November 2024
Fraud and Chaos in Canada’s Immigration System
The NDP-Liberal Government has broken Canada’s immigration system after nine years in power. A Globe and Mail report revealed that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada flagged over 10,000 foreign student acceptance letters from Canadian colleges and universities as potentially fraudulent.
Justin Trudeau and his former Immigration Minister, Sean Fraser, caused this problem by issuing a million student visas without considering the impact on the country. They ignored widespread fraud and abuse in the International Student Program. Now, Trudeau’s new Immigration Minister, Marc Miller, has asked the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants to fix the mess his government created.
This marks another immigration policy failure from the government. Last month, Trudeau admitted that his radical, uncontrolled immigration policies contributed to crises in joblessness, housing, and health care. Even Minister Miller acknowledged that nine years of reckless policies caused the system to spiral “out of control.”
The government now claims they deliberately broke the system to address pandemic labour shortages, but this is false. The International Student Program has never served as a labour stream. Despite this, the number of people entering Canada through this program has surged by 211% since Trudeau became Prime Minister.
As the NDP-Liberal government scrambles to regain control, international students are increasingly claiming refugee status. So far this year, nearly 14,000 asylum claims have come from international students, a sharp rise from 1,810 in 2018. Experts predict this number will continue growing.
Canadians no longer trust Justin Trudeau to fix the immigration chaos he created. While he promised to lower the number of temporary immigrants to 5 percent of the population, the figure has risen to 7.3 percent under his leadership.
Canadians deserve a government that will eliminate fraud in the International Student Program. Only Common Sense Conservatives can repair what the NDP-Liberals have destroyed and restore an immigration system that serves all Canadians.
Housing Starts Down 11 Percent This Year
The NDP-Liberal government has failed to build enough homes for Canadians after nine years in office. This failure has plunged the country into a housing crisis, with the cost of mortgages, down payments, and rent doubling since Trudeau became Prime Minister. Canadians have endured the worst housing inflation in the G7.
The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), under Trudeau’s government, reported that the housing crisis will worsen. Comparing October 2024 to October 2023, housing starts have fallen by 11 percent nationwide, worsened by Canada’s rapid population growth.
The decline is especially pronounced in once-affordable cities. Housing starts in Halifax dropped by 75 percent compared to last year, while Kelowna experienced an 87 percent decline. Ottawa, Quebec City, and Toronto also saw significant decreases, with housing starts falling by 42 percent, 37 percent, and 33 percent, respectively.
Trudeau’s failure to address housing shortages has caused misery for Canadians. Habitat for Humanity recently revealed that 82 percent of Canadians now worry the housing crisis is harming their health and well-being, and 88 percent of renters believe homeownership is unattainable. Even more concerning, 59 percent of Canadians – including 75 percent of renters – have had to sacrifice basic needs like food, clothing, and education to afford housing.
Canadians should not have to endure this. They deserve a government that will accelerate homebuilding. Common Sense Conservatives have a plan to fix Trudeau’s failures. We will eliminate the sales tax on new homes priced under $1 million – a move that will generate 30,000 additional homes annually – and stop funding city hall gatekeepers who obstruct new housing developments. That is just common sense.
In your service,
Tako van Popta
Member of Parliament
Langley – Aldergrove
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October 2024
The Liberals hold Parliament (and Canadians!) hostage
So far, the NDP and Bloc Quebecois have helped defeat two Conservative motions of non-confidence in the Liberal government.
Canadians want an election now – not in a year. They can no longer afford the costly socio-economic policies imposed upon them since the current Liberal government came to power in 2015.
Yet, the NDP, Bloc, and Liberals block every Conservative attempt to force an early election.
Legislative work in the House has halted because the Liberals refuse to hand over documents critical to the RCMP investigation of directors on Sustainable Development Technology Canada (also knows as the “Green Slush Fund”). With close ties to the Liberals, the directors awarded $400 million in tax dollars to their own companies, involving a whopping 186 conflicts of interest, according to the Auditor General. By refusing to hand over documents relevant to the RCMP investigation and disobeying an order from the Speaker of the House, the Liberals have effectively frozen the House until they decide to cooperate.
See my speech on the matter here.
House Committees continue their work, but until the House resumes its normal course of action, Conservatives will not be able to pass any common sense Conservative Private Members’ Bills.
Population Outgrows Economic Opportunity
The NDP-Liberal Government is failing to create enough jobs to keep pace with Canada’s growing population.
Statistics Canada’s recent Labour Force Survey confirmed this, showing that year-over-year employment increased by 313,000 (+1.5%) in September, while the working-age population increased by 1.2 million (+3.6%). This significant employment deficit leaves more Canadians competing for fewer jobs and more people out of work.
The employment rate has followed a downward trend since January of 2023. Combined with Canada’s falling GDP per capita, which is on track to decrease for six consecutive quarters, this situation is disastrous for Canadian workers. The per-person income of Canadians has now fallen back to the same level it was in 2015.
Additionally, the unemployment rate across Canada has risen by a full percentage point, reflecting the damage done to the economy since 2016.
Enough is enough. Canadians, and British Columbians, deserve a strong Conservative government that will bring home jobs and powerful paycheques.
To learn more about myself and the Conservative plan, follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and X
Read the CPC Policy Declaration here for our detailed plans.
In your service,
Tako van Popta
Member of Parliament
Langley – Aldergrove
Monthly e-newsletter from your MP. Click here to sign up to receive it and join in monthly surveys!
September 2024
End of NDP-Liberal Coalition (Is a Bloc-Liberal one next?)
On September 4 NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh ended the Liberal-NDP deal that helped support Trudeau’s minority government. This agreement allowed Trudeau to remain in power while giving Singh some ability to push his own policies.
A new national Leger report revealed that over 47% of Canadians would support a federal election right now, with over 54% of Canadians believing the Conservatives will win the next federal election.
The Leader of the Official Opposition Pierre Poilievre announced recently that he will introduce a non-confidence vote at the earliest opportunity this fall to trigger a carbon tax election and called on the NDP as well as Blanchet and the Bloc Quebecois to support this non-confidence motion. Will they keep giving more seats to Trudeau than Canadians gave them, or will they call for a carbon tax election?
Canadians should be worried that a new deal between the Liberals and another party could result in a further increase of the carbon tax – while the cost of groceries, fuel, inflation, and energy is already higher than many Canadians and British Columbians can afford.
Conservatives will axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget, and stop the crime.
Axing C-63 (Online Harms) and preserving Canadians civil liberties
The Trudeau government continues to push for laws that cannot accomplish their goals without egregiously curbing the rights, freedoms, and privacy of Canadians, including Bill C-63.
Bill C-63 essentially acts as censorship law – to be used at the whim of the Prime Minister, at the cost of 200 million.
Conservatives believe that we should criminalize and enforce laws against sexually victimizing a child or revictimizing a survivor online; bullying a child online; inducing a child to harm themselves or inciting violence. Criminal bans on intimate content communicated without consent, including deepfakes, must be enforced and expanded.
We believe that these serious acts should be criminalized, investigated by police, tried in court, and punished with jail, not pushed off to new bureaucracy created by this legislation that would do nothing to prevent crimes and provide no justice to victims.
It doesn’t have to be this way. New Conservative legislation will be announced when parliament returns that will protect the most vulnerable Canadians online without creating a government-managed surveillance state or restricting Charter-protected speech.
To do this, Conservatives will modernize existing criminal offences to protect Canadians from online harassment and violence in today’s digital environment, with special provisions to protect minors. This Bill will:
- Modernize the existing crime of criminal harassment to address the ease and anonymity of how it happens online.
