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65 Responses to “How would you rate the Harper government’s handling of the economy?”
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Contrary to popular belief, the ceremonial lighting of the Olympic flame at the Opening Ceremonies is, in fact, a decidedly modern affair. The culmination of the torch relay in a grandiose display at the Opening Ceremonies is a relic of the 1936 Berlin Games—just one of many attempts by the Nazi regime to lend a mythical air to the Games. Still, despite its dubious history, the lighting of the cauldron has evolved into one of the most spectacular and ostentatious displays at the Games. And the secretiveness that surrounds the lead-up to the ceremony only lends to the hype.
When it comes to the 2010 Games, the speculation about who will be selected to light the cauldron has coalesced around whether VANOC will go the traditional route and opt for a former Olympian or take the road less-travelled and pick someone from outside the sports world. Facebook groups have popped up promoting everyone from Terry Fox’s mother, Betty, to former Vancouver Canucks captain Trevor Linden. So far, Vancouver’s Olympic organizers have kept a tight lid on who the potential candidates might be. We’ve assembled a list of the names making the rounds, but feel free to add your own in the poll or in the comments below.
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I do not like Mr. Harper at all, but I feel he has done a very good job helping Canada with the recession (despite claiming it did not exist at the start). Though I would like to see him out of office, we do not need an election now, let's wait for a while, definately untill the recession has been clearly over for a long while.
Not that I necessarily agree with you, but I think you've probably stated the situation in a way that many, many Canadians would agree with.
Sorry to disagree, but he hasn't. Remember, his first idea for a budget included no fiscal stimulus at all. Only when forced by the threat of losing his job to the coalition did we see the current budget. So if the government is at any way responsible, it is because of the opposition being able to stop Harper from his natural tendencies.
However, I don't think the Canadian government, conservative or otherwise, has had anything to do with our recovery to be honest. That falls to Mark Carney and the bank of Canada for making interest rates absurdly low.
Economic Update is not a budget, can you get your facts straight before making them up?
Did the budget change due to the economic update?
Yes?
Go play pedant elsewhere.
A budget was introduced in January 2009, the Economic Update was not a budget and was a statement.
Rewriting history to suit your narrative does not change anything. Only one serious condition was removed from January 2009 (Political Pay Subsidy).
September 2008 unemployment was 5.9% lowest since 1974. October 2008 – Novermber 2008?
What was the coaltion offering $ 30 Billion in immediate stimulus? A secret budget planned in 24 hours because the coalition was not pre-planned right?
Mr Canada, the worst of the recession is yet to come because Harper still does not believe in its impact and thinks he can fool the Canadian public. Waiting is a dangerous game and the lack of control over finances by Flaherty demands immediate action. The cost of waiting will be much higher than the cost of an election now.
That's some classic "logic"… answering how the Prime Minister has done through the recession, you try to convince people that he has failed because…."the worst of the recession is yet to come"!
That's kinda like calling a doctor who helped cure you of pneumonia a quack because in your opinion you are about to get even sicker.
Your reference to logic is amusing since even Harper calls the economic recovery (sic) fragile. Traditionally unemployment goes up in winter (no logic just facts) in Canada and my statement that the worst of the recession is yet to come is simple observation. As to Harper having "done" anything, he has simply been the "tail wagging the dog" and takes credit for things he had nothing to do with, such as Canada's banking system. When he was in opposition he opposed Martin's "conservatism" in banking policy and now he wants to take credit. As to his international input re global recession, he has been proven to be a lightweight without any stature. Some objective assessment by Canadians would be welcome as opposed to the Conservative spin drivel that only Conservatives believe.
The Tories did very little to help the economic recovery, and were fortunate that they didn't really need to. The crisis in Canada was a spillover from other economies – there were no root problems to address here. However, a targeted, quick stimulus could have resulted in not only a faster and stronger recovery, but it could have been done for noticably less money (we needed more infrastructure spending at the offset and less tax breaks/cuts). Some of Harper's policies have made a lot of sense, and I commend him for not making things worse, but that's an easy thing to do – he spent a ton of money, often in the wrong places and since Canada was in a strong point going into this mess, it more or less worked.
