Shields’ initial reaction to 2024 budget unfavourable

By Cal Braid
Taber Times
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Bow River MP Martin Shields spoke in the House of Commons on April 16, echoing a sentiment that was in line with the stance of Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre. The Liberal government released its 2024 federal budget, and there’s plenty to dive into, but immediate reactions from the Conservative Party sounded more like pre-scripted condemnations that were contrived before Canadians had a chance to get a sense of the budget’s content.

Shields said, “Mr. Speaker, today, the NDP-Liberal government will table another inflammatory budget that will be inflationary, that will punish working Canadians by increasing taxes, and that will drive the cost of living even higher.”

He said an “exemplary” community leader named Jackie Murray, “who knew the importance of being a responsible steward of the tax dollar” would consistently write to him asking that the carbon tax be removed, Canadian principles be restored, and the nation’s interests be defended.

Shields said that “common-sense Conservatives” have three changes they’d like to implement, and Poilievre’s four-point campaign plan includes the same ideas. “Instead of hiking the carbon tax again, they should axe the carbon tax on farmers and food, which can be done by passing Bill C-234 in its original form. Instead of announcing more failed programs, they should build homes, not bureaucracy, get the shovels in the ground and get structures in the air,” Shields said, though the statement reads more like two ideas. Poilievre’s four-point plan is to “axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget, and stop the crime.”

Bill C-234 “amends the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act to expand the definition of eligible farming machinery and extend the exemption for qualifying farming fuel to marketable natural gas and propane,” according to the Parliamentary document. Essentially, the bill is intended to protect farmers from the increasing operational expenses, including high fuel and energy costs. By exempting barns, greenhouses, and other structures, producers can operate more economically, which in turn should be reflected in the price of food.

“Canadians have had enough. The government must stop the hurt until the Conservatives can fix the Liberal-NDP’s costly calamity,” Shields said.