I am sure you are well aware that Justin Trudeau’s visit to India was a disaster at every level.

• He and his family looked like they were playing in a Bollywood movie at each photo op. Commentators in India said it was over the top.
• He wasted taxpayers’ money on a family vacation that will bring almost no economic benefits.
• He invited a convicted terrorist for a diplomatic dinner and was snubbed by the Indian government until the last day of the trip.
• He used his kids as political props in a shameful way.
• The international press all reported how he made a fool of himself.

It’s also clear that the purpose of the whole trip was not to advance the interest of Canada and all Canadians in this part of the world, but rather to polish his image among some groups of voters as the 2019 election approaches. But it blew up in his face.

We need to restore political decency, in our domestic and international affairs.

If you agree that our Prime Minister should not use his trips abroad as political marketing tools, let me know by contributing $5 to my efforts and those of my colleagues to bring back political decency in Ottawa.

Thank you,
-Max

Greasy politicians love giving money to their friends in big business.

Sometimes it’s in the open, in the form of grants and subsidies.

Sometimes it’s hidden, in the form of “repayable loans” that never get paid back, because the fine print can be interpreted any way that suits those who get the money.

I’m in opposition.

From here, I can’t scrap corporate welfare.

But I can shine the light of day on the corrupt practices of the Liberal government.

I introduced a private member’s bill that will make it so that we know whether or not companies pay back their loans from the government, as well as repayment conditions.

Because it’s not the government’s money.

It’s your money.

If you support this, let me know.

Click here to donate $5.

Thanks,
-Maxime

I received this week a formal notice from the Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers about a message I sent a few days ago to my supporters and which was posted on my Facebook page.

In this message, I denounced the actions of the maple syrup cartel and I explained how this organization persecutes honest and courageous producers like Angèle Grenier, a Beauce producer who was fined $300,000 because she sold her syrup directly to a New Brunswick buyer without going through the Federation’s marketing board.

The Federation’s lawyer, Louis Coallier, asks me to apologize for having written that it is not producers like Ms. Grenier who are outlaws, but rather that “from my point of view, they are the outlaws.”

He also asks me to remove this statement from my Facebook page with a statement to the effect that it is unfounded, not supported by the judicial decisions rendered in Canada.

I apologize to the Federation for suggesting that its actions are illegal, which is inaccurate.

Indeed, and I am well aware of it, the powers exercised by the Federation are completely legal and supported by the judicial decisions rendered in Canada.

That’s the problem.

While cartels are normally banned in almost all sectors of the economy, our governments have given power to this one and some others to control production and to persecute producers who refuse to comply with their dictates.

I did not express myself correctly when I implied that the Federation is an outlaw. What I wanted to say, and what will replace the contentious sentence in my original message, is that from my point of view, the law should be changed so that it is the Federation, not people like Angèle Grenier, who will be considered an outlaw. In a free society, such controlling and authoritarian organizations should not exist.

I will continue my fight so that one day, the law changes and they are abolished.

If you agree with me, let me know by supporting me.

Thanks,
– Maxime

I am 100% against corporate welfare.

You know, these subsidies and loans granted by the government to companies…

I think it’s a waste of money.

We should cut taxes for all businesses, instead of aiding some at the expense of others.

That being said, as long as these subsidies exist, we should, at the very least, make sure that they’re managed transparently.

That is not the case today.

Government loan repayment agreements are secret.

And I know why they are. It’s because there are so many exceptions to these agreements that companies often never repay.

When I was Industry Minister, we made those agreements public as well as the balance that remained to be paid for each loan and each company.

But today, this is no longer the case.

While Justin Trudeau boasts of being the champion of transparency, his government is giving loans that are in fact grants.

He is taking people for fools; he is laughing at those who work hard to make ends meet.

And what he’s doing is the opposite of transparency.

Rich companies spend thousands of dollars lobbying the government to keep this information secret.

