Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre addressed his party’s defectors, high gas prices, war in the Middle East and other issues at a stop in Maple Ridge on Friday morning, April 10.
Poilievre was hosted by Pitt Meadows Plumbing – which is actually in the City of Maple Ridge.
He took questions from the workers, and was asked about the defections of four members of his party to the governing Liberals, putting them close to having a majority government. Poilievre would like to see them lose their seats.
“These members of parliament were elected as Conservatives. Their people wanted a Conservative MP, because they believed in our Conservative mission of an affordable, safe country, and they should respect what their constituents voted for,” said Poilievre.
He added the MPs who cross the floor of the House of Commons should be “fired,” and byelections held in their ridings.
He didn’t dispute recent reports that the Liberals are still speaking with as many as nine Conservative MPs about crossing the floor.
“They’ve been talking to every Conservative MP since the last election trying to fabricate a false majority,” he said. “Mark Carney should respect the will Canadians expressed in the last election, which limited him to a minority. Instead he’s been power hungry and sought backroom dirty deals designed to give him a degree of power concentration Canadians deprived him.”
His host, Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge MP Marc Dalton, vowed continued support.
“I’m proud to serve as a Conservative member of parliament under Pierre Poilievre, I fully support his leadership,” said Dalton. “I want him to stay because Canada needs him. This company needs him. There’s a future in Canada under a Conservative government, and under Pierre Poilievre as prime minister.
He noted that Poilievre received 87 per cent support from the party to stay as Leader.
As war has been waged in Middle East, involving the U.S., Israel, Iran, Lebanon and other nations, he was critical of Canada’s position on the conflict.
“Mark Carney has been all over the map. He was for it, and then he said it was illegal, and then he said he might contribute Canadian troops, but we don’t really know what his position is a month after the war started,” said Poilievre.
“My focus is on what we can control, which is here at home,” he said. “We actually should be profiting from the higher oil prices today. If we could unblock our production, we could sell more of our oil, moderate prices, and boost our dollar.”
In the aftermath of the war, Canada should build up a strategic oil reserve, as other G7 countries have, of some 200 million barrels of oil in storage. It could be released to control prices at times like this, he said.
He also would improve Canada’s trade relationship with U.S. by leveraging its supplies of rare earth minerals.
“We need tariff-free access to the US market, and the way we can get it is by building up our leverage, and taking it to the bargaining table.”
He noted Canada has 10 minerals the U.S. needs for military purposes, and should build up a large reserve.
“That would get the door open,” he predicted.
Poilievre talked to the employees about the “failing economy.”
“We have the worst growth in the G7, the highest grocery price inflation in the G7, we have gas prices that are 20 per cent higher in Canada than they are in the United States, the worst housing cost household debt, in fact we have an entire generation that can not afford a home.”
He talked about getting rid of the sales tax on new homes, among other promises to bolster the economy.
He also talked about crime and public safety, and the need for tougher laws.
“We have rampant repeat criminals that are turned loose again and again…” he said. “We’re going to bring in tough new laws: three-strikes-you’re-out. Three offences and an offender will no longer be eligible for bail, parole, probation, or house arrest. It’ll be jail, and not bail.”
Poilievre shook hands with workers at the plant, talked to many one-on-one, and stood for a long line of employees who wanted a photo with him.