- Provide mechanisms specifically designed to protect minors who are online.
Update Canada's existing laws on the non-consensual distribution of intimate images to ensure that the non-consensual distribution of highly realistic intimate images created by artificial intelligence (i.e. "deepnudes") is criminalized while preserving the existing provisions in current law about fair use.
To learn more about myself and the Conservative plan, follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and X
Read the CPC Policy Declaration here for our detailed plans.
In your service,
Tako van Popta
Member of Parliament
Langley – Aldergrove
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July 2024
Canadians are feeling increasingly unsafe after 9 years of Justin Trudeau’s soft-on-crime policies. Stories of homicides, robberies, and other serious crimes being committed by criminals who were out on bail for other offences have become all too common.
My colleague and Conservative deputy leader, Melissa Lantsman, submitted a written question to the government asking how many people have been charged with homicide while out on bail or another type of release.
Her original question requested that the number of people charged with homicide be broken down by the type of release they were on from 2016 through 2022 – but the government’s response wasn’t quite that detailed. The government only provided figures from 2019 through 2022 and lumped all kinds of release in together including bail, house arrest, parole, and community supervision.
They admitted that 256 people were killed in 2022 by a criminal who was out on bail or another form of release – this is equivalent to nearly 29 percent of all homicides across Canada that year. Worse still, there has been a concerning increase in the number of murders committed by someone who was on release. Just a few years before, in 2019, 182 people were killed by someone on release and in 2020, the number was 198.
This increase makes clear that Justin Trudeau’s catch and release policies Bill C-75 and Bill C-5, which gave high priority to releasing repeat violent offenders and took away mandatory jail time for certain violent crimes, have been disastrous for Canada’s public safety.
Conservatives are calling for an emergency meeting at the Public Safety Committee so MPs can examine how Trudeau’s catch and release laws are putting repeat violent offenders back onto our streets. Yet, as usual, the Bloc and the NDP are protecting Trudeau and won’t take a break from their summer vacations to deal with this life-and-death issue.
Conservatives will bring home safe streets for Canadians by giving violent repeat offenders jail, not bail.
Housing Starts Down
As housing becomes more unaffordable, Canadians across the country are feeling the financial pressure of increasing rents and mortgages. Currently, Canada is building fewer homes than we did in the 1970’s when our population was half the size.
A recent report from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) shows that this problem is getting worse. In spite of our growing population, the CMHC confirmed that housing starts decreased by 13 percent in June when compared to the same month last year.
Just last month, an Angus Reid survey found that a third of British Columbians – and 42 percent of Lower Mainland residents – are considering leaving for other provinces due to housing unaffordability. This is in line with Statistics Canada findings from earlier this year that in 2023, B.C. experienced a negative net interprovincial migration for the first time in more than a decade, meaning more people left the province than moved to it.
The housing affordability crisis is having devastating impacts on families as younger generations are forced to choose between leaving their family behind and affording to build a life of their own. It is also detrimental on our provincial economy, as workers are being priced out of the province. In order to keep the many vital industries in our province going, we need workers to be able to afford to house, feed, and raise families here.
Common Sense Conservatives will fire the gatekeepers and tie federal infrastructure funding to housing starts to bring affordable homes for Canadians.
In your service,
Tako van Popta
Member of Parliament
Langley – Aldergrove
June 2024
Last week, Canadians were shocked to learn of new revelations coming from the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) regarding foreign interference.
The report talks about interference that is being perpetrated by parliamentarians (meaning Senators or Members of Parliament) right here in Canada. Examples from the report include providing foreign officials with privileged information, accepting funds from foreign powers, and aiding foreign powers in pressuring parliamentarians to change their positions.
Every member of the House and the Senate has taken an oath that they “will be faithful and bear true Allegiance” to the Crown. It is deeply disturbing that individuals who have sworn to protect and uphold their country’s democracy have been ‘witting or semi-witting’ participants in directly undermining it.
However, the names of the individuals involved have been redacted from the report at the direction of the Prime Minister. Our leader Pierre Poilievre has declined the security clearance to review the report because then he would be prohibited form talking about the report and holding the government accountable. “We do not need secrets and confidentiality. That is what got us into this problem in the first place. We need the facts so that Canadians can judge,” he said.
The best way to provide Canadians with the truth while protecting sensitive information is for the Foreign Interference Commission to examine the intelligence behind the report.
Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer has sent a letter to the head of the Foreign Interference Inquiry, asking her to investigate parliamentarians mentioned in the NSICOP report, and to publish the names of those she finds have willingly engaged in foreign interference activities by October 1, 2024.
Canadians must know the truth.
Changes to Capital Gains Taxes
Two months of confusion have passed since the Liberals first announced an increase to capital gains taxes in Budget 2024, with no further details other than that it would come into effect on June 25.
Since then, Canadians have been left in the dark not knowing how they would be impacted while the government delayed presenting any clarifying legislation.
Finally, with only two weeks left until implementation, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland tabled a motion in Parliament with the full proposal to increase the capital gains inclusion rate from 50% to 67%.
The Liberals have assured Canadians that only the ‘ultra-wealthy’ would be affected, but we know this is not accurate.
After nine years of this incompetent liberal government, nine out of ten middle-class Canadians are paying more in taxes. And since this latest tax hike, many people have been surprised to learn that they are part of the ‘ultra-wealthy.’ For example, Karyn, a local retailer in Langley, bought her own commercial strata unit to save up for her retirement. Now the Liberals want to impose another capital gain tax on her retirement nest egg. How is this fair to small entrepreneurs who just want to make a living?
With this new tax hike, it’s clear that working Canadian families will have to foot the bill for Trudeau’s wasteful spending yet again. Conservatives voted against this job-killing tax and are calling for an emergency Finance Committee meeting to put a stop to this government punishing hardworking Canadians.
In your service,
Tako van Popta
Member of Parliament
Langley – Aldergrove
May 2024
Hard Drugs in Public Spaces
One year into the three-year pilot project to legalize small amounts of heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine and MDMA for personal use, BC’s overdose deaths have reached record levels. 2,511 people died due to toxic drug use in 2023.
In addition to this loss of life, our communities are experiencing a significant decrease in safety because of this experiment. Our hospitals, playgrounds, parks, and public transportation have all been affected, and I’ve heard from many people here in Langley about this steadily growing issue.
This is part of a message I received from someone who lives in Willoughby:
“I am writing to you this morning to express my horror having witnessed a user injecting at a children's play park while walking my dog at 7am this morning. This is just horrible.”
Even the BC’s NDP government has now realized Justin Trudeau’s experiment to legalize hard drugs has failed and requested permission from the federal government to end legal drug use in public spaces.
The Liberals finally gave permission to do so, after 11 days of no response.
Despite the disastrous effects this drug experiment has had on our communities here in BC, Justin Trudeau still refuses to rule out the requests from Toronto Public Health and the City of Montreal to legalize hard drugs in Canada’s two largest cities.
Conservatives are calling for a complete end to Trudeau's deadly failed experiment of decriminalization and taxpayer-funded hard drugs. We will restore safe communities and hope for our most vulnerable by investing in detox & recovery, not taxpayer-funded hard drugs.
If you would like to join in calling for an end to open drug use and improvements to public safety, consider signing this petition.
Foreign Replacement Workers
Justin Trudeau is not standing up for Canadian workers. This was made clear when the Trudeau Government gave nearly $50 billion in subsidies to companies that hired foreign replacement workers instead of Canadians.
