To the Editor,
If I had known Canada needed another ministry, I would have applied. I would have said, “Pick me! Pick me!”
In case you haven’t heard, the new Justin Trudeau Liberal cabinet has a new member and a new ministry. She is Mona Fortier, Minister of Middle-Class Prosperity, earning $264,000 a year.
Although unable to define what “middle class” is, she leaves us to guess that it is “where people feel that they can afford their way of life” (from an interview given to CBC Radio’s program, The Current). One might speculate it is as Minister Bill Morneau implied in a 2016 Senate committee meeting where he said it was in the range of $45,000 to $140,000.
Yes, we surely needed this ministry. I was lying awake at night worrying about how these people are surviving. Had I known about this opportunity, I would have submitted a resume citing a need for a “Ministry of People Falling Through the Cracks” to address financial needs of the many war veterans, First Nations, homeless, pensioners and any others whose income lies well below these numbers and for whom ministries already exist, but which leave gaps people commit suicide to fall through.
Meanwhile, since the Liberals have been in power for four years, 900,000 Canadians (mostly women and children) have had to rely on food banks while the government has given $15B to the rich.
So here we are, yet again. Watching some privileged politicians doing nothing other than wasting our money trying to look useful so we will continue to buy their snake oil.
Pat Martin | Canyon