I introduced Bill C-396 to make this information available to the public.

If the bill is adopted, we will finally uncover this scheme!

I need your help to promote this bill and get a majority to vote for it in Parliament.

If you are for transparency and against corporate welfare, contribute $3.96 or more today to this cause.

Thank you,
-Maxime

Ottawa, February 5, 2018 – The Conservative MP for Beauce, Maxime Bernier, today tabled a private member’s bill that would force the federal government to provide more information regarding the financial assistance it gives to various corporations.

Billions of dollars are being distributed every year by the government in subsidies and repayable contributions, but the conditions under which this assistance is being given, as well as the repayment information in the case of loans, are often not being made public.

For example, in the semi-annual repayment Status Report of the Technology Partnership Canada (TPC) program (see https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/ito-oti.nsf/eng/00950.html), a report whose goal is presumably “to enhance transparency,” almost half of the projects offer no repayment information because “the company has not provided ISED with an authorization to disclose repayment information.” In some cases, we still don’t know if the loan has been reimbursed decades after it was granted.

As Industry minister more than a decade ago, Mr. Bernier had asked his department to disclose this information, but this policy of transparency was abandoned after he left his post.

“As everyone knows, I am generally not in favour of subsidies and government grants to business. But as long as they exist, Canadian taxpayers have the right to know how their money is being used. These are not private transactions, and corporations that take taxpayers’ money have no right to confidentiality.”

The bill tabled today would amend the Department of Industry Act in order to require the minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development to publish certain information concerning the financial assistance provided under the Act or by any agency for which he is responsible.

For more information or interviews with Mr. Bernier, please contact Renee Farrell at 613 992-8053

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Let me tell you about something crazy that is going on.

Do you know about the Quebec Federation of Maple Syrup Producers? It operates similarly to the old Canadian Wheat Board but for maple syrup.

It’s an organization that has the monopoly on maple syrup sales in the province of Quebec and forces all producers to sell their product to ONE single buyer. Itself.

A recent report ordered by the Quebec Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food described the Federation as « the OPEC of maple syrup. »

It’s not just a Quebec issue. The Federation got their power thanks to a decree by the federal government. And all Canadians are paying more for maple syrup because of this cartel.

This crazy story even made it to Netflix; it’s in episode 5 of the documentary series “Dirty Money.” A maple syrup producer from my riding of Beauce who was interviewed for this Netflix episode can tell you all about this cartel.

Angèle Grenier thought that we lived in a free country where there is free trade between provinces, as article 121 of our Constitution guarantees.

“121.All Articles of the Growth, Produce, or Manufacture of any one of the Provinces shall, from and after the Union, be admitted free into each of the other Provinces.”

But this so-called “Federation” doesn’t care about our freedoms. They sued her because she sold her syrup in New Brunswick herself instead of going through them. They say she is an outlaw because of that. She’s had to pay HUGE fines. Over $300,000 in total plus $150,000 in lawyers’ fees.

From my point of view, the law should be changed so that it is the Federation, not people like Angèle Grenier, who will be considered an outlaw. In a free society, such controlling and authoritarian organizations should not exist.

Many other honest and hard-working maple syrup producers are being persecuted like Angèle Grenier.

We need to defend the ordinary people who are being bullied by CARTELS with the support of government bureaucrats.

I am one of the only MPs actively talking about this and other critical issues in Ottawa. Today, I’m asking you to help me uphold article 121 of our Constitution.

Donate $121, $12.10 or $1.21, or whatever you can today.

DONATE $121.00
DONATE $12.10
DONATE $1.21

Thanks for your continuous and generous support,
– Maxime

Apple will build a second campus and hire 20,000 workers in a $350 billion pledge.

Apple’s announcement is another spectacular example of the benefits of business tax cuts. This is in addition to Walmart, which announced last week that it will increase the minimum wage of its employees to $11 ($13.75 CAD). This is what happens when you cut taxes: businesses keep more of their revenues and can use it to boost their employees’s wages and benefits, lower prices for their clients, increase investment, reward their shareholders, and grow the economy. That’s how a free economy works.

