REALITY CHECK: Trudeau’s pretty words and broken promises

Like fresh spring daffodils, the season of over-promising and under-delivering is set to begin again. That’s right, the Liberal Party of Canada’s convention gets underway, and with Justin Trudeau at the helm, the forecast is a 100% chance of pretty words and broken promises.

Recall the crowning jewel of the 2014 Liberal convention: a ‘caucus supported’ resolution to end First-Past-The-Post voting. It passed with flying colours! And with Justin Trudeau proclaiming in his platform speech that the 2015 election would be the last one to use first-past-the-post, a new age of democracy seemed inevitable.

Unfortunately, as Canadians now know, he never meant to keep that promise.

It doesn’t take long to find a pattern of pretty words and broken promises. Here’s only a few:

• The 2019 election promise for a $15 federal minimum wage by 2020—broken promise.

• Elimination of all drinking water advisories on reserves by 2021—broken promise

• Phase out subsidies for the fossil fuel industry—big broken promise (they bought a pipeline).

• Eliminate ‘swipe fee’ from credit card transactions to help small businesses—broken promise.

• A promise of some form of national child care program—serial broken promises since 1993.

And in just the last few months, Justin Trudeau and his Liberal MPs have had opportunities to vote to remove profits from long term care, increase taxes on the ultra rich and begin implementing Pharmacare—and they voted against all of them.

So as the Liberal Party hears about the struggles of ordinary Canadians like... check notes... Mark Carney, let’s not forget that the pretty words always come before the broken promises.

Canadians deserve better.