Yet, handling the crisis is easy, since it's just spending money and the Bank of Canada did it's share as well. The recovery is the tough part, as it requires spending cuts and tax increases to really strengthen public finances – and to prepare for the looming boomer retirement wave. Once again, Harper's lucky – just basic growth projections will mean that the added public debt will largely be grown out of, as inflation and GDP growth diminish its impact, while other G7 nations struggle with an ever-increasing public debt to GDP ratio.
Through all of this, I would say the Conservative government has done an adequate job. It took some major prodding to get them going, as their initial denial and subsequent first fall budget were laughable, but once going, there we no major screw-ups, just a bunch of tiny ones. The real shame is that we have had, through this recession and recovery, a chance to take advantage of our relatively strong economy and push ahead in the world. We haven't, and there doesn't seem to be much indication that we will. We can side-step the issues of the incoming boomer retirement wave. We can side-step instability in oil and energy prices. We can side-step the rise in social security and health care costs. But we need to act – and that's exactly what Harper doesn't seem to want to do.
I can agree with much of what you said. Harper has only reacted during his time in government and has certainly not been proactive. Reading your post, I can only say one thing: We can do better!
The recovery requires tax increases? True socialist thinking at it's worst.
I phrased that section poorly. No, the recovery doesn't require tax increases, the recovery is already well on its way. It's what we do during the recovery that will reinforce our long-term financial strength and yes, that will require tax increases (or deep spending cuts, but that seems more harmful to the economy). It's basic counter-cyclical economic policy – the government just spent more than it earned during the recession, it will need to take in more than it spends during the following growth, both to pay off what we borrowed and to prevent the bubble-bust cycle that can cripple our economy.
This is what we did, to an extent, in the 1990's and for the first time, we managed to avoid a recession that hit the US (when the dot com bubble burst), all while running surpluses. Since tax rates have been falling steadily over the last two decades and spending isn't likely to go down, so a tax hike is the most obvious solution to close the deficit gap and pay off our debt before the wave of retiring baby boomers hits and spikes it right back up again.
Now, if you've got something to offer besides cries of socialism, I'd love to hear them, but right now you're offering nothing but empty rhetoric.
Well said. This is and should be less about political ideology and more about the facts on how to move Canada to a stronger economic position.
While I am not impressed with Harper I doubt anyone else could have done better although count iggy would never admit it since his goal is to become King regardless of what else happens. We do not need another $300 mil election just to sate is bloated ego.
Iggy's goal is to become 'King'? If a political leader's goal would not be to become Prime Minister, I would have serious questions about him or her. Do you think Harper's goal was to remain in Opposition? Why did Mr. Harper cause a $300 million election less than 1 year ago? Was it not because of his bloated ego? Stop kidding yourself. This is politics.
The ONLY reason the Liberals want an election now, is with the economy starting to recover, 'they' want to be on the 'cat seat' to take credit, raise taxes, download costs(as they did before), and get power! Power at ANY cost has always been the Liberal motto.. Perhaps we should ask them how they can afford an election? They still owe the taxpayer $40,000,000.00 they skimmed off the top during their last dip into the cookie jar.. It's unfortunate, but Toronto would vote Liberal, even if it was being led by a rotten sponge, someone found on the street.
Whereas the other parties have no interest in power?
The Liberals didn't skim 40 million from the taxpayers – Harper used up the money that Martin put into a surplus. Harper overspent greatly. Yes, Liberals cost us in Shawinigate. Conservatives cost us much more.
the only reason that the "opposition parties" backed off forcing an electon, was that they had too many members (40+) that did not yet qualify for a full "PIGGY PENSION" and wanted to wait until they had as much time in as possible, pror to risking it. As for the economy, what difference which band of theives, as there is very little difference these days and lots of party swapping for better deals. Let's face it, they are all bottom feeders and don't give a damn about anything but feathering their own nests….there's no honour left in politics.
For those who believe Harper has done a good job, lets consider the 125 billion Flarehty is raising in the bond markets (new fresh Canadian debt) to funnel into CMHC as a hedge against our great Canadian real estate bubble brought on by Conservative mortgage regulations again, through CMHC.
