Lauzon: Ignatieff Admits Commitment to Higher Taxes

April 15, 2009

Earlier this week, on April 14, Michael Ignatieff finally let the cat out of the bag about the Liberal’s agenda to raise taxes on all Canadians: “We will have to raise taxes,” he exclaimed in an interview with the Kitchener-Waterloo Record.  (‘Tax hike likely unavoidable, Liberal leader says’, Kitchener-Waterloo Record, April 14, 2009)

This is just the latest slip-up from Michael Ignatieff when it comes to revealing his real agenda to increase the tax burden on Canadians. Michael Ignatieff has long admitted his first instinct is to force taxpayers to pay more. He has described himself as a "tax-and-spend, Pearsonian, Trudeau Liberal."  (Toronto Star, November 20, 2004.)

Michael Ignatieff is also the father of the Liberal Carbon Tax.  While not widely known, during the 2006 Liberal leadership race, Ignatieff was the most prominent Liberal to call for a carbon tax: "We've also got to have popular, practical, believable policies that may involve some form of carbon tax…” (‘Ignatieff's carbon-tax remarks draw fire’, Globe and Mail, June 15, 2006)’

When asked “Do you still believe in a carbon tax?” Ignatieff emphatically endorsed the idea: “I do Craig [Oliver].  I learnt that there is no punishment more severe in politics than being the first guy with a good idea but I’m glad, I’m glad that our party seems to be moving that way.” (CTV Question Period May 25, 2008)

And Michael Ignatieff has admitted under a Liberal Government, an increase in the GST will remain on the table. “I'm not going to take a GST hike off the table,” -- Michael Ignatieff (CityTV News, December 18, 2008)

Despite the best efforts of Liberal spin doctors, Michael Ignatieff cannot help but reveal his true intentions. The only reason he has returned to Canada after more than three decades of living and working abroad because he feels entitled to be Prime Minister. And it is now more clear than ever that, as Prime Minister, he would feel equally entitled to your tax dollars.

With a Conservative Government at the helm, Canadians can rest assured that their taxes will be kept low. In fact, since 2006, the Conservative Government has cut taxes by over $200 billion. While there is a lot of uncertainty in the economy right now, one thing is for certain: this government will continue to be guided by its belief that the more money we can keep in the hands of the individual Canadians who earn it, the better.

Guy Lauzon, MP
Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry