Viersen equates Liberal policies to Whac-A-Mole

“Every thing the Liberal Federal government touches turns to dust.”

That is how Peace River – Westlock MP Arnold Viersen characterized the Trudeau Federal government’s 27 months in office to County of Barrhead councillors during their Jan. 2 meeting.

Viersen, the Conservative Party’s deputy shadow minister, was at the meeting as part of an ongoing tour of municipal councils.

“Whether it be the TPP [Trans-Pacific Partnership] which Trudeau and the Liberals pulled us out of so they had a better chance coming to a NAFTA [North America Free Trade Agreement] agreement, or Energy East [pipeline], everything they touch turns to dust and evaporates,” he said, equating the Liberal government’s policies to the arcade game Whac-A-Mole, an analogy Viersen used on more than one occasion.

Viersen moved on to talk about the changes the Liberal government is proposing to small-business taxes in an effort to eliminate income sprinkling.

Income sprinkling or income splitting is a process used by higher-income small business owners, or incorporated professionals to redirect income to other, lower-taxed family members in an effort to pay less.

Finance minister Bill Morneau announced the plan in the summer, which included a “reasonableness test” to ensure legitimate contributors to a small business will still be eligible to receive income from the business.

However, pressure from opposition parties as well as small business owners caused the government to delay and revisit the tests which determine if income sprinkling is taking place.

“We are still waiting for details. And I am not sure the Liberals know how much effort it really takes to run a farm and how much family members contribute to the entire operation,” Viersen said. “I really don’t know if they know much about what is going on past the city limits. When they [Liberals] put a grader on the picture of a farm instead of a combine or a swather, I’m not convinced they know a lot about what happens on a farm.”

The next topic Viersen touched on was NAFTA saying the government has not worked hard enough on the file.

“NAFTA is essential to the nation’s economy and $2 billion of goods and services cross over the Canada-U.S. border everyday,” he said, adding while he understands dealing with the U.S. president Donald Trumph can be difficult as he can be ‘erratic’, he said it is important that the Trudeau government not unnecessarily antagonize the administration by adopting policies not popular with the U.S. administration.

On the topic of taxes Viersen said one of the reasons why the government is looking at tax reform is because they need to generate more revenue.

“They’ve blown the budget and they are looking at places to get money,” he said. “That is why people with diabetes, autism and other disorders are being denied access to the disability tax credit after receiving it for years. The latest one that I have been hearing about is how mothers have to prove that their children, exist or are in their custody to get the Canada Child Benefit.”

The next topic Viersen discussed was the Conservative’s efforts to try to stop the Liberals effectively taxing a tax through a private members bill C-342, introduced by B.C. Conservative MP Mark Warawa.

Currently Alberta and B.C. have a carbon tax, or levy that are charged on items such as natural gas and gasoline. Consumers then pay GST on the entire bill including the carbon levy. If C-342 had passed it would have amended the Excise Tax Act (carbon levy) to prevent the federal government from collecting GST on the levy. On Oct. 25, C-342 was defeated 205 to 85 on second reading.

“You shouldn’t be charged a tax on a tax,” Viersen said. “Because of this added cost municipalities have to find a way to pass it on to their ratepayers, but the federal government gets a bump of millions of dollars.”

Coun. Darrell Troock then asked what the status of Canada’s legalization of marijuana was.

“The Liberals still think it is going to pass this summer, but there is still a lot of work that needs to be done, and you, the people around this table will have to do a lot of it,” he said, adding while C-45 leaves it up to the provinces to determine how marijuana can be sold and used, it will be up to municipalities and police forces to enforce. “It still also has to go through the senate and since the Liberals released their senators the chamber isn’t as predictable as it once was.”

Viersen said he found it ironic that although the government will be legalizing marijuana, there will be actually more ways to run afoul of the law.

“Now it is fairly simple — it is against the law, but when it is legalized there will 14 new ways to break the law. Everything from the number of plants a person can have to their size,” he said.

Coun. Dennis Nanninga asked Viersen for his opinion if Canada, Mexico and the U.S. would be able to come to a NAFTA agreement.

“Your guess is as good as mine, but it is a difficult situation. A lot of people believe it is just a matter of tradeoffs, but it isn’t that simple,” Viersen said, noting the current NAFTA agreement includes a number of exemptions, including many agricultural products, such as eggs and dairy on the Canadian side, and sugar the U.S.

He added while both sides would love to have free access to the other’s markets, they were also protective of their individual industries.

Viersen ended his presentation by asking if the municipality was having any issues accessing federal grant money.

County manager Debbie Oyarzun said they had not received an answer to whether they were successful in getting an Enabling Accessibility Fund grant to help them to make their offices more accessible for people with disabilities. The county applied for the grant with Pembina Hills Public Schools, which shares the building with them.