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

Your tax dollars at work (II)

by Aaron Wherry on Thursday, February 24, 2011 5:11pm - 24 Comments

Kady O’Malley has the most comprehensive round-up of today’s parade. Some select highlights.

Did you know Ponoka has an aquaplex? Well, now you do – and it has new tiles, and all sorts of other fancies, thanks to the CEA!P … A return appearance at the Mirror Jolly Seniors Social Club that was the backdrop for a previous CEA!P appreciation event by Calkins! … Given the dearth of alternate scenarios, this appears to be a ministerial tour of the CEA!P-renovated locker rooms at the Crowfoot YMCA … Almost certainly a “celebration” of the Horseshoe Bay Underpass resurfacing.

Tags: economy, Kady O'Malley, stimulus

More by Aaron Wherry

ZestyMordant

Wow. Materials engineering is so advanced these days. It seems like they can build anything out of pork.

gottabesaid

And now we're living high off the hog!

Stewart_Smith

I am bacon you to stop before this gets out of ham.

ZestyMordant

Where do all these pigs come from? Harper's personal sty-list?

Tceh

Our children's future debt load at work is what it really is. Remind me again. Conservatives are for small government and low/no deficits, maybe a surplus they actually engineer themselves rather than a legacy of the previous government??

Harper is not a Conservative by my definition. A failed pork barreller perhaps but I'm surprised they are trumpeting their policy failures and expecting Canadians to be grateful.

LdKitchenersOwn

Harper is not a Conservative by my definition.

I'd be curious to see ANYONE's definition of "conservative" that could be applied to post-2006 Harper.

TimesArrow

a conservative of convenience…or is that a liberal of convenience?
TJCook

Huh. Going back to Nixon, the definition of "conservative" seems to include:

- Basking in the glory of tax cuts, with no plan to address the associated revenue loss
- Expansion of government to suit the political whims of the party
- Gross financial mismanagement
- Disregard for the spirit of the law, and relentless testing of the letter of the law
- Tribal "us-vs-the-hippies/commies/socialists/separatists/terrorists/city slickers" posturing
- A focus on politics over everything else, including policy and, well, reality
- A disdain for experts of any kind
- Relentless growth in military spending, and associated tinpot swaggering of politicians
- Coordinated manipulation of the media
- Disregard for the environment

What have I missed?

Anyway, Harper seems to meet my definition of "conservative", and I think it's borne out by reality.

madeyoulook

They are actually peacock-strutting over these abominations of fiscal irresponsibility! There really is no shame.

UPDATE: Maybe there is some shame. I did not see Maxime Bernier listed anywhere on Kady's cast of characters.
LdKitchenersOwn

They are actually peacock-strutting over these abominations of fiscal irresponsibility!

Don't worry, just wait five minutes and one of them will be blaming all of this deficit spending on the opposition FORCING them to spend money hand over fist against their better judgment.

madeyoulook

No, that's the response of the partisan supporters who converse around here. The actual CPC government folk spew the "just the right amount of targeted investments that obviously had the desired effect blah-blah" scripted crap.

LdKitchenersOwn

Fair point. Frankly, the partisan crap that sometimes gets spewed around here is so often not even internally consistent that I forget to even check whether or not the arguments being made by supporters of a particular party here in the comments are actually antithetical to the talking points coming from the party's own leaders!

John D

I have no kids, so I'm fine with yours paying for my crap. But If I were you, I'd be pissed…

danby

I also worry about the centralization of power in the PMO, the use of negative attack ads to skirt real debate and how transparency and accountability are just buzzwords used to conceal malfeasance.

A very disturbing trend with long reaching consequences.

Crit_Reasoning

this appears to be a ministerial tour of the CEA!P-renovated locker rooms at the Crowfoot YMCA

I'm a member of the Crowfoot YMCA. The $76,000 in federal funds was money well spent. Every time I pass the prominently displayed EAP sign on the way to the locker room I offer a silent thanks to the Canadian government. :-)

madeyoulook

Your smiley suggests your lack of seriousness, Crit. Which is just as well, because it lessens my desire to slap you.

Sadly, there is a widely prevalent selfishness that someone else's money is ALWAYS well spent when it benefits me-Me-ME! And here we are.

Crit_Reasoning

Just grinding your gears, myl ;-). Although I must say those new faucets are heavenly.

gottabesaid

"silent thanks"?

I sing O Canada.

And you call yourself a patriot.

Realistic

Nice of Kady and Wherry to hilite the great work of Canadas Action plan and if they were ever to drop into the town of Ponoka they have a facility there that would benefit them greatly.

frobisher

Sounds like you're intimately familiar with the Centennial, then. Usually they do very valuable and beneficial work there.
tedbetts

'Cause that's what conservatives and Harper in particular have always wanted government to do.

NorthernPoV

Off topic … late breaking news….
the in and out chickens begin to come home to roost
Tories finally get charged with the elections fraud violations
go get em, stalwarts of democracy …..
W.B.

So the day long publicity extravaganza is paid for by taxpayers, but highlights only Conservative MPs and Conservative ridings. No other MPs are involved? So this is now considered fair game and business as usual by the Ottawa political establishment and press.
Has anyone in the media finalized the riding by riding breakdown of projects?
Stewart_Smith

Well some of these things look a little unnecessary, but at least it should make myl happy that they stayed squarely in areas of federal jurisdiction.