And lets consider what will happen to the economy when this bubble does burst… or what will happen to taxpayers dollars when CMHC covers mortgage insurance and mortage backed securities, even asset backed commerical paper, all totalling by the end of this year a whopping trillion dollars plus of exposure, nearly the size of Canadas annual GDP…. and tell me that this doesn't disturb you.
Not half as much as the extent to which you've managed to expose my financial illiteracy does.
All of those lovely VRMs with no cash down. It's scary.
Harpers first move was to dereg. Which let in AIG, Wells Fargo,and a other one. but when the sub-prime hit the fan in the US. Flaherty jumped in and bought about 7 Billion bad bank mortgage paper. Flaherty song is, first I take Ontario then I take the rest.
The governments backtracking on 40 year amortizations was also quite telling. Doesn't the Bank of Canada now also hold billions of Canadian mortgage guarantees that are now backing our currency?
The government's backtracking on 40 year amortizations was also quite telling. Doesn't the Bank of Canada now also hold billions of Canadian mortgage guarantees that are now backing our currency?
The government's backtracking on 40 year amortizations was also quite telling. Doesn't the Bank of Canada also hold billions of Canadian mortgage guarantees that are now backing our currency?
Do you have any idea how much CMHC collected during the boom??? Any idea of the $$$$ that flowed into their coffers??? They were bursting at the seams.
I am so amazed that some Canadians are still so gullible to believe anything the Liberals have to say! History has proven to us that they are nothing but a bunch of liars and thieves!
And now, what??? The party coudln't find any "honest" person or at least someone that could pass for honest? They had to go find an EX CANADIAN that spend most of his year in the US! COME ON! PEOPLE! Wake up! Do you really wnat an Americanized leader in power? I sure as hell don't want it!
I would rather a leader like Ignatieff who can pull strings with our largest trading partner than a leader who remains in the bathroom during every G8 summit.
So you mean to say that you would like Canada to become more AMARICANIZED with Ignatieff lack of Canadian vues, than actually admit that Harper has done a better job than any Liberal has ever done? Face it, this guy has been away so long, he has no clue what Canadians need… I rather stick with Harper, then going back to deal with a bunch of crooks who are only looking out for themselves…. PPPLLLEEEAAASE…. Have you seen his ads? Come on…. Pure BS if you ask me…. Especially when he talks about Canadians…. How would he know about Canada? By the way, in case you haven't notice, Harper has a good relation with the US.. NAd that is as far as it should be… Good relation…
The fact that Ignatieff has lived in other countries as well as our own makes him more qualified in my book. Living outside of Canada for periods of time help you appreciate the differences of home much better than one who hasn't left. In addition, spending / living abroad allows you to see and bring some fresh ideas to the table when you return. Experience abroad is a benefit, not a hindrance. Plus, Ignatieff lived both in the UK and the USA. Very different perspectives.
What I don't want is a leader that never cared to leave the country and see the world until he had too, and now that he is in power fights transparency in Gov't, refuses to support Canadians when abroad, adopts the very US only dogma against "socialism" — a philosophy I believe underlies our society and differs us from our neighbours to the south. I personally see Ignatieff as espousing much more 'Canadian" ideals than Harper (although I would like to see him speak about it a bit more!!), and feel that Harper falls ideologically closer to the US republicans which is not even remotely Canadian in my book.
To be honest, I'd rather an Americanized leader than a Canadian liar.
A true "conservative"……………..ANONYMOUS
In response and in all fairness to Canadians. I think we are all intelligent enough to know that all parties have their own agenda and they will lie and steal just like you've mentionned about the Liberal party. As far as an Americanized leader look at what you have now, can't get anymore Americanized than him. Furthermore, at the rate our Conservative Government is going we Canadians will be tenants in our own country. All of, if not close to all of our Natural Resources are being sold off to who knows what countries, as long as the money is right for them and there friends are making a buck. So you tell me who are liars and thieves? Please refer to this article before Americanizing anybody because to me it looks like you've got the wrong man. http://pushedleft.blogspot.com/2009/11/harper-fai...