Since these subsidies were announced, Justin Trudeau has actively withheld information from Canadians, even shutting down the public release of these contracts in Parliamentary Committee to protect his government and prevent workers from hearing the truth.
But the Liberals can no longer deny that foreign replacement workers are taking Canadian jobs after Canada’s Building Trades Union confirmed in a letter to Justin Trudeau that the heavily subsidized battery plants in southwestern Ontario will rely on foreign replacement workers.
“This is the brazen displacement of Canadian workers in favour of international workers, by major international corporations thumbing their nose [at the] Government of Canada, taxpayers and our skilled trades workers,” reads the letter, signed by the CBTU’s executive director Sean Strickland.
During a press conference on subsidies going to Honda, Justin Trudeau said “there are politicians who sit back and say ‘No, no, no, no, no. We’ve got to balance the budget at all costs. Even if it means not investing in Canadian workers and investing in the future.’ Well, I think they’re wrong.”
Well, Mr. Trudeau, you’re wrong! You are not balancing the budget nor investing in Canadian workers.
On May 6, the Liberal-NDP coalition again voted against making these contracts public. They even voted against releasing the section that shows what, if anything, the Liberal Government guaranteed for Canadian workers. This confirms that Trudeau, with the help of his NDP coalition partners, are covering up the fact that they are letting foreign workers take the jobs of Canadians.
It’s unacceptable that taxpayer dollars could be funding thousands of foreign jobs that were marketed as going to Canadians.
Canadians deserve a government that will stand up for Canadian workers. Only Common Sense Conservatives will ensure that any taxpayer-funded jobs are given to Canadians, not foreign replacement workers.
In your service,
Tako van Popta
Member of Parliament
Langley – Aldergrove
April 2024
After eight years of Justin Trudeau, life has never been so expensive. His record deficits have quickly driven interest rates up, forcing many Canadians to make painful financial decisions and over half are now living paycheque-to-paycheque.
Yesterday, Statistics Canada confirmed that Trudeau’s inflationary spending and carbon tax is making life more expensive for everyone, with our national inflation rate climbing to 2.9 percent over the last month. Gasoline prices saw the steepest increase, mostly due to the Liberals’ April 1st carbon tax hike which was raised from $65 to $80 a tonne. Housing had the second highest rate of increase in the past month, with increasing mortgage rates and rents causing many British Columbians to consider moving elsewhere.
Paul, in Langley, told me that “as it is, I cannot afford life in BC anymore and need to consider moving to a different province, but if it continues, I'll need to consider moving to a different country.”
During this affordability crisis, the last thing Canadians need is higher taxes and more inflationary spending that drives up the cost of everything and keeps interest rates high.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland tabled the Liberals’ 2024 federal budget yesterday, titled Fairness for Every Generation, and it contains plans for more spending, more debt, and more taxes.
The Liberals say they want fairness and affordability, but the reality is that our government will be spending $54.1 billion this year alone to service Trudeau's debt. Despite this, the budget includes nearly $40 billion in new inflationary spending. This is not fair for anyone, and especially to the next generations of young Canadians who will be left footing the bill.
Kevin Page, Canada’s former parliamentary budget officer, said that this budget speaks to a belief in “big government” to solve the problems facing Canadians.
“This is more spending, more taxation … it’s a belief that the government can really help its citizens.”
But after eight budgets from this government, each full of broken promises, a majority of Canadians no longer believe what this Prime Minister says.
Common Sense Conservatives were clear – we would only support a budget that includes the following conditions:
- Axe the tax on farmers and food by immediately passing Bill C-234 in its original form.
- Build the homes, not bureaucracy, by requiring cities permit 15% more home building each year as a condition for receiving federal infrastructure money.
- Cap the spending with a dollar-for-dollar rule to bring down interest rates and inflation. The government must find a dollar in savings for every new dollar of spending.
Canadians need relief – not more punishing taxes and inflationary spending from this tired Liberal government. Only Common Sense Conservatives will fix the budget and cap the spending to bring home lower prices for Canadians.
In your service,
Tako van Popta
Member of Parliament
Langley – Aldergrove
March 2024
This April 1st, Trudeau will be hiking the federal carbon tax by a massive 23%. This is no April Fool’s joke, this is part of his plan to quadruple it over the next 6 years despite its negative consequences for Canadians.
Young families, seniors, and everyone in between are already struggling to heat, feed, and house themselves. After all, no one is seeing corresponding increases in their pay cheques or OAS payments.
Here in British Columbia, our carbon tax is administered by the province. However, the provincial tax rate is still dictated by the federal government – so when they increase theirs, ours must go up as well.
It would be one thing if the carbon tax actually worked but despite ever escalating rates, we’re still missing our targets by a long shot.
Back in 2007, our province set a goal to reduce carbon emissions 33% by 2020, and 80% by 2050. The most recent available data is from 2021, the height of the pandemic, and as of that year emissions in BC were down only 3% from 2007 levels.
An increase on an ineffective, inflationary tax is the last thing Canadians and British Columbians want right now.
Nearly 70% of people oppose Trudeau’s April 1st hike and Trudeau is facing a provincial revolt as a growing number of Premiers have echoed Common Sense Conservatives' demands to cancel the hike, including a Liberal Premier.
Common Sense Conservatives are listening. We know Canadians need relief.
That’s why next week we will be forcing multiple votes in Parliament to cancel Trudeau’s tax hike. The final vote will be next Thursday, March 21 so stay tuned! Liberal and NDP MP’s will have the choice to either listen to the will of Canadians, or to continue propping up the ideology of their leader.
In your service,
Tako van Popta
Member of Parliament
Langley – Aldergrove
February 2024
After eight years of Justin Trudeau, his Liberal Government is not worth the cost. While many Canadians can’t afford groceries and are struggling to pay their rent, Trudeau took $60 million of your money and wasted it on the ArriveScam app.
The Auditor General released a report on February 12 showing that millions of taxpayer dollars were wasted by Trudeau Government officials who rigged the contracting process for their friends.
$80,000 was originally budgeted for ArriveCan but it ended up costing Canadians at least $60 million, which is 750 times over budget for an app that didn’t even work correctly, and mistakenly forced 10,000 Canadians into quarantine.
On top of this, the well-connected two-person IT firm GC Strategies was awarded $19 million through contracts nobody else applied for. This is because GC Strategies was allowed to create the requirements for this contract, and made it so no one else fit the requirements. Trudeau Government officials were even invited to whiskey tastings and other luxurious treats from the very contractors that they were paying your money to.
If that isn’t enough, the Auditor General revealed in January that 76% of ArriveCan contractors did zero work!
The Liberals have desperately tried to stop this information from coming to light. On November 2, 2022, the Conservative Party passed a motion through the House of Commons requesting this report despite stiff Liberal opposition.
Last week, the Liberals with their NDP coalition partners voted to shut down further committee work on the ArriveCan scam, saying that documentation they had seen was “scary.”
While the Liberals continue to block investigations into their corruption, Conservatives will use every measure possible to bring home accountability for Canadians’ tax dollars.
In positive news, this week Conservatives have tabled two important Private Member’s Bills pertaining to extortion and car theft.
Since 2015, extortion has risen by 218% in Canada – and by 228% in Vancouver. Communities that used to be peaceful are now being terrorized by gangs that threaten businesses and neighbours with violence and arson. In the Fraser Valley, we have experienced this disturbing trend firsthand in recent months and it is absolutely unacceptable.
Common sense Conservatives will reverse the damage caused by Justin Trudeau's soft-on-crime policies by going after criminals and leaders of organized crime rings. Bill C-381 will protect our communities from extortionists, punish the gangs who benefit from extortion, and bring home safe streets for all Canadians.
