Pierre Poilievre, leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, made a stop at Macon Fabrication in Chemainus on the morning of Sept. 4 as part of a 10-stop tour over the course of four days across the island, as he aims to convince Canadians to vote for a Conservative government in the next federal election.
"Thank you for hosting me at this beautiful metal fabricating business where you are supplying the mining sector with the essential parts and pieces that go into extracting the minerals that make our life and modern civilization possible," said Poilievre.
Poilievre reflected on how he recently told a woman he came across how important the mining industry is and how much it contributes to everyday items. He spoke highly of the mining sector, and how that vital industry depends on the parts that the workers at Macon put their blood, sweat and tears into making, and how many people's high quality of life depends on it.
"That is the country I was born into, a country where you were told if you worked hard you could do anything, that anybody from anywhere could get anywhere," said Poilievre. "I was born to a 16-year-old mom who put me up for adoption to two school teachers and they taught me that in this country it didn't matter where I came from, it mattered where I was going, and it didn't matter who I knew, it mattered what I could do."
Poilievre said that his main reason for the 10-stop tour across Vancouver Island is that it is his perception that a lot of blue collar workers feel abandoned by the NDP after they signed a supply and confidence agreement with the governing Liberals that he blames for high housing costs, taxes and crime.
"There will be a carbon tax election where Canadians will choose between a costly coalition where the NDP Liberals tax your food and punish your work as well as double your housing costs and unleash crime and chaos in your neighbourhoods," said Poilievre. "Commonsense Conservatives will axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget, and stop the crime. We have the best country in the world, we have boundless resources, there are brilliant people here and we live in a vast country founded on freedom, and we can bring home that country again."
