Last Wednesday, the Conservative government tabled a Speech from the Throne to open the second session of the 41st Parliament of Canada.
It was a long speech containing an outline of the government's agenda for the next year and a half. Many pundits have described it as containing many pre-election promises intended to placate the Conservative base.
Smaller government, lower taxes, consumer choice - these are meant to appeal to a moderate middle class that sees their income eroding and their capacity to maintain a middle class lifestyle slowing slipping away.
Reading the speech, though, I see a disconnect between the philosophy of the Conservatives and their practical plans.
The speech says: "Consider this: We are selfless. Our survival has been sustained by humility and acceptance of our mutual interdependence. Giving lies in our very nature, certain in our hearts that none but the gift passed from an open hand will multiply as those we help better themselves, those they love and, at length, the country they call home."
Wonderful rhetoric which boils down to: "Canadians like to give those less fortunate a helping hand."
Indeed, if the Throne Speech is to be believed, this is one of the unique indelible qualities of Canada that must guide our Parliament.
It is not something that I would disagree with in any way. My Canada has always been a generous Canada that recognizes that some of us are not as well off as others and, that from time to time, people will need a helping hand. Such help can come in many forms.
However, one of the more common forms of help is financial assistance. For government, this means providing people with welfare benefits or unemployment insurance until they can get back on their feet and on with their lives. Or educational opportunities that allow people to be better able to sustain employment throughout their lifetime.
Such assistance costs money.
So how does a government reconcile the increased costs of helping others with ensuring that families are paying lower taxes, as the Throne Speech says?
If Canadians are paying lower taxes then government revenue will decline. And if government revenue decreases, then we have less money to spend on programs that provide financial assistance to those in need.
What is the government really trying to do? Is it really about recognizing that the gift given multiplies as those we help better themselves? Or is it about trying to ensure that those capable of giving are not in a position where they do?
Don't get me wrong. I am not in favour of increasing taxes across the board. Nor am I in favour of going after the middle class. I just don't understand how the Conservative government can try to paint itself as a kinder, gentler, we-want-to-help-those-less-fortunate-than-us government while cutting back the means and wherewithal to do so.
The speech even continues this theme.
"Consider this: we are caring," it said. "Our abiding concern for the common good of our neighbours - in each community - makes us responsive. We do not abandon our fellows to scrape by in times of distress or natural disaster. Inspired by our common bond, we come swiftly and resiliently to the aid of those in need."
Does the government remember that charity begins at home? That we should, first and foremost, be concerned about our own citizens?
We should not abandon our fellows.
It is not just a question of taxes or money available for social assistance and programs that aid people when they are in times of distress. There are a number of initiatives in the throne speech that are targeted at reducing the size of government.
Statements such as: "Canadian families make tough choices about how to spend their hard-earned money. Guided by this example, our government will continue reducing the size and cost of government to ensure that taxpayers get value for money."
How?
"Our government will freeze the overall federal operating budget, which will continue to restrain hiring."
Put another way, all of the government services that we explicitly and implicitly rely upon - everything from Health Canada to security at airports will be cut. The result will be a lower quality of service, longer waits, less help and generally the feeling that government employees are not doing their jobs.
This, of course, plays right into the Conservative mantra because the sense that government employees are not doing their jobs justifies the cuts in the public service. In scientific terms, it is called a negative feedback loop and it eventually leads to a state of collapse.
What is missing from the ideology of the Conservatives, as expressed in the Throne Speech, is an understanding that taxes and government do have a role to play in Canada.
They allow us to be a unique nation of caring, selfless, inclusive, honourable, smart people in the first place.