The other piece of legislation, Bill C-379, seeks to implement tougher penalties for repeat car thieves by bringing a mandatory minimum of three years in jail for those who have stolen a motor vehicle three times. Car thefts are up 34% across the country, and Canadians are feeling less safe and facing increased insurance costs. This is yet another burden on top of Trudeau’s inflationary carbon tax and reckless debt that Canadians shouldn’t have to put up with.
Canadians deserve a government that respects their hard-earned money, puts repeat car thieves and extortionists in jail, and keeps our communities safe. Click here to learn more details about our Conservative plan to stop car thefts and extortion.
In your service,
Tako van Popta
Member of Parliament
Langley – Aldergrove
January 2024
After eight years of Justin Trudeau, housing is simply unaffordable in most Canadian cities – and particularly here in British Columbia. Last week, Rentals.ca released a report confirming the reality of renting in Canada. British Columbians are facing average asking rents of $2,500, and rising mortgage rates have made home ownership impossible for many.
This cost-of-living crisis is forcing many Canadians to choose between paying their rent, putting food on the table, and heating their homes. The only solution to this affordable housing crisis is for the government to create a plan to incentivize and enable builders, yet Trudeau has told Canadians that housing is not a “federal responsibility,” and Trudeau’s own Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation has confirmed that his government has no plan to build the homes that Canadians need.
Between January 1 and November 30 of 2023, Canada built 17,561 fewer houses than in this time period in the previous year, according to Statistics Canada, and in British Columbia, the total value of residential permits declined by 19.4 percent.
Canada is now completing fewer homes than it did 50 years ago, when its population was around 22 million, and it’s close to 41 million today. Slow processing times for permits, government gate-keepers, red tape and regulations are stifling construction mean that while demand continues to skyrocket, supply is falling further behind.
Commenting on this growing chasm between the slow growth of home building and the rising population of Canadians needing to be housed, Pierre Poilievre stated that “we need to make a link between the number of homes built and the number of people we invite as new Canadians.”
Under his leadership, he plans to return our country to “an approach of immigration that invites a number of people that we can house, employ and care for in our health-care system.”
Ensuring services keep pace with our immigration targets is just common sense, as many economists have argued.
In order to increase supply, Conservatives have a plan to Build Homes, Not Bureaucracy, get mortgage rates under control, and restore the dream of home ownership for all Canadians.
In your service,
Tako van Popta
Member of Parliament
Langley – Aldergrove
December 2023
Today, the House of Commons officially rises for Christmas! I am really looking forward to spending the holidays back at home with family.
The last few weeks have been interesting in Ottawa – you may have heard about the voting marathon, the fight to remove the carbon tax, and Liberal scandals being uncovered at committees. The bottom line, however, is that everyday Canadians are still struggling. Addressing the cost-of-living crisis is my top focus in Ottawa.
On December 7, the independent Parliamentary Budget Officer published their analysis of the Liberal fall minibudget, which can be summed up simply: prices up, debt up, taxes up. We’re saying: time’s up. The PBO reported that the deficit will be $8.5 billion dollars worse this year than the Liberals promised, meaning more of your tax dollars will be spent on interest payments. They will add another $20.7 billion dollars in inflationary debt, despite the Governor of the Bank of Canada warning that this kind of reckless spending will drive up inflation.
It's clear that Trudeau has no respect for your hard-earned wages, and no concern for the consequences of his out-of-control spending. After all, it’s not him footing the bill.
Canada’s Food Price Report, released earlier this month, predicts that the amount of money spent by the average family on food will increase by $700 in 2024. Canadians are already trying to limit food expenditure by visiting food banks or skipping meals, and this will only make life more difficult.
The government could have lowered food prices by passing our common-sense bill, C-234, to take the carbon tax off farmers, or they could have agreed to extend the carbon tax exemption for all home heating fuel, for all Canadians. But together, the Liberals and NDP voted down both solutions.
Conservatives would not take no for an answer. We put forward an opposition day motion to remove the tax on farmers, First Nations, and families, but the NDP-Liberal government voted that down too. Then, we continued to push for the Liberals to axe the carbon tax by forcing 30 hours of voting. In those 30 consecutive hours, 135 votes of confidence occurred in the House of Commons. Conservatives voted NO confidence on every single one.
So, why no election? Because the NDP continue to prop up this government by enabling their confidence votes to pass – against the will of Canadians, who want an election now.
Conservatives have a plan to axe the tax, balance the budget, and bring down inflation and interest rates, and we are ready to take the helm and get our country back on track.
In your service,
Tako van Popta
Member of Parliament
Langley – Aldergrove
November 2023
A Langley church group, consisting of 26 members primarily from the Southridge Fellowship Church, were in Israel when Hamas made their initial surprise attack. I spoke with Pastor Paul during this difficult time and was relieved to hear that they were able to find arrangements to make it home safely. You can read more about their story here. My thoughts are with the families, and especially those Canadians, who have lost loved ones or who are waiting to hear whether they are safe. For those who are still in danger or being held hostage by Hamas terrorists, we must do everything we can to bring them home safely.
Canadians continue to grapple with the soaring costs of essentials such as food, housing, and heating. The latest figures are alarming: food bank usage has spiked by 32% over the past year, with a 78.5% increase since 2019, culminating in almost 2 million Canadians relying on food banks in one month alone. Here in Langley, we are blessed to have several organizations working hard to care for those in need. If you need support, or you can donate to their cause, visit these links:
Conservatives recognize the need to urgently address this affordability crisis. My colleague MP Scott Davidson recently received unanimous support for his bill (C-280), which will offer financial protection for fruit and vegetable farmers, lower produce costs, and promote domestic food security. Conservatives will continue to support our farmers and look for ways to ease the financial burden on Canadians.
A couple weeks ago, Justin Trudeau finally agreed with Conservatives that the federal carbon tax is ineffective and harmful to Canadians. Standing in front of his Atlantic Caucus, he announced a three-year exemption on furnace oil – this targeted exemption will disproportionately benefit Atlantic Canada, where Liberal support has coincidentally been waning in recent polls.
On November 6, the Conservatives moved to extend this exemption for all forms of home heating but the Liberals and Bloc voted down this motion, despite widespread affordability concerns. Conservatives vehemently oppose Trudeau’s divisive tactics and will continue to defend the right of all Canadians to keep themselves warm over the winter. Canadians should not be penalized for heating their homes.
Liberal-NDP Coalition Blocks RCMP from Testifying
New revelations in the SNC-Lavalin scandal have raised critical concerns about governmental transparency and accountability. In 2019, this scandal led to the resignation of Jody Wilson-Raybould, Canada’s first Indigenous Attorney General, who refused to bend to the Prime Minister’s pressure to protect a corrupt and politically connected company.
Recently, it was discovered that Trudeau withheld crucial information and documents from the RCMP, obstructing their investigation. Now, the Liberal-NDP coalition, with Bloc support, is shutting down the Commissioner’s testimony in committee—a move that could be shielding the Prime Minister from criminal allegations.
Conservatives stand firm in our commitment to governmental transparency and upholding the RCMP’s right to conduct its investigations freely. We believe that no one, including the Prime Minister, is above the law.
In your service,
Tako van Popta
Member of Parliament
Langley – Aldergrove
October 2023
Since my last e-newsletter, a lot has happened in Canada and across the world. Last week, Hamas initiated a series of attacks on Israel, resulting in numerous civilian casualties and hostages. In this volatile and traumatic time for Jewish Canadians, the government must act quickly to ensure appropriate protections and security measures are in place. Our thoughts are with the families affected by these horrific acts of violence, and we are calling on the government to take immediate action.
