Did you vote Conservative in the last three elections since 2006? Did you vote this way because you were sick and tired of the endless corruption in government, all of which cost you, the taxpayer, dearly?
It is because of reporting like this one that makes it clear that the Toronto Star is the only newspaper in Canada right now that stands up for the “ordinary Canadian”. Too bad it’s a regional paper, because its content should be read all over the country.
From the looks of it, Canadians are becoming more assertive. They have begun to realize that as a country, they can no longer rely on the US for just about everything, as they did in the past. A company, for example, cannot build its entire business plan around the hope of selling to Americans – with the oilsands companies being the prime example of that.
You’ve probably seen it already: the Conservative Party’s attack ad dedicated to the newly minted Liberal Party leader, Justin Trudeau. Is Justin “in way over his head”, or is Stephen Harper the one floundering?
Quick. What are the two reasons why Canada allows immigration? One, we need to bring in qualified and skilled people to fill the holes that our oftentimes inadequate education system has left wide open. Two, with Canadians not reproducing enough, we need to import manpower so as to ensure a sound base of taxpayers in the future to keep pensions, healthcare and many other things going. Neither of these requirements is met by the temporary foreign worker program, as implemented by the Conservative government.
Lawrence Martin has thrown down the gauntlet, calling on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to decide now whether to retire or fight one more election. The decision shouldn’t be all that hard for Harper, seeing how his and his party’s polling numbers have been plummeting. If an election were held now, the best the Conservatives could hope for would be a very weak minority government.
I despise extreme ideologies, at either end of the political spectrum. I have no tolerance for those who still believe that communism/socialism (same thing) is still a viable option after the events in Europe c. 1989. Similarly, those who cling to far-right ideas, to the exclusion of all common sense, even though they’re the ones who claim to own common sense, are just as despicable. Libertarianism, in itself an extreme ideology and nothing but, must therefore be discarded out of hand as well. (For these same reasons, by the way, it is the duty of Canada’s broadcast regulator, the CRTC, to deny Sun News Network’s request for mandatory carriage.)
Honestly, can there be anything worse than the most recent budget? Prime Minister Stephen Harper should be embarrassed every time someone calls him a “conservative” or an “economist”, because given his track record, Harper is neither.
Sometimes it takes some time for the truth to sink in, but I feel personally vindicated when I read in a national newspaper what I have been writing and saying for the last few years.
Jeffrey Simpson is absolutely correct (and so is Bruce Stewart) when he observes that the most recent budget is a complete disaster.
Again, as before, the Conservatives have done precisely the opposite of what every self-respecting economist has been saying for years.
That is, it is necessary to shift taxes away from income and onto consumption. Yet the Conservatives under Steven Harper, the economist, keep shifting taxes onto income instead.