Andrew Scheer criticized the Liberals small business tax increases and the unbalanced budget during his first visit to Richmond as the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.
On Wednesday, 500 Richmond residents and community leaders attended a lunch hosted by Scheer and Richmond Centre MP Alice Wong. The two delivered the Conservatives’ outlook on the economies nationwide and in B.C. The event was part of Scheer’s three-day visit to the province.
“Richmond is like many cities in British Columbia that have a lot of small businesses. Small businesses are one of the most important engines, create jobs and support families, but the Liberal government targets small businesses and has raised taxes for them,” said Scheer.
Scheer said economic indicators show that businesses and investment are leaving the province because the “federal government is pushing and chasing away investment.” This has been one of the top concerns of the party.
“Many people in Richmond depend on those jobs and investment to pay the mortgage and pay for their kids’ schools. We want to provide work opportunities to everyone here and make sure our children have more opportunities and a better life than we do,” said Scheer.
“The type of signal we want to send to business communities is that you can work hard and create opportunities in Canada, but right now this signal is not sent out,” said Scheer.
He criticized the national carbon tax, which will ensure a carbon price of 11 cents per litre of gas by 2022. He said the tax will force entrepreneurs to “make a decision between hiring more young people and laying people off.”
Along with creating more business opportunities, Scheer said his party is also going to fight for a balanced budget.
“The deficit the Liberal government created will have to be paid back by our children, and with interest. It is not fair to have our kids pay for what happened a few years ago. It is hurting families and does no good but create a big credit card bill waiting for the next generation.
As a father of five, Scheer also voiced concerns over the federal bill to legalize marijuana within the next year and its impact on young people. He said he is not happy with the bill and will vote against it.
“I don’t believe it should be a priority for the federal government and they ignored a lot of feedback and thoughtful suggestions from experts. I also think the age is too young. Some reports show that there is still a lot of development after the age of 18, plus there is not enough rationale.”
Scheer also criticized the federal government for not making enough effort on the NAFTA negotiations.
“Maintaining free trade is important, but I haven’t seen a lot of hard work that has been done. The government should go to areas in the U.S. where many businesses rely on trade with the Canadian market and bring those people to Washington.”
He adds the Conservative party is also going to outline its position on key issues such as housing and transit in the months ahead.