A few months ago, Canadians were appalled to learn that the notorious serial killer Paul Bernardo was transferred from a maximum- to a medium-security prison. This move was enabled by the Liberals’ Bill C-83, which mandates that criminals receive the “least restrictive environment” for confinement. This past month, in response to that transfer, my Conservative colleagues on the Public Safety Committee put forward a motion that this transfer be investigated. However, with support from the Bloc, the Liberal-NDP coalition denied this request, opting to cover up their failure rather than demonstrate accountability to victims and to Canadians. Conservatives will continue to stand with victims and demand the answers Canadians deserve.
Amidst the constant flow of human rights, public safety, and international relations issues facing Canada, we are committed to maintaining a constant focus on the cost-of-living crisis. I am hearing often from people in our community who are working hard to provide for themselves and their families and are still struggling to make ends meet. On October 4, the Conservatives put forward a motion in the House of Commons to eliminate all carbon taxes with the aim of reducing the cost of gas, groceries, and home heating. The motion was ultimately rejected with 119 votes for and 209 against. Notably, one Liberal MP stood alone amongst his colleagues and voted in favour of our motion – Ken McDonald of Avalon, Newfoundland. He explained his reasoning for doing so later that week on the Power And Politics podcast, saying that the carbon tax is “putting a bigger burden on people who are now struggling with an affordability crisis.”
He shared that he has heard too many stories of seniors, young people, and families in his community that are worried they can’t put food on the table or heat their home this winter. I, too, have heard these concerns and will remain committed to ending this government’s inflationary spending, and reducing taxes to bring home lower prices for Canadians.
Click here to fill out this month’s survey, and let me know which issues are top priority for you at this time.
In your service,
Tako van Popta
Member of Parliament
Langley – Aldergrove
September 2023
Public Inquiry
A public inquiry into the Communist Party of Beijing’s interference in Canada’s democratic institutions was finally called on September 7 – 190 days after Conservatives first demanded it.
Beijing has conducted interference operations in Canada for years, and as more reporting on this issue came to light over the last several months, the Liberals attempted to cover up and avoid the truth. According to his own officials, the Prime Minister has been formally briefed on foreign interference six times since 2018 but has refused to take any meaningful action. He has still failed to keep his promise to implement a foreign agent registry which Conservatives have also repeatedly called for.
In the time lost since we first called for a public inquiry, Canadians’ trust in our institutions has been greatly damaged. We called out the Liberals’ last plan to sweep this issue under the rug, and we will continue to watch over our democracy throughout this process to ensure Canadians get the answers they deserve.
CPC Convention 2023
The Conservative Party Convention of 2023, which took place in Quebec City on September 7-9, was a big success on the national level, and also for our local Langley delegation.
The convention is an opportunity for party members to put forward, discuss, and then vote on proposed changes or additions to our party’s constitution of policies.
A few talented, passionate Conservatives in our own community put in months of work leading up to the convention, with the goal of bringing two proposals through the initial drafting and approval stages before getting to the main stage.
Our local delegation saw their hard work pay off as both proposals passed with over 95% of the vote!
One of their proposals involved a commitment to upholding and defending Canada’s democracy and sovereignty through robust defense against foreign interference.
The other outlined a standard of service for veterans seeking assistance through government programs to ensure that our heroes are well taken care of.
Though unrelated to one another, these two proposals well-represent what we as Canadians value: the freedom and wellbeing of our nation in the future, and those who have fought to defend it in the past.
Congratulations to everyone involved on a job well done!
A highlight for many who attended the convention was the speech delivered by the Hon. Pierre Poilievre. The Leader of the Conservative Party reflected on his vision for Canada, where people who work hard can realize their dreams.
There is a lot of hurt in Canada today across generations; seniors and young people alike are feeling defeated and downtrodden. The Leader shared stories he has been told across the country of these struggles Canadians are facing, but also shared his plan for transforming that hurt into hope.
He reiterated his promises to cap government spending and adopt a dollar-for-dollar approach, to end bonuses for government executives, and to end the reckless deficits that have driven up inflation and made affording basic necessities out of reach. He addressed the housing crisis, the environment, energy costs, and much more. If you would like to see the full speech, click here.
In your service,
MP Tako van Popta
August 2023
Crime Wave
For the past several years, but in the last few especially, public safety has been a top concern for Canadians. There has been a significant erosion of public trust in Canada’s justice and safety systems with notable events being C-21 targeting law-abiding citizens while ignoring gun smuggling, many prolific offenders being placed on bail only to re-offend, and a growing number of violent attacks happening right across the country.
Trudeau’s Ministers of Public Safety and of Justice have clearly bungled their jobs, but his recent cabinet shuffle does not give much optimism. Canada’s new Justice minister shared that he finds it to be “empirically unlikely” that Canada is becoming less safe in a July 31 interview.
It is clear that the real minister we need to replace is Trudeau himself.
The crime increase Canadians are experiencing is not imaginary, and the causes aren’t either. Liberal laws C-5 and C-75 have unleashed a wave of violent criminals onto Canada’s streets, and incidents of violent crime have surged as a result. Violent crime is up 39%, murders are up 43%, and gang-related homicides are up 108%. Despite these numbers, Minister Virani says it’s just in Canadians heads.
Canada wasn’t like this before Trudeau, and it won’t be like this after he is gone. Common sense Conservatives will end Trudeau’s catch-and-release policies and keep repeat violent offenders behind bars. We will act decisively to bring home safe streets.
Economy
Aside from public safety, the economy remains a top priority for me and many of you.
Earlier this summer, a Scotiabank Economics publication noted that “fiscal policy authorities in Canada are doing nothing of any significance to slow inflation.”
Matthew Lau of the Financial Post put it perfectly when he said that “when inflation is high, it is always due to things outside [the government’s] control. . . [but] the negative outcomes are despite, never because of, government action.”
The Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance assure Canadians that they are supplying rebates to help Canadians afford necessities, but this spending is itself inflationary and only makes the whole problem worse.
Just like Virani’s assurances that we have no reason to feel unsafe, Trudeau’s confidence in the economy’s ability to balance itself does not give much consolation to those who cannot afford basic needs like food, housing, and gas.
Life is increasingly unaffordable, with inflation continuing to hit hard. Housing is more out of reach than ever, with not enough construction and rising interest rates.
It’s time for this Liberal government to answer for their record of failure, and it is time for other parties to end their vacations and come back to Ottawa to do the job that Canadians elected them to do. Common sense Conservatives will never stop fighting for Canadians.
In your service,
MP Tako van Popta
July 2023
Under Justin Trudeau, life continues to be less and less affordable.
Trudeau has added more debt than all other Prime Ministers combined, and now Canadians are paying the price through taxes, inflation, and higher interest rates.
The Bank of Canada’s latest interest rate hike, bringing rates to the highest level in 22 years, is a direct response to the $60 billion of fuel that the Trudeau government poured on the inflationary fire with their budget this spring.
The numbers add up quickly. Prior to the recent rate hikes, people were signing variable rate mortgages at about one per cent. At that rate, a $400,000 home with a 25-year mortgage would cost a family about $1,500 a month.
Renewing that same mortgage at today’s rate of 5.75 per cent would add $1,000 to the family’s mortgage cots. This week's hike would have tacked on another $59.
Add it all up, and that's more than $12,600 extra each year.
Canadians are suffering, but this government still has no realistic plan to balance the budget or make life more affordable for Canadians.
