Canadians almost seem bored with federal politics. Harper’s abolition of the gun registry and wheat board went straight over most people’s heads. Both the registry and the board concerned only a fraction of Canadians; most others simply took note of the events, if that, and filed it under “Big Deal”. Both measures were designed as a carrot to the grassroots, a symbolic gesture by Harper to show them that he is, indeed, a Conservative.
But on the issues where it matters more than on others, Harper has yet to show his conservative colours: taxes, federal spending and fiscal prudence. Most Canadians want a lower, i.e., more reasonable, tax burden, especially for the middle class. That group of Canadians has been taxed into oblivion, having lost the ability to pay off debts or save for retirement, because the aggregate tax burden eats up around 45 percent of their annual household income.
But while Canadians are waiting for Harper to finally turn into the fiscal hawk they once thought he’d be, all they hear is news about spending on this and spending on that, deficits, etc. The government’s approach seems rather non-committal and a bit on the flying-by-the-seat-of-their-pants side.
What Canadians would love to hear, though, are strong words from the Prime Minister, say, about how he will impose more fairness by dealing with the excesses, and outrageous demands, of public sector unions – one of the primary reasons, if not the primary reason, why precious tax dollars disappear into black holes of nothingness, while hardworking Canadians never get to enjoy the kinds of benefits and perks that have fattened, unduly, unionized workers, who, as a result, have relocated to la-la-land, with not one clue about how the real “ordinary Canadians” live (or struggle is more like it).
No doubt, the Prime Minister is afraid to tackle the unions, because any cutbacks, threatened or real, would trigger massive strike action right across the country. But maybe that’s what Canadians need to see so as to snap out of any romantic notion about socialism and unions once and for all. For such union action would show people the ugly face of organized labour and that collective bargaining was not a noble fight for the underdog but a low form of extortion for the sole purpose of obtaining ever more money for people who don’t really do much work anymore. Above all, such social unrest would force the details of platinum-plated (and defined benefit) pension plans and other perks, not to mention the minimal hours worked in return for all this, into the open, giving more Canadians a clear understanding of what’s really been going on in this country.
In fact, with so many Canadians struggling, and the constant threat of another recession (or depression) coming from the US, Europe or both, and so many hardworking people not knowing if they’ll still have a job a month or two from now, this could be the perfect time to “shock” the public into an open revolt against all unions and their richly stocked troughs. When the unionized big fat cats cry poor, despite benefits no one else has, the vast majority of the Canadian public, who aren’t members of a union, will quickly discover that the underdog Canadians are known to go to the mat for at the drop of a pin is … them.