One would assume that a person as forceful as Pierre Poilievre, leader of the Conservative Party, would have something to say about the major objectives listed in the federal budget.
Nevertheless, the Leader of the Opposition is unable to tell us whether he rejects the most significant aspect of the Liberal budget.
He is unable to state if he supports a large, government-funded industrial strategy.
We’re not discussing an unexpectedly ornate measure here. We are discussing the most significant aspect of the government’s new fiscal plan.
In Tuesday’s budget, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland unveiled a huge array of industrial subsidies totaling $80 billion over the next decade for green technology that decreases emissions.
This is an unprecedented level of investment for industrial subsidies in Canada. And we knew it was coming: The Liberal administration signalled its intention to retaliate to the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act’s massive subsidies. For the next decade, Ms. Freeland allocated more new funds for these subsidies than for health care.
In five to ten years, when another party may well be in power, potentially led by Mr. Poilievre, the majority of this money is expected to be spent. Businesses deciding on investments this year will want to know if a possible prime minister is adamantly opposed to the concept. Canadians should also be curious.
But, Mr. Poilievre was neither for nor against on Wednesday. Quite the contrary.
When asked whether he supports the substantial investment tax incentives for carbon capture and hydrogen, Mr. Poilievre stated that his Conservative party has traditionally supported carbon capture. So it’s a yes then? Actually, not quite.
He stated that his Conservatives will “examine the budget and come up with our own electoral platform.” So, it will be a year or two before we learn whether Mr. Poilievre considers a major programme introduced in the 2023 budget to be a positive step or a massive waste of money.
Mr. Poilievre answered to these queries by discussing the lengthy approval process for projects such as mines, which is a valid point but does not address the issue of subsidies.
But, for a moment, he sounded as if he considers the subsidies an outrage. He stated, “I have no doubt that Justin Trudeau would line the wallets of global corporations.” Except for the fact that we do not know if Mr. Poilievre supports all of this pocket-stuffing, that is quite incisive.No one should expect the Conservatives to announce all of their plans in their platform at this time.
Undeniably, there is a great deal of vacillation in politics. Wednesday, Mr. Trudeau evaded questions about whether or not his administration will ever balance the budget in order to avoid conceding that it will never happen. Mr. Poilievre declined to comment on whether the Conservative government would scrap a proposed dental scheme.
In this case, though, the current administration is beginning a massive subsidy scheme that will cost billions of dollars annually and is intended to be the linchpin of a decade-long industrial strategy and climate-change policy as well.
The Official Opposition cannot claim that its job is to hold the government accountable while ignoring this for two years.
It may support the concept yet disagree with the specifics. Or it might resist the concept of spending billions of dollars on subsidies.
Clearly, Mr. Poilievre finds this topic to be unsettling. He has spent much of his political career arguing against corporate subsidies. Wednesday he could not resist using those words.
Yet, these subsidies also include substantial funding for carbon capture and storage in Alberta’s oil field, as desired by Premier Danielle Smith of the United Conservative Party. Doug Ford, premier of Ontario’s Progressive Conservatives, will be interested in the incentives for electricity and battery projects.
Still, there is no way to avoid it. This is the period when the issue will be decided, if only because the Liberals have introduced a budget that allocates enormous sums of money to it.
This will establish a trajectory for Canada’s industrial strategy that is expected to last a decade. A leader of the opposition should be able to tell us whether or not he opposes it.