Several recent studies have shown that more than half of Canadians are within $200 of not being able to pay their bills, and that’s because most people do not receive salary raises to keep up with inflation. However, that’s not the case for Trudeau’s bankers.
The Bank of Canada Governor admitted that ‘we got some things wrong…we haven’t managed to keep inflation at our target.’
But despite admitting their failure, the central bank still gave 80 percent of their staff an average of $11,200 taxpayer-funded bonuses for a total of $20 million.
Bankers should not be rewarding themselves for missing their targets while working Canadians are struggling to pay their mortgages and put food on the table.
Trudeau must provide a real plan to balance the budget and axe his inflationary taxes on gas, groceries, and heating.
Conservatives will introduce common sense policies to manage the economy, bring down inflation and interest rates, and reduce taxes for the benefit of all Canadians. We’ll deliver a country that works for the people who’ve done the work—where everyone who works hard brings home a good living and a great life.
In your service,
MP Tako van Popta
June 2023
Cost-Of-Living Crisis
Budget 2023 passed in the House of Commons on June 8. It adds more than $60 billion in new spending – or $4,200 per family, meaning more inflation, more taxes, and higher costs.
The budget was passed thanks to the support of the NDP, after lengthy and determined opposition from the Conservatives. Though NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has been vocal about his intent to hold this government to account, it seems he is not willing to put those words into action.
The final vote on the budget came just one day after the Bank of Canada raised interest rates again for Canadians by another 25 basis points. This is a disaster for the many Canadians who are barely hanging on despite working incredibly hard to keep their families afloat.
On the evening of that announcement from the Bank of Canada, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre spoke for hours in the House of Commons in a final attempt to delay the disastrous Budget 2023.
“Justin Trudeau, you and your spending, out of control debt, and taxation are leading us head-on into a full-scale financial crisis and I will not let you do it.” – Pierre Poilievre, June 7, 2023.
I also had the opportunity to speak on Budget 2023 on a number of occasions, which you can watch here and here.
Conservatives know that Canadians can’t afford more of Justin Trudeau’s inflationary deficits – food, housing, and fuel prices are all hitting record highs.
The International Monetary Fund stated just two weeks ago that of 38 mostly advanced economies, Canada was at the highest risk of mortgage defaults due to high levels of household debt. A member of our community, Jeff, reached out to me and shared that though he has tried to do everything right to provide for his family, and makes a good income, he is “petrified” that when his mortgage comes up for renewal in a few years he will not be able to afford it.
In addition to Budget 2023, the Liberal have also introduced a second carbon tax increase up to 61 cents per litre to take effect July 1, 2023. Here in British Columbia, our carbon tax is determined provincially rather than federally, so some may think this doesn’t affect us. However, all provinces and territories are required to meet a minimum federal standard, so these increases will influence our rates as well.
Many British Columbians are willing to pay for measures that will mitigate climate change, but this continuing increase is difficult to justify when as of 2020, the latest year for which figures are available, B.C. had only reduced greenhouse-gas emissions by one per cent from its baseline year of 2007. That’s well short of its goal of reducing emissions 40 per cent by 2030, 60 per cent by 2040 and 80 per cent by 2050. Clearly, it is time for innovation in our approach to addressing climate change.
Conservatives have put forward several motions to cancel the planned carbon tax increases and have offered to work all summer to re-write Budget 2023 to address the cost-of-living crisis.
When will Justin Trudeau do his part to ease the biggest challenge facing Canadians today?
Only a Conservative government will bring back a government that works for people who do the work. It’s time to bring back the common sense of common people!
In your service,
MP Tako van Popta
May 2023
CSIS Report
On May 1, the Globe and Mail published a report claiming that CSIS documents from 2021 show the People’s Republic of China (PRC) considers Canada a “high-priority target” for interference.
It also states that the PRC employs “incentives and punishment” as part of a strategy to influence legislators, business executives, and immigrant communities in Canada.
The report goes on to claim that the extended family of my colleague, Michael Chong, Conservative MP for Wellington – Halton Hills, was targeted by Chinese diplomat Zhao Wei for the purpose of attacking our Canadian democratic institutions.
Mr. Chong was not made aware of this reality until now – two years later.
All Canadians – regardless of party – should be gravely concerned by the government’s total lack of action to protect our country and its citizens.
Why do foreign actors feel such confidence in targeting Canada’s democracy? Well, because this scenario with diplomat Zhao Wei has become the norm. CSIS stated that Beijing agents are unconcerned with possible repercussions from Canada because the Trudeau Liberals have set a strong precedent for laxity and inaction.
Though the Liberals knew of this for the past two years, it took an anonymous whistle-blower to spur them to action. The government has finally expelled the diplomat, but this is the bare minimum.
Mr. Chong said it best: “The government’s ongoing failure to act leaves all Canadians vulnerable to the foreign interference threat activities of the PRC and other authoritarian states bent on undermining our democracy.”
Beijing Police Stations in Canada
In related news, the Canadian Press published a story on April 30 that despite Minister Mendicino’s claims, Beijing police stations in Quebec are still operational. The RCMP say their investigation into these stations is still underway.
A Conservative motion in the House of Commons on May 8 called on the government to create a foreign agent registry like the kind established in the United States and Australia, to create a public inquiry into foreign election interference, shut down the Beijing police stations operating in Canada, and more. Every party voted in favour of this except the Liberals.
It is time to stand up and place the safety of Canadians and the preservation of our democracy first. If Trudeau is unwilling to do what is necessary, he must step aside and let Conservatives take the helm.
In your service,
MP Tako van Popta
April 2023
Budget 2023
Two weeks ago, the Liberals tabled their budget for 2023.
Instead of listening to Canadians and economic experts, they are continuing full speed ahead with their reckless spend & tax policies, driving our national debt up by another $43 billion.
More debt - means more taxes - means more inflation.
And as the bank of Canada seeks to bring inflation down, they have to raise interest rates and that means the government’s cost of servicing the national debt.
At today’s interest rates, the government is paying more and more money to wealthy bond holders that can’t go to important programs that benefit Canadians.
The priorities of the Conservative plan to ‘make Canada work for the people who work’ are:
Bring home powerful paycheques with lower taxes, so hard work pays off again.
Bring home lower prices, by ending inflationary carbon tax hikes & deficit spending that drive up inflation & interest rates.
Bring homes people can afford, by removing government gatekeepers to free up land and speed up building permits
This government failed to deliver on those priorities in their budget, which is why I will be voting against it
It is time to remove gatekeepers to free up, and speed up, permits for homes people can afford and job-creating projects that will create paycheques here at home.
It’s time for this liberal government to step aside and make way for a conservative government to get our national finances back on track.
Rising Crime Rates
The Liberal catch-and-release bail system is putting a small number of dangerous, repeat violent offenders on our streets, with heartbreaking consequences in communities across Canada.
Bills C-5 and C-75, both Liberal pieces of legislation enacted in the last five years, have had disastrous consequences on Canada’s justice system and have resulted in more violent offenders on the streets.
In B.C. alone, just 200 people were involved in 11,600 interactions with the police in span of one year.
Conservatives have put forward common sense solutions to undo these policies and to bring significant reform to our bail system, such as Bill C-313.
I am expecting all parties to work together on this important issue to make our streets safe once again – Canadians need to be kept safe.
In your service,
MP Tako van Popta
March 2023
Bail Reform
As a member of the Committee on Justice and Human Rights, I am taking part in an important study on Canada’s bail system.
