Federal Tory leadership hopeful Michael Chong told Guelph high school students on Friday that the Conservative Party has let them down.
“We lost a whole generation of youth in the Conservative party,” said Chong, who has served as Wellington-Halton MP for the past 12 years.
The Fergus native was in Guelph Friday, speaking to a group of Grade 12 Canadian and world politics students at John F. Ross high school.
The hour-long session featured a variety of wide-ranging well-informed questions from the students, ranging from economic policy to the legalization of marijuana.
He told them that the Conservative Party used to be “the party of youth” when he joined it in the late 1980s.
“That’s changed, clearly, in the last number of years and we need to reverse that,” he said.
Chong said the party needs to change their position on policy issues that younger people care about, such as the environment, and also become a more open and democratic party.
“Young people want transparency, they want democracy, they want to have everybody involved.”
The Conservative Party chooses its new leader on May 24. Chong is one of 14 candidates who have declared thus far.
Chong wants to see a more transparent party that gives more freedom to MPs in party votes once in Ottawa and doesn’t charge party members for membership.
“Political parties should not be charging people to vote,” he said.
As for his economic policies, they would be fueled by the biggest reduction in income tax the country has ever seen and the privatization of the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, which he said makes it much easier for banks to invest in mortgages rather than economic growth.
“Low interest rates are not helping to spur (economic) growth,” Chong said. “We need other forms of fiscal stimulus.”
“Deep income tax cuts: that’s where we need to go.”
Chong told the students they need to stay informed and involved in the democratic process.
“You live in the greatest country in the world and that didn’t happen by accident,” he said. “If you want to sustain that, get involved in politics. If you do that, you renew our democracy.”
Asked about the influx of refugees into Canada, Chong said he fully supported them but that it has to be done in the proper way.
“Canada should welcome refugees, but what’s really important is an intake of refugees that’s sustainable,” Chong said.
Bringing in too many at once created “huge problems” and disrupted the intake system that did a “disservice to refugees arriving,” he said.
“We need to make sure we plan this properly … we must work to protect the integrity of the system.”
If not, the refugees aren’t treated fairly, others trying to immigrate won’t be treated fairly and the public faith could be tainted.
“Public support is essential for a successful refugee program,” he said.
Chong said the Prime Minister needs to work with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in areas of mutual interest for the betterment of Canada’s economy.
As for marijuana, he said it shouldn’t be allowed for young people but “if you’re an adult and want to use it, that’s your choice.”
But he said there should be civil penalties, not criminal ones, for using it and that marijuana should be treated “much more like our approach to cigarettes.”
