Canada's Debate

Take a bow Stephen Harper, you’ve earned it. What did you do to earn such a dramatic flourish you ask? You proved once and for all that your ideology is all that matters. Not only did you cut the GST despite the fact that it made no economic sense to do so, not only did you repackage crime legislation that already had parliamentary approval in order to add in measures that the opposition doesn’t support, not only did you turf your only candidate that had a chance of representing the 8% of all Canadians who live in Toronto, you did it all while only making one small concession to progressive or enlightened ideas; you had a state visit with the Dalai Lama. Naturally, China is supremely pissed; and if America is a sleeping elephant then China is quickly becoming sort of stalking predator which in no way resembles a crouching tiger. Normally I would applaud such a move, but in this case it is clear that Harper is conducting his government without any clear strategy for achieving what Canadians in general want for this country.

His economic policy is populist and short-sighted. While paying down the debt during times of financial largess is always a good idea, it is also a good time to invest in social programs that will help to mitigate the eventual economic downturn that follows. Harper has done plenty of the former and absolutely none of the latter. By continuing to allow the dollar to soar unimpeded Harper is essentially parroting George Bush’s economic strategy (let me explain that one…) of hyper inflating one economic sector (in this case natural resources like wheat and oil) to paper over weakness in the broader economy: Canada’s productivity rate and manufacturing output have both stagnated recently, in part because of government inaction on education and infrastructure financing, and in part because the United States has been aggressively devaluing their own currency to protect manufacturing and promote foreign investment. The high dollar allows the economy to LOOK strong, and drives a tremendous deal of wealth towards the prairies where Harper gets the bulk of his support. The problem with this strategy is that Canada’s increasing reliance on oil wealth threatens more sustainable economic activity (manufacturing and services) and conflicts directly with Canada’s environmental aspirations.

I’d go in more depth about Harper’s environmental plan, but I can’t remember what it is. Something to do with hoping things get better… I think it was called the “Paying for the Environment after I’m Cold and Dead Act.”

Canada’s infrastructure deficit continues to grow with no action from the one government that can afford to turn the situation around. Harper claims to be a friend of business, but creating a friendly economic environment is more complicated than cutting taxes and cozying up to the U.S. The reason why the major automobile manufacturers expanded so heavily into Ontario (for example) was our state-of-the-art highway system, when combined with government health-care and strong higher education created a more productive workforce. GM’s Oshawa’s plants have consistently ranked at or near the top of their internal productivity reports as a direct result; yet under Harper the Federal government has stalled on health care and abandoned the infrastructure which drives an advanced (read not resource driven) economy. It may be cheaper to get oil from ground to market than to invest in roads and bridges; but urban decay carries an even heavier price tag.

I will say one thing about crime: crime rates have been going down steadily for fifteen years: you crack down on growing problems, not receding ones.

Canada is increasingly becoming a land of very large fiefs, with Alberta being the chief and Harper anointing himself a Pope-in-Rome type figure. I just hope Dion gathers the courage to reverse course before these changes are irreversible…