At a recent meeting, I put a question to Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Thomas Carrique about the impact he has seen on our bail system stemming from Bill C-75, which was enacted in 2019. He told the committee that in Ontario between 2018 and 2022 there has been a 72 percent increase in ‘violent crimes committed by serious prolific or repeat violent offenders’ who were on bail.
He added: ‘just three days ago we had an offender that had been released on bail for possession of a firearm, [and] within days of being released on bail was arrested in the possession of numerous firearms yet again.’
Canadian law enforcement officers are calling out for bail reform as their lives are increasingly put at risk. Canada saw five officers killed within five months in 2022, one of whom was B.C.’s own Const. Shaelyn Yang.
Comm. Carrique urged the committee to bring about meaningful change immediately – ‘change that will ensure repeat violent offenders who have shown a propensity for using weapons against victims are held accountable and held in custody so they can’t further victimize innocent community members and risk the lives of police officers.’
Foreign Election Interference
The allegations published in various media outlets of foreign interference are shocking and suggest serious and sophisticated efforts by Beijing’s Communist Party to interfere in Canadian democracy.
For months, the Prime Minister has repeatedly denied and downplayed these threats. Most recently, he even argued the media’s raising of serious questions was somehow ‘racist.’ The Liberal members of the PROC committee continue to block senior advisor Katie Telford from being called to testify on what the government knew about Communist Party interference in our elections.
Canadians need to hear the truth about these allegations.
The Liberals plan to appoint a ‘special rapporteur’ and ask the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) to investigate foreign interference.
A ‘special rapporteur’ hand-picked by the Prime Minister is not the same as a true independent inquiry, with the full legal powers granted by the Inquiries Act - including compelling witnesses to testify and the production of documents. The Liberals also announced that they will explore the creation of a foreign influence registry but are still not providing any details or timelines on this.
This would be nothing but a secret committee, with secret hearings, secret evidence, and secret conclusions – all controlled by the Prime Minister. It will have neither the openness nor the independence to give Canadians the truth about Beijing’s interference in our democratic process.
Stay tuned for updates on this ongoing situation.
In your service,
MP Tako van Popta
February 2023
McKinsey & Co.
You may remember from my e-newsletter last month that the government has been paying enormous amounts of money to the high-priced firm McKinsey. The initial estimates totaled approximately $66 million, but now we know the total is above $100 million.
As more details have come out about this firm, we’ve learned that its head Dominic Barton has been close friends with Justin Trudeau for years.
Conservatives have been questioning the Liberals relentlessly on the amount of money given to this company, and in answer to a question from our leader Pierre Poilievre, Justin Trudeau stated that he has asked Min. of Finance Chrystia Freeland and others to investigate the matter.
We were not confident that their investigation will do anything to advance our pursuit of answers – so Conservatives have called on the impartial Auditor General to investigate all the money that has gone to McKinsey & Co. since 2011. Stay tuned for more details.
Healthcare
It is astounding that despite Justin Trudeau’s record-breaking spending and more debt incurred than every other Prime Minister combined, somehow our healthcare system is crumbling.
Just a few weeks ago, a two-year-old spent nine hours waiting at Langley Memorial Hospital before receiving care. And these problems are nation-wide – more than 5 million Canadians do not have access to primary care, wait times for specialist treatment are longer than they’ve been in 30 years, and according to Canadian psychiatrist Dr. Sareen: “we’re in the middle of a mental health pandemic. Post-COVID, wait times for access to treatment are the highest ever.”
This does not fall on the shoulders of the doctors, nurses, and administration staff who are doing everything they can with their limited resources.
So, why has there been no action? Experts agree Canada needs to have
- better data collection and tracking
- improved health workforce planning
- retention strategies for nurses
- safer working conditions
- and speedier recognition of internationally educated professionals.
We also need to hire back all our nurses who were let go due to federal mandates.
Now that our national debt has doubled, the government is spending as much on paying the interest on that debt as it is spending on health transfers to the provinces. This government is spending millions on high-priced consultants, millions in CERB overpayments, and millions on quarantine stays for air passengers. The result? The Liberals have nothing left for healthcare or for their promised Canada Mental Health Transfer.
In answer to the provinces’ request for an annual increase of $28 billion in funding, the Liberal government has recently put forward a proposal to give the provinces an average increase of $4.62 billion per year for the next ten years.
A future Conservative government will maintain the announced healthcare funding increase and honour the commitments that the federal government has made.
On top of that, we will cut government waste and make sure that tax dollars are going to support emergency rooms, doctors and nurses, and mental health supports rather than high-priced Liberal consultants.
In your service,
MP Tako van Popta
January 2023
With the cost-of-living crisis still in full swing, Canadians are more conscious than ever about the tax deductions from their pay cheques. The struggle to afford basic necessities is made more unbearable by the lack of results Canadians receive from their tax dollars. The Liberal government continues to fail to provide basic services to Canadians, two examples being the disastrous passport processing delays and a two-million-person immigration backlog.
So where are your tax dollars going?
Well, one significant piece of the puzzle is the recent revelation that the Liberal government has increased the amount of spending on contracted consultants by nearly 60% with the cost of these consultants ballooning up to $17.7 billion dollars in 2022.
Back in 2015, the Liberal Party platform included a promise to significantly reduce the use of external consultants, but as is often the case, the Liberals yet get an A+ on promises and an F on delivery.
I submitted an Order Paper Question several weeks ago, which is one tool MPs can use to request information from the government. I asked the government to provide details concerning the contracts and payments given to the McKinsey consulting firm – their answer raises some serious concerns.
Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) released new numbers this week that show that it has awarded a total of 23 contracts to McKinsey that come up to $101.4 million, with over $18 million of that coming from the National Defence Ministry.
Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre has been warning for some time now that due to lack of equipment, people, and strategic readiness, Canada’s military is ill-prepared for any major operations. Certainly, funding towards strengthening our military seems wise. However, National Defence paid McKinsey $7.5 million for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion training and the rest of the contracts involved various administrative matters. Where is the improvement to national security? How is this a justifiable expense?
A Conservative government will bring expenditures under control. To quote our leader Pierre Poilievre: “We think that when you have qualified public servants to do the job, we should not be contracting out the same work to high-priced consultants who charge more .... By contracting everything out, you end up paying more. We intend to bring that work in-house.”
Conservative, NDP, and Bloc Quebecois members have requested an emergency meeting of the parliamentary committee on government operations to request a full study into the contracts given to the consulting firm, which is set to take place tomorrow.
As your voice in Ottawa, I want to hear your perspective. Do you think that your taxes are being well used?
In your service,
MP Tako van Popta
December 2022
The House of Commons has now adjourned for the Christmas holidays, and it has been eventful session right up until the end. There are so many topics and bills to keep track of that it can get very overwhelming – here are three issues that are on the top of my mind going into the new year.
Last week, Auditor General Karen Hogan confirmed what Conservatives have been saying all along: this Liberal government failed to develop a working framework for eligibility when they rolled out CERB and other Covid-19 benefits, and Hogan confirmed that over $4 billion dollars of CERB benefits were handed out to ineligible recipients, and another $27 billion dollars in Covid-related benefits are suspicious and require further investigation.
That is over $30 billion tax dollars! Disregard for taxpayers is a pattern with this government, and Canadians are now paying the price. Inflation is at a 40-year high, and rising interest rates are making it difficult for many people to afford their mortgages and car payments. The cost of living is skyrocketing, small businesses are struggling to survive, and is there any end in sight?
This government continues to refuse to stop their inflationary spending or cut taxes, and many Canadian families are nearing a breaking point.
