(first published in the Niagara Independent)

The past week has served up to Canadians a healthy portion of blarney, courtesy of our federal Liberal government. For one, a façade of a building was constructed solely for the purpose of being the backdrop for a press conference announcing some housing policy from Prime Minister Mark Carney. The fake building even included men and women in hard hats looking out of windows, pretending to hammer something, install a window or give the impression of doing some other fake construction-like activity. 

The faux structure was taken down shortly after the press conference ended, and by the afternoon of the same day the premises was once again a vacant lot. Who thought up this stupid stunt? Surely, they couldn’t have expected that anyone would be fooled by this obviously phoney display. Although the so-called mainstream media basically ignored it with very few exceptions, the messaging in the independent media – those not subsidized by our tax dollars – was everywhere about this ridiculous situation, as was social media. 

If something this brainless had been done by a Conservative government, the coverage would likely be wall-to-wall and last for weeks. What is equally laughable about this sham of a spectacle is that actual housing starts in Canada are at one of the lowest levels in decades, despite all the blather that has been going on for years about building more homes from both the federal and some provincial governments. There has been lots of talk and zero action. 

The second ridiculous fakery that took place involved what was supposed to be bags of Canadian wheat for a press conference Carney held on his trade-related trip to Mexico. The white bags had a label with a red maple leaf and “Wheat – Product of Canada” on a sticker that appeared to have been slapped on the bag. We still have not heard if anyone actually checked what was in the bags, but it could well have been anything but wheat. People who were actually familiar with how wheat is shipped stated that this product had not been shipped in bags for over a century. As well, the labels on the bags were in English only, which is very unlikely for a government announcement in bilingual Canada. Once again, if you do a search for this silly press conference and the fake wheat bags, you will find nothing on conventional media. 

Many critics have noted that despite Carney’s clear enthusiasm about travelling around the world on our dime, these so-called agreements he signs on the foreign junkets, including the trip to Mexico, are meaningless. They are merely “agreements” to continue to talk or to do something non-committal in the future, not anything actually important or binding. They are similar to his “executive orders” that he has made a big production out of signing on previous foreign trips. He did this when he paused the carbon tax, and this past weekend when he “recognized” Palestine all on his own, with no consultation of Parliament or Canadians. 

Although this phoney “executive order” signing may have impressed the ill-informed, it was meaningless as there is no such thing as executive orders in Canada. Executive orders are, ironically, a U.S. thing, and Carney copying it is pretty hypocritical given Carney’s supposed opposition to all things American. The fact that Carney is engaging in this type of dictatorial behaviour with only a minority government is especially concerning. We have to wonder what further unilateral dictates he would impose on Canada if he were ever to get a majority government. 

By undertaking these stupid and transparent acts, Carney is thumbing his nose at Canadians and treating us like fools that are easily duped by phoney baloney. A government that engages in such ridiculous deception and spends our hard-earned tax dollars to fake these announcements, does not deserve our trust. Now that Parliament is back in session, the Liberals will at least facing serious questioning from opposition parties, as they should. The kind of waste and dishonesty behind these deceptive acts should be high up on the agenda for criticism. And anyone that voted Liberal in the last federal election should ask themselves if this chicanery is what they voted for. 

Catherine Swift

Catherine Swift is President of the Coalition of Concerned Manufacturers & Businesses of Canada (CCMBC). She was previously President of Working Canadians from 2015-2021 & President & CEO of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) from 1995-2014. She was Chief Economist of the CFIB from 1987-1995, Senior Economist with TD Bank from 1983-1987 & held several positions with the federal government from 1976-1983.

She has published numerous articles in journals, magazines & other media on issues such as free trade, finance, entrepreneurship & women business owners. Ms. Swift is a past President of the Empire Club of Canada, a former Director of the CD Howe Institute, the Canadian Youth Business Foundation, SOS Children’s Villages, past President of the International Small Business Congress and current Director of the Fraser Institute. She was cited in 2003 & 2012 as one of the most powerful women in Canada by the Women’s Executive Network & is a recipient of the Queen’s Silver & Gold Jubilee medals.

She has an Honours BA and MA in Economics.