OTTAWA, Ontario, December 10, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — In a troubling statement that sparked an immediate backlash from a prominent Conservative Party (CPC) MP, Canada’s Finance Minister said the government needs to “find ways” to “unleash” people’s hard-earned savings to stimulate the Canadian economy.
“Some Canadian households, it tends to be the better-off households, do have quite a lot of money that they’ve saved because there hasn’t been that much to do in the pandemic. Certainly, it would be great if that money could go towards driving our recovery,” said Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister, Finance Minister, and Liberal Party MP Chrystia Freeland during a Bloomberg interview last week.
“And I want to make an offer now to all of your listeners, if people have ideas on how the government can act to help unlock that pre-loaded stimulus, I am very, very interested,” Freeland quipped in reference to a recent CIBC report about the status of Canadians savings.
The now-viral interview clip was shared by CPC Shadow Minister of Finance and MP Pierre Poilievre. He tweeted that Freeland’s words should encourage Canadians to “lock away” their hard-earned savings and that Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, has no business touching people’s cash.
“Folks, lock away your money. Liberals are worried you’re saving too much. They want ‘ideas on how the government can act to unlock’ those savings. No, Trudeau, people’s savings don’t belong to you. Keep your hands where we can see them,” wrote Poilievre on Twitter with a link to the Bloomberg video clip of Freeland’s remarks.
Folks, lock away your money.
Liberals are worried you're saving too much.
They want “ideas on how the government can act to unlock” those savings.
No, Trudeau, people's savings don't belong to you.
Keep your hands where we can see them. pic.twitter.com/p0bfokpibl
— pierrepoilievre (@PierrePoilievre) December 5, 2020
One Twitter user replied in agreement to Poilievre’s posting of the Bloomberg video clip by saying, “That’s one hell of an argument for Canadians to buy #BITCOIN.”
Another user named replied in support of Poilievre’s tweet by saying, “As a person who was born and raised in a communist country, sadly I must say, you should be afraid… All the symptoms of totalitarianism are here!”
In her Bloomberg interview, Freeland added that her government needs to “find ways” to “unleash” Canadians savings to support the hospitality sector of the economy.
“We need to find ways to unleash savings into the parts of the economy that need support like tourism, hospitality and domestic services,” said Freeland.
Despite Freeland suggesting that the government can “help” Canadians unlock their own money to help the economy, government-imposed lockdowns have been devastating to the economy in the first place, and have particularly hit small to medium size businesses.
Canada’s unemployment rate jumped dramatically to 13.5 percent in the spring following the first set of lockdowns, and despite recovering somewhat, it will likely rise again as a result of most provinces locking down a second time.
There are indicators that Canadians are struggling to simply stay afloat and pay their basic bills — a reality flying in the face of Freeland’s remarks that Canadians have large amounts of cash sitting in their bank accounts.
The affordability index by BDO Canada Ltd. has shown that 2 in 5 Canadians’ personal finances took a nosedive during the first round of lockdowns.
Many Canadians have been struggling financially even before the pandemic hit, with a January MNP report stating that almost half, or 46 percent, are $200 or less away from insolvency.
The Trudeau government recently released its fall economic statement which shows that the national debt could hit nearly $1.4 trillion by the spring of 2021.
As part of their economic statement, the Liberal government has promised billions of dollars in what they say is an effort to help the economy recover from COVID-19, again in spite of the fact it was the government itself, es well as provincial and local governments, that have locked down the economy.
Trudeau has confirmed that he endorses the post-COVID-19 global “Great Reset” which has been promoted by Klaus Schwab of the World Economic Forum.
“This pandemic has provided an opportunity for a reset. This is our chance to accelerate our pre-pandemic efforts to reimagine economic systems that actually address global challenges like extreme poverty, inequality and climate change,” declared Trudeau recently.
As for Freeland, she took over as Finance Minister from Bill Morneau in August, who resigned amid his on-going involvement with the WE Charity scandal and alleged disagreements with his former boss, Trudeau.
At the time, Campaign Life Coalition (CLC) political operations director Jack Fonseca told LifeSiteNews that although they were happy to see Morneau go due to his anti-life voting record, Freeland as his replacement was “deplorable” for her anti-life voting record.
“She voted in favour of legalizing the form of homicide known as euthanasia. She voted against conscience rights for doctors, and in favour of legalizing prostitution. Freeland is as radical a leftist as they come, and we hope she’ll be washed away in the next election,” Fonseca told LifeSiteNews.
For respectful communications, please contact:
Finance Minister of Canada – Chrystia Freeland
Ottawa, Ontario,
Canada
K1A 0A6
Telephone: 613-992-5234
Fax: 613-996-9607
Email: [email protected]
Member of Parliament Pierre Poilievre – Conservative Shadow Minister of Finance
Ottawa, Ontario,
Canada
K1A 0A6
Telephone: 613-992-2772
Fax: 613-992-1209
Email: [email protected]