The fact is that Harper is the americanized one, not Ignatieff. Your facts are wrong. Ignatieff was not in the Us for that length of time. He was on the world stage in a respected manner as a Canadian. Harper on the other hand embarrasses Canada every time he steps onto the world stage. Wake up, anonymous.
Being old enough to be a rabid anti-liberal (actually anti politician period), I agree with anonymous when it comes to IGGY….although IGGYs' commercials are good for the Conservatives, as they show him to be stiffer than Richard Simmons at a Playgirl photoshoot….!!
I believe our Opposition needs to learn to be an Opposition. If they continue to threaten the country with an election, they are no better than the rebels in the Middle East who constantly threaten democracy. The Opposition can't seem to separate state and their need for publicity.
"Threaten the country with an election"? "Oh no! Keep that ugly democracy away from me! God forbid I have to think for a few minutes on the direction my country as a whole is heading"
The opposition IS being an opposition. The problem is that the governing party is not acting as a minority government. They fix that, you'll see the threats of an election go down considerably because their approval ratings will go up.
TOTALLY DISAGREE HERE! The oposition parties are not their job… If they were, they would be in "power" right now… Liberals have "BURNT" Canadian too many times….. Layton (NDP) has lost touch with reality.. He is trying to play with our emotions…I;E: unemployement…. The government can not eliminate unemployment. It's is up to employers to do that! PEOPLE, what else do the Liberals have to do to open your eyes, steal directly form your house… They were stealing from our "wallets"……
The recession in the world's economy was caused by conservative economic policies of the Bush administration in the US. It was interesting to hear Prime Minister Harper, when asked how he was going to justify his deficit spending to his Reform and Alliance Party supporters, he said that there was nothing in the conservative play book to deal with a recession. That explains why he being a liberal and his supporters still think he's conservative.
Did you all forget that this Harper government is sinking us deeper and deeper in debt because he OVERSPENDS!!! We are going to need a Liberal government again to clean up another conservative mess.
I'd like some of what 49% of the people here are smoking.
They've done an "amazing" job??? Come on.
We're "much worse off"??? COME ON.
I simply can't imagine that a single person who voted for either of those two options truly believes it.
What a bunch of economic illiterates in the above comments. Small “l” liberal economic policies and “we are entitled to everything from our governments” got us into most of the mess globally. Canada for once was not too much of a culprit and we should be thankful our much maligned banks didn’t go to the levels of ridiculous excess we saw south of the border. However we shouldn’t gloat since the coming collapse of the US dollar , which is part of the end game of globalization realignments, will seriously drag us down as well. Our only saving grace will be our abundant natural resources which will get sucked up by Asian economies.
Oh but they wanted to. It's just the Liberals wouldn't let them. Remember all the grousing the conservatives did when the Liberals stopped the big banks from merging into super banks?
And then once the Harpers got in, they were quick to make those 40 year mortgages allowable under CMHC. However, one thing I will grant them is that when the US started to collapse they were quick to reverse themselves on it, so that might have staved off some of the eventual pain.
Oh but the banks wanted to. It's just the Liberals wouldn't let them. Remember all the grousing the conservatives did when the Liberals stopped the big banks from merging into super banks?
And then once the Harpers got in, they were quick to make those 40 year mortgages allowable under CMHC. However, one thing I will grant them is that when the US started to collapse they were quick to reverse themselves on it, so that might have staved off some of the eventual pain.
Harper and the Conservatives have done a great job. So say the IMF and the World Economic Council, both UN bodies so should be loved by all of the left-wing liberal nuts. The biggest reason that the Liberals want an election, besides an insatiable lust for power and their hands on the purse of the country, is to prevent the Conservatives from appointing any more senators and thus gaining control of the Senate. The Liberal controlled Senate has already twice blocked democratization of the Senate by making it elected, and limiting the terms that senators may hold their positions in the Senate. This legislation has been passed by the Commons but blocked by an unelected, unrepresentative body–shame on the Liberals.
