What counts with voters?

OTTAWA—Politics may never have been about policy as much as personalities and image (when they finally get to the ballot box, people after all tend to vote on the basis of which candidate they generally feel good about). And if policy ever counted for much, it certainly is not the case in the era of QAnon and wall-to-wall misinformation. But it’s worth noting that the Trudeau Liberals, even leaving aside their extensive COVID-19 bailout, have done more to help improve the socio-economic standing and prospects for non-rich Canadians than any government of modern times. Progressive Conservative prime minister Brian Mulroney came into office vowing to cut spending to reduce federal budget deficits and to unleash corporate Canada. The Liberals’ Jean Chrétien presided over a real reduction in federal outlays on social programs, and the Conservatives’ Stephen Harper did all he could to construct a business-first framework that eliminated supports for low-income and vulnerable Canadians. In eight years, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has brought in literally hundreds of programs and initiatives that the Liberals consider of value—initiatives to support people in nearly every walk of life. Here’s a random sampling: Lowered income taxes for the middle class while raising them for the very rich; Brought in a national childcare program that makes daycare more affordable, and allows more parents to enter the workforce; Reversed the previous government’s plan to increase the age to qualify for Old Age Security to 67 from 65, and improved support payments for seniors; Introduced a revised, more generous Canada Child Benefit, which contributed to 2.7 million Canadians no longer living in poverty; Invested more than $800-million to address the opioid crisis and provide treatment; Helped prepare the economic backdrop for near-record unemployment; Put an end to the Harper government’s attempts to undermine the union movement; Earmarked $195-billion in health transfers to the provinces over 10 years; Introduced the Canada Dental Benefit for children under the age of 12; Allocated $5-billion to provinces to improve mental health care; Committed $33-billion to support new investments in public transit and green infrastructure; Put tens of billions of dollars to incentivize clean technology manufacturing; Moved to prohibit the use of replacement workers in a strike; Invested billions of dollars to support scientific research; Allocated $100-million to help pay for legal aid services; Provided grants for energy-efficient home retrofits; Put up more than $500-million to confront racism and discrimination; Started extensive programs to support those living in rural and remote communities; Improved claims processing for Employment Insurance applications; and Brought in the Canada Disability Benefit. In contrast, among the policies that stood out during the first four years of Ontario Progressive Conservative Premier Doug Ford’s government, were: Created what critics called a “snitch line” for parents to report teachers who refused Ford’s order to use old-fashioned sex education material; Trimmed $17-million in support for women’s shelters and victims of violence; Scrapped a planned increase in welfare spending, and tossed out the previous government’s basic income pilot program; Scaled back eHealth’s budget by $70-million; Sat on billions of dollars’ worth of federal COVID aid that could have helped Ontarians; Postponed a planned hike in minimum wage until it became a pre-election plank; Reduced legal aid by 30 per cent; Rapidly increased the use of minister’s zoning orders to bypass local planning bylaws to spur development on lands previously zoned for agricultural use or natural heritage protection, benefitting developers who in some cases have links to Ford’s party; Removed rent control for new units; Ended free prescription medication for young Ontarians; Cut $84-million in funding for children and at-risk youth, and scrapped free university tuition for low-income students; Undercut the province’s Anti-Racism Directorate; Scrapped $335-million in planned mental health spending; Caused the wait list for provincially funded services for children with autism to double to 50,000; Eliminated the $3-billion cap-and-trade greenhouse gas emissions control program and, as a result, eliminated funding for school repairs, energy-saving home retrofits, social housing programs and other initiatives; Brought in $600-million in cuts to student grants, and $440-million in funding cuts to universities and colleges; and Saw more than 3,800 long-term care residents die during COVID-19. In last year’s provincial election, Ontario voters returned Ford as premier by giving his party a majority victory, while according to the polls, Trudeau is now increasingly unpopular. Les Whittington is a regular columnist for The Hill Times. The Hill Times

What counts with voters?

If policy ever counted for much, it certainly is not the case in the era of QAnon and wall-to-wall misinformation.

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What counts with voters?

If policy ever counted for much, it certainly is not the case in the era of QAnon and wall-to-wall misinformation.

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