C-21 & the Hunting Rifle Ban
For those of you who haven’t heard, C-21 is a Liberal firearms bill that started as a misguided attempt to reduce crime but has now ballooned into an attack on Canada’s hunting, farming, and sport-shooting communities.
This is completely unfair treatment to law-abiding citizens who use guns legitimately for a variety of reasons. I have heard stories from a wide spectrum of people in our community – hunters, sport shooters, airsoft enthusiasts, or farmers who use hunting rifles for predator management. Others aren’t firearms users themselves, but are outraged at the injustice being proposed to members of these communities as well as First Nations.
Since Justin Trudeau took office seven years ago, violent crime has increased 32% and gang-related homicides have increased 92%. Conservatives will continue to push for the Liberal government to quit attacking law-abiding citizens and go after gun smugglers and gangs instead.
Sign our petition to stop this ban.
MAiD Expansion & Mental Illness
From the onset of MAiD legislation, Conservatives have raised serious concerns with the Liberal government’s rushed approach and the lack of protection for vulnerable Canadians.
Last week, the Association of Chairs of Psychiatry in Canada, which includes heads of psychiatry departments at all 17 Canadian medical schools, issued a statement echoing this position. These experts said they are “incredibly concerned” about access to real care being pushed aside for the easier and cheaper option, which is providing MAiD.
On December 15, the government announced they will be delaying this expansion, which is a step in the right direction. However, there have been no details provided as to their new plan.
As this situation unfolds, Conservatives will continue to defend those who are left behind by this legislation, and work to ensure that the lives of the most vulnerable will be protected.
In your service,
Tako van Popta
MP for Langley - Aldergrove
November 2022
There are many amazing benefits to living in British Columbia. One element that is certainly a drawback, however, is the significant crisis in our provincial healthcare system. This crisis has spread all across the country, but the statistics show that British Columbians are particularly suffering.
We have snowballing wait times for medical attention, staff shortages, and deteriorating working conditions. The problems are evident to everyone, so why can’t we work more quickly towards a solution?
The easy fix seems to be increased funding from the federal government, which is what our premiers have been discussing recently with the federal health minister. However, the government is hesitant to provide the requested increase of funding from $45 billion to $73 billion without the provinces providing a plan as to where they intend to allocate these funds.
Our healthcare system is still recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic, but there are also underlying issues that need reforming if we want results from our tax dollars. Otherwise, our healthcare system will continue under-performing in relation to how much money we invest in it.
Experts agree Canada needs to have better data collection and tracking, improved health workforce planning, retention strategies for nurses, safer working conditions, and that we must expedite the recognition of internationally educated professionals.
We need our premiers to come to the table with plans for innovation in these areas and financial transparency so that we can put tax dollars where they really need to go – caring for Canadians.
Saving lives is a big job, and it goes beyond ensuring we have an effective healthcare system. It also means protecting innocent people through our justice system. Unfortunately, under Trudeau’s government, Canada is going soft on crime. This month, we saw an ISIS bride return to Canada and be granted immediate bail, and a man convicted of terrorist plotting granted parole. Here in BC, we saw a man guilty of horrific crimes against women and children be released back into the community under supervision.
Why are innocent Canadians’ safety and health not being prioritized? While politicians and governments argue amongst themselves, it is innocent Canadians who are paying the price for this wasted time. I will continue to push for creating a plan to improve our healthcare system so that our valuable tax dollars can go towards real solutions, and for a justice system that stands up for safer communities.
In your service,
Tako van Popta
MP for Langley - Aldergrove
15/10/2022
The main issue in most Canadians lives right now is the cost of living. With weather turning colder and rates continuing to rise, people are anxious about how they will keep a roof over their heads, stay warm, and keep gas in the car and food on the table over the winter ahead.
I hear these concerns daily from constituents. First, lets take stock of the situation. Housing prices have gone up 50% since Trudeau took office, inflation is at the highest it has been for 40 years, causing food prices to go up by 10.8%, and everyone knows how much fuel has gone up as well.
So, what has the government done to help this issue, and where do I think improvements can be made?
Proposals from the NDP on dental and housing have been put forward in the House, but their reach is perhaps not as consequential as we need. Dental care programs for low-income children already exist across Canada except for Manitoba and the Northwest Territories and almost 70% of Canadians have dental coverage.
The GST rebate, a one-time payment of $467, is something Conservatives support, but when we put that amount of money in contrast with what an average individuals monthly costs are, it’s a drop in the bucket.
What do economists say?
“We’re not going to deny that there are households seriously in need of help right now in this inflationary environment. But, from a policy perspective, we all know that sending out money as an inflation-support measure is inherently inflationary.”
- Robert Kavcic, Senior Economist at the Bank of Montreal
By fueling inflation, this government is just making the problem worse.
For the past 2 years, Conservatives have been suggesting alternatives centred around cutting costs in one area to give to another, like axing the $25 million ArriveCan app (which has finally happened), scrapping the $35 billion Infrastructure Bank, or cancelling corporate welfare programs that only help large and powerful companies.
Most recently, we have been calling on this government to cancel all planned tax increases, including payroll tax hikes planned for this January 1st.
It is painfully obvious that none of the people voting against these breaks for Canadians are among those most affected by inflation – it is the average hard-working individuals and families that are burdened with the consequences of the governments’ decisions.
I want to hear from you. Click here to let me know how inflation has been affecting your life.
In your service,
Tako van Popta
MP for Langley – Aldergrove
15/09/2022
This week has been marked by significant transitions in leadership.
On September 8th, the world was saddened by the loss of our beloved monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. Our queen has reigned over the United Kingdom, Canada, and the rest of the Commonwealth for an astounding 70 years, and her presence was a great source of stability and security.
Her passing has left a void in the hearts of many, and Canada has joined the UK in a period of mourning marked by black ribbons and events of commemoration. The Queen played a subtle but important role in the governance of our country, and as our new monarch King Charles III takes her place, we gratefully remember her dedicated service.
Visit these links if you would like information on commemorative services or to sign a virtual book of condolences.
Only days after Her Majesty’s passing, Canada experienced a much more jubilant change in leadership with the election of the Hon. Pierre Poilievre as our leader of the Conservative Party. Having endorsed Pierre some months ago, I was thrilled to see the overwhelming support he garnered amongst Canadians, and especially within our riding of Langley – Aldergrove.
With a resounding 68% majority nationwide, Pierre won the race on the first ballot alone. In our riding, he won with an even stronger margin of 70%. This amount of support indicates Pierre’s ability to unite our party and our country as our next Prime Minister.
Just this past Monday, Pierre addressed the national Conservative caucus for the first time. The first speech a new party leader gives is their opportunity to give insight into their priorities and to set the tone for the upcoming Parliamentary session.
In Pierre’s speech, the resounding message was empowerment. He champions the everyday Canadian and pushes back against a government which places an always-increasing burden upon its citizens. The vision Pierre has for Canada is one I am proud to get behind – tackle inflation, get government spending under control, and pave the way for Canadians who are willing to work hard to actually see results from their labour.
This message could not be more welcome given that the Bank of Canada recently increased interest rates yet again, and inflation is the highest it has been in over 40 years. How can Canadians hope to ever afford a house when even a grocery bill is becoming too expensive? Instead of offering a helping hand, Justin Trudeau plans to raise payroll taxes on January 1, 2023, which will mean even less money going into the pockets of workers every month, and he also plans to triple the carbon tax to meet emission-reduction targets.
This isn’t what Canadians need right now. They need freedom to prosper and a leader who listens to and unites all voices. I am excited to stand behind a leader who will give just that.
In your service,
Tako van Popta
MP for Langley – Aldergrove