PM’s actions, words at odds
When Prime Minister Stephen Harper shut down Parliament for three months to prepare this year’s budget, he told Canadians he was “recalibrating the government’s agenda.” It was time to switch from stimulus to restraint, he said.
In his March budget, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty did lay out a rigorous plan to eliminate Ottawa’s $56 billion deficit in five years. “Canada has returned to economic growth following the deepest global economic recession since the 1930s,” he said. “In this budget we will take action to ensure the government lives within its means.”
But since then the Conservatives have running up some eye-popping bills.
They spent $1.2 billion to host world leaders for a weekend in June. The original price tag was $179 million.
Public Safety Minister Vic Toews told taxpayers it would cost $2 billion to build new prison facilities to crack down on young offenders. Parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page calculated the government would have to spend $9.5 billion to implement its plan.
Defence Minister Peter MacKay announced a $9 billion commitment to purchase to 65 new state-of-the-art fighter jets. A maintenance contract, yet to be finalized, is likely to add $7 billion to the price, for a grand total of $16 billion.
In addition to these big-ticket expenditures, the government passed up opportunities to practise the restraint that it preaches.
Asked if he would trim his 38-member cabinet — one of the largest in Canadian history — Harper said: “I don’t think it would be appropriate at this time.”
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http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/article/842900--pm-s-actions-words-at-odds |