Justin Trudeau recently told people in Saskatchewan that he plans to grow the economy from the “heart outwards.” It’s unclear what exactly he meant by this line. Did he mean that he’s going to grow the economy by encouraging Canadians to follow their heart and only do the kind of work they love? Maybe there will be a tax credit coming for hockey bloggers and street poets? Doubtful.

Perhaps Trudeau meant he’ll start growing the economy by hiring heart surgeons to assist our aging population? Given that he’s looking to raise the taxes on highly-skilled, well-paid Canadians, such as physicians, that’s also doubtful.

Whatever he meant, maybe that kind of sappy line sells in a focus group of political spin doctors in Ottawa. But here’s what the owner of a garage in Assiniboia, Sask. said when he heard the line: “that sounds like a lot of political smoke.”

OK smart guy in Assiniboia, what’s your big idea?

“The government should keep its hand out of my pocket.”

Trudeau would do well to listen to the mechanic’s solutions for fixing the economy. Throughout this election, Trudeau has donned the feathered cap and green tights of Robin Hood while promising to tax the rich and give money to the middle class. But the reality is that the government doesn’t need more money from the rich or anyone else. What it needs to do is trim spending.

Let’s start with a big ticket item: the Equalization program. The federal government currently collects $17 billion from Canadians and gives it to have-not provincial governments. And those have-not provinces don’t seem to be any better off as a result. If Trudeau is really concerned about Saskatchewanians, perhaps he could respond to Premier Brad Wall’s call to cut Equalization in half and use the savings to provide tax relief and infrastructure investments.

Alternatively, perhaps Trudeau could pick a less divisive target: interest payments. Canada’s national debt is more than $600 billion. The interest payments alone are $26 billion. Every dollar in debt repayment results in fewer interest payments and more money that can go back to Canadians through tax relief.

Unfortunately, Trudeau says he’ll only balance the budget if the nation’s finances are nice and tidy. It would be interesting to try that with the bank: “sure, the mortgage payment is coming, unless things get a bit tight.”

Back at the garage, the mechanic is worried about oil patch work drying up. Comments from Liberal candidates about keeping Western oil landlocked doesn’t make his heart feel warm and fuzzy. He wants Canada to deal with reality rather than listening to platitudes.

“It’s going to be hard here,” he says. “But we’ll get through it. We need to tighten our belts. But that belt tightening had better start with the government.”