A few days ago, advance voting started for the Federal Elections slated for October 21, 2019. In the most recent TV debate in English, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer was clearly focused on his task of showing Canadians the mistakes of Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau and going to the extent of calling him a phony and a fraud who does not deserve to lead this country.

While the Trudeau tried to defend himself, he was clearly bothered by the debate that exposed a lot of his weaknesses even as he tried to turn the tables on Scheer. But, the Conservative leader pointed out tax exemptions that Trudeau has given to mass polluters. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh also pointed out that the Liberal leader gave a $14 billion tax cut to biggest corporations.

Sheer also pointed out that he will stop the carbon tax but Trudeau believes it has to continue because there is a climate emergency. Peoples Party Leader Maxime Bernier does not believe there is a climate emergency while Green Party Leader Elizabeth May is firm on her stance that we need to act now, because there is a climate emergency. What was very glaring in this debate was how Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet was very un-Canadian, saying “what can’t a Quebecer not do that a Canadian can do?” which clearly shows a separatist attitude.

What was very clear is that Trudeau will continue his Carbon Tax Plan and it is very evident that Green Party Leader Elizabeth May favors him over Scheer because the Conservative Leader wants to cut the carbon tax. The Green Party Leader even stated that Scheer is not going to win the October 21st Federal Election.

What is very evident in this debate though, was that great ideas were coming from NDP leaderJagmeet Singh, who is the dark horse that no one can ignore. The biggest thing we should note from his platform was Universal Pharmacare which even the Green Party leader agreed needs to be seen to. The NDP leader wants also to provide Free Dental Care. Singh mentioned that the NDP is the only party that can really face the pharmaceutical industry and say no to them. The NDP Leader alleges that the Conservatives and Liberals cannot do that. One thing for sure is that I know Canadians are smart enough not to VOTE for someone who will burden them with more taxes in our overly taxed society. While I agree that we must do our part to cut greenhouse gas and pollution, there are other ways to do it than penalizing the people and get them to pay more taxes. Do not be deceived. So Please Go Out and Vote; think about all the points that have been mentioned and how this can help your family and our country in the next four years.

Alberta’s Budget is just about to come out after the Federal Elections and we all do hope that it will not bring cuts to Healthcare and Education as what Alberta Finance Minister Travis Toews said in our interview with him.

One thing for sure is that they will try to make the system more efficient.

Toews says that Alberta is spending $10.4 billion more per capita compared to other provinces and we cannot continue to spend money we do not have. This makes sense because if we do, then we fall deeper into the hole that our future generations will suffer from. Toews adds that Alberta does not have a revenue problem.

But the problem is the Mackinnon report, which suggests that the tuition freeze be lifted. This would definitely not sit well with students. The report has also taken into consideration that Alberta Wages are higher than other provinces and Toews believes that in due time, this will bring our cost in line with other provinces.

While it is easy to bring the wages in line with other provinces, especially since Alberta is in a recession, what needs to be discussed regarding the plan of the Provincial Government to lower the cost of daily living? It is easy to cut wages but how about making it more liveable for Albertans? Our groceries cost more than Toronto or Vancouver because they are beside ports.

Our food has to be transported inland so if our wages are a little higher there is a reason as to why this is so. This is to compensate for the cost of living. I just hope that when they come out with the budget, the Alberta Government should consider all these factors.