Along with democratizing the Senate, the bill that was blocked by the Liberal Senate also gave proper representation in the House of Commons two three provinces that are horribly under-represented: BC, Alberta and Ontario. So this PM, Harper, that you all hate wants to make the country more democratic (elect the senate, and give rep by pop to under-repped provinces). What a horrible man! You should be so lucky as to have this PM!
Along with democratizing the Senate, the bill that was blocked by the Liberal Senate also gave proper representation in the House of Commons to three provinces that are horribly under-represented: BC, Alberta and Ontario. So this PM, Harper, that you all hate wants to make the country more democratic (elect the senate, and give rep by pop to under-repped provinces), and has acted as a proper steward of the economy according to two UN economic bodies. What a horrible man! You should be so lucky as to have this PM!
Along with democratizing the Senate, the bill that was blocked by the Liberal Senate also gave proper representation in the House of Commons to three provinces that are horribly under-represented: BC, Alberta and Ontario. So this PM, Harper, that you all hate, wants to make the country more democratic (elect the senate, and give rep by pop to under-repped provinces), and has acted as a proper steward of the economy according to two UN economic bodies. What a horrible man! You should be so lucky as to have this PM!
Finally, to all of those who are screeching about Harper's "over-spending", remember that it was the Liberals and the NDP that demanded, and are still demanding, all of that spending. We needed "stimulus", and "social programs", and more EI, and universal daycare, and, and, and….
Socialists have no idea that the government has no money of its own; it has only what it takes out of the economy via taxes. If the economy is in recession, there are fewer taxes collected and thus deficit for already existing programs never mind more spending.
Finally, to all of those who are screeching about Harper's "over-spending", remember that it was the Liberals and the NDP that demanded, and are still demanding, all of that spending. We needed "stimulus", and "social programs", and more EI, and universal daycare, and, and, and….
Socialists have no idea that the government has no money of its own; it has only what it takes out of the economy via taxes. If the economy is in recession, there are fewer taxes collected and thus deficit for already existing programs, never mind more spending.
So make up your mind.. if the government did a great job, and it's because the liberals and NDP that demanded all the spending that's been done, it sounds like you're saying it's the Liberals and NDP who've done the great job.
IntenseDebate Notification <DIV>There are none so blind as those who will not see. Yes the Harper Government is doing its best not to spend all of the money demanded by the Liberals and NDP–this is why they are doing a good job. And Iggy is screaming that they aren't spending enough on one hand then screaming about the deficit on the other. He should make up his mind. Layton and Bob Rae just scream. </DIV> <DIV>The economy will recover on its own. All of the government spending in the world doesn't help, especially in the long term, as goverments, having no money of their own and having to pay for all of the borrowing (deficit and debt), have to take money out of the economy (raise taxes) to do it. This slows down the recovery and causes inflation. Remember the 1980's after the Trudeau/David Lewis excesses of the 1970's? \”It's the economy, stupid\”, as Bill Clinton told George H.W. Bush. You cannot spend yourself rich, I don't care what kind of airy fairy Socialist economics you preach.</DIV> <DIV style=\”FONT: 10pt arial\”>
No, you can't spend yourself rich, but Argentina certainly proved you can tightwad yourself destitute.
IntenseDebate Notification <DIV>Poor analogy, but Pieree Elliot Trudeau certainly proved that a miser never goes broke or is poor. The man never carried a penny with him or a credit card; he expected everyone else to pay for him, and by god we did!</DIV> <DIV style=\”FONT: 10pt arial\”>
It's the law of nature; "scum floats to the top." How else does anybody think our political and justice system got to where it sits on top of it's people? But we don't deserve anything better, and that is the profound truth, because we just 'let it happen!'
Well said Skyroamer and Canadiansence.
