MP Report: The Conservatives’ post-pandemic recovery plan
By Medicine Hat News Opinion on April 1, 2021.
As we round the corner on COVID-19, Canada is at a crossroads. The future of our nation is at stake – and Canadians must choose which path to recovery they can trust. The Liberal, Ottawa-knows-best approach of picking and choosing which jobs are valued, in what sector or region, where the connected few get richer, while working families get left behind, is a flawed alternative. Conservatives are offering a path that safely secures our future and delivers us to a Canada where those struggling can recover. Where manufacturing at home is bolstered, wages increased, and dreams of affording a better life can be realized. ‘Secure the Future’, the Conservative’s five-point post-pandemic recovery plan is based on a solid foundation of accountability, security and certainty that will: Secure Jobs – Every Canadian deserves the security and dignity that comes with a secure, stable and well-paid job. Conservatives will enact a comprehensive jobs plan to get Canadians back to work across the country, beginning by taking immediate action to help the hardest hit sectors, helping all those who suffered the most, assisting small business and providing incentives and opportunity to invest in, rebuild and start new businesses. Secure Accountability – By enacting a new Anti-Corruption law to clean up government’s unethical practices, Conservatives will establish the toughest accountability and transparency laws in Canadian history. The Conflict of Interest Act with consequential penalties, the Lobbying Act to end abuse by party insiders and increased transparency to end government cover-ups will be at the core. Secure Mental Health – The pandemic has clarified the mental health crisis we face as a nation. The Canada Mental Health Action Plan will be introduced, making clear that mental health is health, and to treat it properly. We will boost funding to the provinces for mental health care, provide incentives to employers to provide mental health coverage to employees and create a nation-wide, three-digit suicide prevention hotline. Secure the Country – Creation of a strategic stockpile of essential products, while building the capacity to manufacture vaccines at home, will ensure Canada will never again be caught unprepared. Canada will become more resilient, reduce reliance on foreign countries like China, and take seriously our responsibility to protect the health of Canadians. We will build domestic vaccine production capacity by partnering with pharmaceutical companies to increase critical medicines. Secure our Economy – Spending to protect Canadians during the pandemic was the right thing to do and Conservatives supported it. However, balancing the budget over the next decade is critical, as we cannot pass unsustainable debt onto future generations. Once the economic recovery begins and more Canadians are vaccinated, spending will need to be under control. We will scale down emergency support programs in a responsible way, create targeted and time-limited stimulus measures and get the economy growing again. Conservatives got our country through the last recession, and our recovery plan – ‘Secure the Future’, will get Canadians through this one too. Glen Motz is the Member of Parliament for Medicine Hat-Cardston-Warner 12-11