Canada will lose its competitiveness if we don’t follow. The Liberals are unsuited to deal with this challenge with their tax-and-spend ideology.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/business/pittsburgh-company-news/2018/01/17/Taking-advantage-of-the-Republican-tax-law-Apple-will-build-a-second-campus-and-hire-20-000-workers-in-a-350-billion-pledge/stories/201801170226

The U.S. Department of Commerce decision to impose a 220% levy on Bombardier’s C Series planes is very bad news for the Canadian industry and workers.

But Ottawa is responsible for giving Boeing ammunitions against Bombardier.

The liberal government should never have given $372M in aid to Bombardier with undisclosed clauses that can be interpreted as a subsidy.

Subsidies are bad economics, unfair for taxpayers and other companies, and inefficient when trying to solve international disputes. It’s true that Boeing and other aircraft manufacturers also get subsidies.

But Canada will never win a subsidy race with economies 10 times bigger than we are.

It’s time to renegotiate an expanded ASU international treaty to limit government aid to aircraft manufacturers, as proposed by the MEI.

According to a new Statistics Canada study, trade between provinces corresponds to level that would be expected if 6.9% tariff were imposed. This is largely due to the existence of regulatory barriers that prevent Canadians from buying, selling and working with the same ease in every province. From an economic point of view, interprovincial barriers have the same effect as customs tariffs: they discourage trade.

According to the study, when a similar analysis is applied to the United States, there was no evidence that state borders impede inter-state trade. » Canada is in an abnormal situation: 150 years after Confederation, Canada still doesn’t have an integrated economy.

These ridiculous interprovincial barriers make us poorer. Negotiations that have been going on for decades between governments have not succeeded in getting rid of them, and Ottawa never took its responsibilities to apply article 121 of the Constitution, which guarantees free trade between provinces. The Supreme Court will soon have a crucial opportunity to interpret article 121 more broadly and strike down barriers in the coming Comeau case.

We need more people and organizations defending the value of freedom in Canada and I very much support Conservative Futures efforts to do so within the larger conservative movement.

I would like today to briefly discuss three ideas with you: freedom, tenacity and popularity.

Freedom

Freedom is the fundamental value that draws us together. It is not an egotistic desire to do whatever we want without any constraint. That’s the perspective of those who believe they know what is best for us and who want to force us to adopt it.

Freedom is nothing less than the basis of our civilization.

Human dignity and equality of rights, social pluralism and cultural dynamism, scientific advancement and economic prosperity: all these achievements are impossible in a context where there is no freedom.

Tenacity

We are the defenders of civilization and we should not be afraid to affirm it.      

I believe we have the duty to be tenacious and persistent in the defence of individual freedom and personal responsibility, respect and fairness.

We have a duty to not hide anything from our fellow countrymen that we believe is necessary and true.

How many times have we taken a step back when faced with the false arguments of our critics and those who disparage us?

What is the point of having the best solutions, if we keep them to ourselves because we are afraid to displease others?

What is the point of embracing the cause of freedom, if we dare not fight for it with passion and conviction?

It’s up to us to encourage everyone to stand up for freedom, so that we can live in a society that is freer and more prosperous.

Popularity

We should not get discouraged because our ideas are not that popular today and are not shared by the majority of our fellow citizens.

Because an idea is not widely accepted does not mean it is not just and true; and an idea does not become just and true because it is popular.

The ideas of individual freedom and personal responsibility, respect and fairness are just and true and will become popular if we stick to our principles; if we continue to defend these universal values; if we remain true to our dream!

What is not popular today can become so tomorrow, whether it be a person or an idea.

This is what I want you to do, to stay true to your dreams and your convictions, because the future belongs to you and the cause of freedom will always triumph in the end!