If Conservative Party were majority, they could have done much greater job to solve this economic crisis. People are not stupid. As far as I see many people I know in this province of Quebec, they are switching to Conservative from Liberal. We saw enouch junks of socialisim. Cut off all funding to the special interest groups, and scrap Human Right Commission who are so biased and pressing their own ideologies. Senate should be all elected. New laws made by judicial activists judges should be all debated in the Parliament. Then, only then our Canada will be called really strong nation.
hello, earth calling,,, Harper has a masters degree in economics …..who would do better? iggy the liberal arts academic or jack the city counselor??? if you look at economic theory i am sure those two have never heard of it
COME ON! Have people already forgotten what the Liberals have done to this country? Talk about spending our tax payers money! What about the spending habits of our last 2 fearless leaders? What about envelopes full of money showing up on restaurant chairs, how about dealing with companies that don't even exist… Or even buying your son a huge dealership! People wake up… Liberals are a bunch of liars and thieves! Harper has done an amazing job cleaning up after the LIBERALS! Not the other way around….I don't trust the Liberals, now or ever!
good observation anonymous, but Canadians have short memories. I believe that it was Ben Franklin that said " the people get the government they deserve"….and in Canadas' case they are getting more than they deserve at the moment.
The EFU was in essence a mid-year budget adjustment. It had many spending measures included. You're splitting hairs.
In your opinion, it was WWIII for the opposition parties.
Within the economic and fiscal update, three policy initiatives, in particular, were deemed unacceptable by the opposition parties. First, the Conservative government elected not to introduce any new spending measures to stimulate the economy, choosing instead to rely on past tax reductions and infrastructure spending programs. Citing the soundness of Canada’s financial institutions and the relatively strong financial positions of Canadian households, corporations, and governments, the Conservative government argued these tenets of Canada’s economy were sufficient to ensure the economy remained stable. The Liberals, New Democrats, and Bloc Québécois rejected this premise, arguing the Conservatives had failed to appreciate the severity of the economic slowdown. Moreover, they asserted the federal government should implement an aggressive economic stimulus package, which would include broad new spending measures to encourage employment and economic activity.
-http://mapleleafweb.com/features/events-leading-l...
The CPC agreed to remove all 3 policy initiatives, but the opposition went too far. (Polls confirm Canadians did not support it-Dec 4 Ekos) The CPC had 46% support.
January 2009 the Liberals allowed all but the Politicial Pay Subsidy to be included in the Budget:EAP was introduced to provide additional stimulus. What happened in December-January Globally?
If most of EAP will not be benefits/realized until 2011-2012 and we are exiting the recession in 2009, is the size and speed demanded by everyone an overreaction?
A pancake is not a crepe, same ingredients?
Good grief, you're still venting at Trudeau? No wonder you're in favor of the conservatives, you're obviously too busy being angry at the past to bother looking at reality as it is today.
IntenseDebate Notification <DIV>AND your reality is lack of proper representation for the three provinces that are the drivers of the Canadian economy? A senate that is the Liberal party's control of that representation? A Liberal leader whose recent book reads like it was taken right from the nearest geography book? (He drove out of the Eastern Boreal forest onto the Great Plains east of Winnipeg and had to stop to view the vista. Skip to stopping his car just west of Calgary to see the sun set over the foothills.) Who the hell is he, Captain Canada, leaping out of the bedroom of Toronto to the living room of the West? The Forest doesn't just stop on a dime, and anybody with halfa brain know that the sun sets over the Rocky Mountains, not the foothills. Next, he will be seeing buffalo herds and hearing the voyaguers singing and paddling down the river.I know, it all sounds good in the coffee house circuitin the Center of the Universe.</DIV> <DIV>Yeah Trudeau ruined the economy of the west for a decade (the NEP), gave the finger to everyone west of Windsor, he and Lewis gave us the debt that we're still suffering under (from $60 billion in 1970 to nearly $600 billion by 1978), his sidekicks, Chretien and Martin brutalized health care in Canada and raised taxes by 54% to get rid of the Trudeau inspired deficit, and you are still worshipping at the feet of the Liberals.</DIV> <DIV></DIV> <DIV>Granted Mulroney fell in between, but he was a simpleton that continued the liberal policies. I had no use for him either.</DIV> <DIV></DIV> <DIV>Funny all of the governments that I mentioned were all Quebec governments led by Quebec Prime Ministers. Now we've had a Western PM for less than three years, no secret agendas, stable, tight government and you idiots can't stand it. That's modern reality!</DIV> <DIV style=\”FONT: 10pt arial\”>