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OUR VIEW: Budget circus further erodes trust

Can any party really earn Canadians’ trust, considering the shoddy show that Parliament has become?
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Minister of Finance Bill Morneau arrive in the Foyer of the House of Commons to table the Budget, on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, March 19, 2019. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)

Some Canadians think the Conservatives are on a righteous, truth-seeking path in their determination to hold the federal Liberal government accountable in the SNC-Lavalin affair.

Some Canadians think what happened in the House of Commons this week, as at least one letter writer suggests, was a “disgusting, disrespectful display” on the part of the Conservatives when they shouted down Finance Minister Bill Morneau as he attempted to present his government’s last budget before the Oct. 21 general election.

The question is whether Canadians really missed anything, considering on Aug. 27, 2015 — during the election campaign that brought him to power — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised, “We will balance the budget in 2019.”

And here we are, with a deficit of $19.8 billion in the 2019-20 fiscal year.

READ ALSO: Tory MPs chant ‘cover up’ during federal budget delivery

What’s that Scotty said in Star Trek?

“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”

Doubters among us strongly suspect the Liberals are making all sorts of big spending promises in the hopes of making the SNC-Lavalin affair go away, besides, of course, buoying up their chance of retaining power. Probably.

Doubters also suspect the Conservative’s expressed horror at the Liberal government’s conduct in this matter is fuelled more by opportunism than a keen sense of justice. Probably.

One certain, undeniable truth is this: What happened in the House of Commons this week was a circus, and it suggests we are in for a real dilly of an election campaign this year as the parties vie for power, if not the electorate’s trust.

After all, is the former really attainable anymore?

Can any of them really earn Canadians’ trust, considering the shoddy show that Parliament has become?

Now-Leader



edit@surreynowleader.com

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