Beyond The Commons

Aaron Wherry covers all the goings-on in and around Parliament Hill. Follow Aaron on Twitter: @aaronwherry

Categories: Beyond The Commons, Capital Read

'We cannot continue in this way'

by Aaron Wherry on Friday, September 10, 2010 6:15pm - 0 Comments

Maxime Bernier states his categorical opposition to public funding for the Quebec City arena.

We cannot continue in this way to pass on to our children the bills for all the projects that we cannot afford to pay ourselves. We cannot continue to distribute ever larger amounts of money to please everyone and buy social peace, while refusing to face the consequences. We cannot ask governments to manage our money in a responsible manner while at the same time demanding that they devote some more money to an irresponsible venture that will benefit us.

I too share the dream of again seeing a professional hockey team come back to play in our region and I sincerely hope that a way will be found to make this dream come true. But dreaming does not make the hard financial reality go away. It’s nice to have dreams, but when you use borrowed money to achieve them and act as if money grows on trees, you may have a brutal awakening. For all these reasons, I cannot in good conscience support this project.

Tags: arena, Maxime Bernier, NHL, nordiques, Quebec City

More by Aaron Wherry

Emily

Mad Max is right.

And apparently the only Con with a backbone!

Cats

Um you are aware that every BQ, NDP, and Liberal member supports the Quebec stadium ?

And now deputy leader Ralph Goodale wants 100+ million (more than the other CPC members in Sask) for a stadium too ?

Hypocritical fishes, Emils, lost mice, trailing badly.

Emily

Um, ask me if I care.

Cats

I just love the blatant hypocrisy.

We all know you're a big liberal booster these days. But you're out here ravaging the gov't for a decision that has NOT EVEN BEEN MADE.

Meanwhile your deputy leader is asking for a bunch of $$$.

And you say NOTHING ?

So Done Cats.

Emily

Like most cats you don't know your a*s from a hole in the ground.
burlivespipe

It's one thing to be an opposition MP between election calling for expenditures here there and everywhere. But when its the gov't, on one hand talking about 'the end of big-government spending' (i'll leave the punchline to that joke elsewhere) and then on the other crawling inside old nostalgic jerseys and ready to plaster the party insigna onto this white elephant, that's a big kettle of cats.
Nice try to smear the opposition with this. It's true, life in opposition is a little too easy; however this gang of hypocrites mascarading as the gov't can't tie the cinder block around their ankles fast enough on this. No doubt its part of Harper's masterplan to get his chosen boy, the playboy, into the catbird seat…
Cats

Um no.

The opposition has a duty to present an alternative government. That is their job!

They call for every spending project. They attack every revenue increase (like the EI premiums).

And then they have the nerve to attack the deficit.

The math doesn't add up.

They deserve to be spanked just as much as everyone else here.

Cats!

Dave

I'm not sure I understand you here, Mr Kitty (coincidentally, the name of my cat). One can agree with Max and not your own party no? Is your party's platform one large obelisk to be obeyed at all cost? Seems that's what you think which, by your entertaining entries here at Macleans, does not surprise me.
Dave

Does all hypocrisy offend you, or just non-Tory hypocrisy? Cause, you know, it would be hypocritical — nay, meta-hypocritical — if it's the latter and not the former.

Meow!
Step5555

At least Goodale's asking for money for a team that already exists.

If the NHL's going to move a team to a small market in the middle of nowhere, they'll move the Coyotes back to Winnipeg. Until Quebec gets more than Bettman's pat on the head, this is a ludicrous idea.

BGLong

Uh, with that plunging neckline it's not his backbone that I'm looking at … and as a
pseudo-libertarian saying "NO!" is what he does.
http://twitter.com/erlking @erlking

It's funny, they certainly could scrounge up a few billion for new jets and security fences. I guess it is OK for our children to pay for those things though.

sourstud

In that case, our children will still be using the same jets.

alfanerd

Good for Maxime Bernier, I sincerely hope he is the next leader after Harper. By then though, Aaron Wherry wont be quoting him, but will spend his days trying to find a way to ridicule him, as the good little Liberal hack that he is.
Standing By

One thing about Bernier.

Have you ever talked to someone who has any close dealings with this man and who came away saying: "Wow, there's one sharp cookie."

Me either.

Jan

But he looks so good in those French cut suits. Doesn't that count for anything?

Tridus

Someone in the Conservative party actually acting like a conservative? Madness!
chet

Putting aside his choice of girlfriends (and many a warm blooded male will debate whether he did or did not choose wisely),

Bernier is quickly becoming a conservative rock star. He's shown the cahones to stick to his conservative guns.

More please.
Anon Liberal

Bernier is right on this issue, and, just as importantly, his TONE is right (unlike some of the retarded Quebec-bashing I see floating around on the blogosphere with regards to this issue).
Jan

And isn't his seat the safest Conservative one in Quebec?