Looking back a year and a half ago the prospects of a Conservative victory looked thin. The Liberals had a healthy lead in the polls and “sunny ways” resonated with people. Consistent warning from the press that a first-time majority government will not be out of government after one term and it would be no different for these Liberals. Looking at the current landscape it is much different, and there is a strong wind of change in the air. The people of Guelph want a strong leader and someone different to represent them. Looking at the current public polls and talking with lots of people, it is clear that the government has isolated voters in the SNC-Lavalin scandal, went against Liberal principles in the term and broke too many promises.
The Liberal -SNC/ Lavalin scandal has been the biggest story of 2019 Canadian politics. Regardless of where you stand on the government’s position to interfere with the prosecution, the way the government has handled the controversy has been… you choose: closed off, bad to see, hurtful? Each day, the story unfolded in the paper adding a new scapegoat for the PM to point towards or a leak that gave us a further glimpse into how deep the issue went. The public has screamed for answers, and when the issue was becoming too real, the government decided to shut down the public hearing. MPs felt they weren’t able to question or hold the government accountable, demonstrating how strong the PM was keeping the reigns. To make the matter worse, during the election the Liberals promised they would bring the government “out of the dark of Stephen Harper’s government” and bring a more positive approach. The government has failed to deliver, and the Liberal – SNC/ Lavalin scandal has shown that this government operates in secret and not the positive light it promised voters.
Beyond the Liberal/SNC-Lavalin scandal, since being in office, the Liberals have governed with a different breed of liberalism than what sold to the public during the election. In Guelph, our candidate promised deeper collaboration including town halls and technology to foster collaboration. Difficult topics the including renegotiation of NAFTA, Omni Bills and electoral reform were not collaborated, leaving the public searching for answers and feeling shut out. We do see a large number of town halls for topics without much controversy or for funding announcements. We don’t see the collaboration that was promised on an ongoing basis, regardless of the topic. Our representative should be willing to discuss issues – difficult or easy – with the public. The Liberal government has not come through with election promises and have made government less collaborative and much more narrowly focused.
Between electoral reform, the return of mail service, not using Omni legislation, balanced budgets and funding for seniors, these are some of the items that were quickly broken promises from the Liberals. Many governments break campaign promises, but they typically keep the main promises that get them elected. The Liberal government made the issue of electoral reform the “most important issue of this campaign.” Did that happen? After the Special Committee on Electoral Reform recommended that Canada moves towards a proportional representation system with a referendum, the government decided it didn’t want to move forward. We didn’t receive a good explanation. The Liberals have broken promise after promise to the electorate and haven’t lived up to the vision they sold to you last election. With the election coming this year, how can you believe they will follow through with anything new they propose? The Liberals know they are at a risk of losing this election and will be promising anything they can to remain in power. Guelph is too smart to fall for the same broken promises and people want real change.
The political landscape has changed a lot over the past year. The Liberals have isolated voters and have broken the public trust. Don’t be fooled by the promises that these Liberals make during the election campaign. It is Sunny ways during the campaign, but if elected back in office we will continue to see divisive policies and elitist thinking. It’s false advertising.
Opinion piece submitted by Derek Matisz
