Parliament resumed Monday following the Thanksgiving recess. The only difference between our Thanksgiving and the one in Ottawa is that in Ottawa the turkeys live on. Liberal foreign affairs critic Bob Rae was in full puff and fluff as he slammed the government for its inability to gain a seat on the U.N. Security Council.
Long-serving Liberal Ralph Goodale - current deputy leader and a former Liberal finance minister - took the government to task saying the Tories had no significant plans to reduce the current $55.6 billion deficit. The largest in Canadian history and $1.8 billion over last year's forecast.
Joining Goodale in the fiscal foray were Liberal Finance critic Scott Brison, who was dispatched to Toronto and Industry critic Marc Garneau who spoke in Montreal.
The U.N. story was news and it's over. If Rae gets his kicks grousing about something we cannot control that's his business. The deficit though is a different issue. It's current, it's with us now, it will not go away on its own, but with the right policy it can be brought under control.
It's a good bet the current Canadian deficit will be an election item. It's also fair to assume we could be off to the polls this spring. Sending three high-profile critics on the rubber-chicken circuit to critique Stephen Harper's handling of the economy sends a clear message the Liberals see Harper and the Conservatives as being vulnerable on the deficit question.
Indeed, a recent story in The Citizen said the opposition Liberals - if elected - would re-establish the "prudence fund" first introduced by Paul Martin. Martin was the Liberal government's Finance Minister from 1993 to 2002 and was a remarkable deficit cutter. Under his watch Canada erased a $42 billion deficit, recorded five consecutive surpluses and paid down $36 billion of national debt.
However, that was then, this is now, and you can bet the Liberal government will say little more about Paul Martin's accomplishments. Martin was truly a miracle worker when it came to deficit cutting. He was also as tough as they come. Martin cut federal transfers to the provinces, including funds for health care. He cut federal government spending and dipped into surplus Employment Insurance funds. The business community applauded the cuts, but they were deep and enduring. Curiously, Canada's most conservative finance minister in decades was a Liberal. But you can bet no Liberal critic will spend any time recounting the details around Paul Martin's deficit-cutting success.
In fact, when it comes to any cost-reduction specifics the current Liberal deficit-cutting program is sounding a little thin.
While Goodale, Brison and Garneau are hitting the road calling for a balanced budget, Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff is dining out on his promise to offer $1 billion for a family home-care program. The Liberals have also objected to the Conservative notion of cuts in health care and social program transfers to the provinces.
Ignatieff says he can pay for his programs by cancelling a proposed cut to corporate income tax. For the record, the current U.S. federal corporate income tax rate is 35 per cent. Canada's corporate rate will reduce from 18 per cent this year to 16.5 per cent in 2011.
A competitive rate desperately needed if Canada is to remain competitive on the international scene.
The attention paid to deficit cutting shows it has captured the imagination of our federal politicians, which is good. However, it will be in the unfolding details of cost reductions where the story becomes interesting. Will the Liberals tell us how much can be cut and where? Will the Liberals be as tough and as cost conscious as Paul Martin? In the final analysis, do the Liberals really have a better plan? If so, let's see it.
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The snow job.
City Hall is asking for opinions on snow removal. I'd say keep the current program and reject any of the option scenarios listed in Tuesday's Citizen. I say this in spite of having an all-wheel-drive car, living in a downtown condo with underground parking and working from my home, which in January and most of February, is in Mexico.
First, timely and effective snow removal is essential to everyone, especially our city's business community.
Second, well-cleaned streets are critical to our general safety and security. Third it's always in our best interests to keep a private sector fleet of heavy-equipment machinery and operators in place. You never know when they'll be needed. Stay with the current snow-removal program, it works well.
