by Richard Froese
Who says history doesn’t repeat itself in Canadian federal politics. When former prime minister Pierre Trudeau left office in 1984, Albertans and western Canadians thought that they had seen the end of a national leader with that surname? However, Trudeau is back, as prime minister; now it’s Justin, son of Pierre, who served as PM from April 1968 to June 1979 and again from March 1980 to June 1984.
Trudeau and the Liberals spell bad news for western Canada, states former Alberta newspaper columnist and somewhat political prophet Jeff Willerton in the twelfth edition of Fix Canada released in June 2014, based on columns in Alberta in 1998 and 1999.
“If central and eastern Canadians continue to foist unnecessary Liberal governments on us, that alone should frankly qualify as grounds for divorce one day.
“So it’s change or bust; take your pick. It also so happens that dissolution is entirely feasible from a western standpoint.
“The continued elections of Liberal governments, I believe, simply draws the day ever nearer.
“For nothing could drive western separatist sentiment higher, faster, than the election of another Trudeau to lead us ever deeper into the abyss, yet that’s precisely what they’ve threatened us with.”
That column refers to former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, who created one of the largest per-capita bureaucracies in history with a veritable army of civil servants.
“In fact, it became laughably large during the Trudeau years and successive governments, instead of dealing with the situation have succumbed to, among other things, the power of the unions.
“In the 1970s, the Liberals gave us such an enormous per-capita bureaucracy, it was laughable on the world stage, and Trudeau himself will forever be remembered as the godfather of deficit financing.”
Doesn’t that sound familiar with the younger Prime Minister Trudeau committed to deficit budgets he promised during the recent election campaign.
“On the question of abolition (of the senate), pushed to the fore by some of (Conservative Leader and Prime Minister Stephen) Harper’s more questionable appointment, can you imagine a country governed by Trudeau the Lesser without a chamber of sober second thought? Forbid the thought.
“Many obviously fail to stay abreast of political issues and sleepwalk into the polls if they go at all. (Page 101)
“That general ignorance of political issues is why we have a Liberal government today, and its 2.2 million Ontarians who made it possible.”
So, how did Canada reach this point in government history? Consider what Willerton has to suggest.
“We’re in a predicament today because of 130 odd years of Liberal and Progressive Conservative misrule. To continue to bounce between these two parties and expect good government one day would be the height of naivete.
“To produce different results, obviously we need to start doing things differently. So why do those who do, continue to vote Liberal? Ignorance. To suggest that people vote Liberal due to ignorance is therefore not an insult, but rather a genuine observation.”
“In good conscience, I couldn’t support anyone who chooses to represent the Liberal party, regardless of jurisdiction. Many Liberals would rather eat dirt than join the NDP, but the parties really aren’t that far apart ideologically. They both want to raise taxes and increase benefits while decreasing military spending.”