is a Clean Fuel Standard (2nd carbon tax) coming. And that’s after the payroll tax increases that came into effect on January 1.  I wish this was an April Fool’s prank but sadly the joke is on taxpayers.  More on carbon taxation from Dan McTeague, President of Canadians for Affordable Energy and a former Liberal MP here.

From The Mailbox Here is a list of issues I received correspondence on from the community during the past month.  Here goes … election interference, immigration delays, border security, labour negotiations, forced labour, interest rates, censorship, support for Ukraine, Middle-East peace, support for publishers, PSAC strike, Canada/Ukraine relations, housing costs, tax fraud, mud flap laws, mortgage rules, consumer reward programs, World Economic Forum, mortgage discharge rules, grocery costs, abortion, Rogers-Shaw merger, privacy rules, federal budget, prorogation, surgery delays, Emergencies Act, visa delays, gun license delays, broadband access, democratic reform, healthcare funding, plastics ban, daylight savings time, cancer screening, Tik Tok, pipelines, government ethics, gender equity, refugees, airline fares, banking industry, labour shortages, carbon tax, cell phone rates, medical assistance in dying, vaccine safety, provincial politics, Canada/China relations, migrant workers, animal testing, digital IDs, horse slaughter, firearms crimes, pilot licencing, digital currency, alcohol tax, MP renumeration, old growth forests, environmental racism, Canadian airport improvement fees, Just Transition, fur farming, rental supports, nuclear waste, logging emissions, LNG projects and climate change.  Due to the volume of mail and the variety of issues, we appreciate your patience in awaiting a response.

Remove the carbon tax from Canadian farms  This week, the House of Commons, led by Conservatives and opposed by the Liberals, passed a private member’s bill to remove the carbon tax from farm fuels such as natural gas and propane. However, the NDP-Liberal government is known for ignoring Parliament when it ignores their ideological agenda.   The carbon tax on farmers’ natural gas and propane will cost $1 billion through 2030, according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer.   Like any other business, farmers have to include their costs when they sell their products so it goes without saying that saving farmers’ money helps all of us when we go to the grocery store.

Grants & Funding My office fields many calls about whether how to access funding from the federal government. You can find grants and funding by using this handy online tool provided by the Government of Canada.  Funding is available in many categories and is continually adjusted as the federal government’s policy priorities change.  Click here.

Which Benefits Are You Eligible For?The Benefits Finder tool allows you to determine what benefits you may be entitled to by answering a few easy questions.  After completing the quick multiple-choice questions, your possible benefits are short-listed and additional information is provided.  Many federal-provincial programs are also incorporated into the search results. Link here.

Canada Job BankIf you need help getting back to work, try accessing the jobs being listed on the government website, visit www.jobbank.gc.ca to see the latest opportunities.  Hundreds of jobs are listed that are in our community and they offer Canadians with a wide variety of work experiences.

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