People’s Party of Canada (PPC) Leader Maxime Bernier made a stop in Barrie on Sunday afternoon to address supporters after the party’s Barrie-Simcoe Regional Association’s annual general meeting, which was held at the Allure Hotel and Conference Centre on Fairview Road.
A news release from the party stated: “Bernier will be sharing with supporters the message and purpose of the PPC as he prepares for the next election, which could come at any time … and will continue to publicly address major political issues ignored by the current government or the ineffective opposition, such as holding establishment politicians accountable for their handling of the COVID-19 situation, ending mass immigration, boldly addressing the inflation crisis, opposition to climate alarmism and to woke ideologies infecting our schools and institutions.”
Approximately 50 people were in attendance to listen to the PPC leader, including Giorgio Mammoliti, a longtime politician who served on Toronto city council, won a seat in Ontario under the NDP banner in 1990, and lost his bid this year to become mayor of Wasaga Beach.
Bernier, meanwhile, said the top-of-mind issue for him right now is inflation and a recession that may come. He didn’t offer any specifics on how that would be tamed if he was elected, but did take the opportunity to dump on the other parties. He took aim at "big spending" and federal programs that "gave money to people and telling them to stay at home and don’t work." He says the Conservatives helped support the plan.
"(Prime Minister Justin) Trudeau was able to create a deficit of $400 billion, financed by the Bank of Canada, who printed that money, which is why we have inflation, so we need to fight that and balance the budget, and be sure to lower taxes after that," Bernier said.
Bernier says Canada should follow the lead of countries like Sweden.
"They will have a surplus in 2023 and they’re saying that’s the way to fight inflation. And they’re right," he said. "If you balance the budget, you won’t have to have the Bank of Canada buying your Canadian bonds, because you won’t have a deficit."
Bernier says the PPC is the only national party that says "the climate is always changing, but there is no emergency. This planet will be here in 2,000 years.
"We won’t impose (a climate) tax, we won’t impose (climate) regulations, we won’t try to change the behaviour of Canadians. I think that is an important issue because it’s imposed by the UN, and (Conservative Leader Pierre) Poilievre and the Liberals are buying that," he said.
OrilliaMatters asked Bernier for his views surrounding the dangers of climate change that don't necessarily align with a large number of Canadian voters.
“Yeah, but they can vote for another party," he said. "It is not a question of believing; it’s a fact that the climate is changing. I agree with that, but I don’t believe that there is an emergency.”
After the recent climate-change conference in Egypt, which hammered out a new UN agreement that aims to pay developing countries for loss and damage caused by global warming, Bernier said he vehemently disagrees with this tactic.
“Transferring money from rich countries to poor countries, which is redistribution on the international stage. We are a poor country right now. If you don’t have a 10 per cent increase in your salary this year, you’ll be poorer. Inflation is a hit, it’s a tax. So we need to bring back the money here in Canada for Canadians first," he said. "The provinces can do it if they want, but not the federal government, under a PPC government.”
Bernier says many events linked to climate change are not new.
"We have tornadoes all the time, we have floods, and that’s a fact, but that has also happened a long time ago," he said. "I’m looking at the science, and there is no consensus on that.”
When pressed that there is an established consensus among a majority of the world’s scientific community, Bernier stuck to his beliefs.
“CO2 is not pollution. It’s a gas for life, that’s what I am emitting now as I’m speaking to you. We need CO2," he said.
It has been well established that carbon dioxide levels have been growing at an alarming rate around the world, which warms the planet. Human activities have increased levels of CO2 in the atmosphere by more than 50 per cent in the past 200 years.
“When you have more CO2, you have more sun, and it’s a food for plants," Bernier said. "The globe would be greener, so that’s good."
“I agree that speaking about that is not popular, and the Conservatives won’t speak about it, but we will."
