Don Davies: The Federal Budget - my point of view
The Federal Budget - my point of view
Dear friends,
As you may know, the Conservative Government will introduce its budget tomorrow at 1pm PST. Of course, I will be in the House of Commons listening to Finance Minister Jim Flaherty as he speaks.
Despite my desire to be optimistic, I’m afraid that I will not be impressed with what I hear. And that’s hard for me to say because I’ve tried to give Mr Harper a fair chance. After the last election, Canadians asked for cooperation. They needed action on the economy, and they needed help for those who will bear the brunt of an economic crisis. Instead, they got Conservative partisanship, aggression against women, workers and democracy and nothing to address their concerns.
The Harper Government was also deceptive – Just 60 days ago, they predicted a surplus instead of the $30 billion deficit we’re facing today.
In my view, the old saying ‘fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me’ really applies here. Canadians gave Mr Harper a chance to come forward with a plan for the economy. Canadians wanted a new approach to politics that saw politicians cooperate and work together. Canadians want real change and their interests put first. But Mr Harper let us down.
A budget is a confidence measure. It’s a test of whether Canadians have confidence in Mr Harper and his Conservatives. It is my belief that we don’t.
Put simply, we don’t trust him to deliver. This budget could promise the earth, but I don’t think we can trust a person who promises things he’s spent his entire life fighting against.
The budget may look enticing, and it may look progressive. And many will be tempted to endorse it. But Mr Harper promised $250 million in childcare spaces in 2007 – but not one space has actually been created. Mr Harper twice promised $30 billion in municipal funding – but our cities have never seen most of this.
In fact, there’s a pattern of broken Conservative promises – from senate appointments, to income trusts, to fixed election dates.
I expect this budget to be just another one of them. Mr Harper will do anything to hang onto power at the moment and escape the threat of a Liberal-New Democrat Government.
It remains to be seen what the Liberals will do. I hope that they will join with us to champion the issues in which New Democrats believe – affordable housing, a national childcare strategy, sustainable public transit, healthcare for everyone and a clean environment.
I know that I want to see change. I want to see cooperation. I want to see stability. And I want to see hope for Canadians. I believe strongly in and have spent decades fighting for affordable housing, protecting jobs and looking out for workers. But I don’t believe that the Conservatives can deliver what we need.
As the week progresses, a number of votes will be held on the budget. We expect the first vote to happen on Thursday, with a second next Monday and the final vote next Tuesday. Please feel free to contact me with any thoughts, opinions or ideas you may have.
Best regards,
Don
Don Davies MP
Vancouver Kingsway
As you may know, the Conservative Government will introduce its budget tomorrow at 1pm PST. Of course, I will be in the House of Commons listening to Finance Minister Jim Flaherty as he speaks.
Despite my desire to be optimistic, I’m afraid that I will not be impressed with what I hear. And that’s hard for me to say because I’ve tried to give Mr Harper a fair chance. After the last election, Canadians asked for cooperation. They needed action on the economy, and they needed help for those who will bear the brunt of an economic crisis. Instead, they got Conservative partisanship, aggression against women, workers and democracy and nothing to address their concerns.
The Harper Government was also deceptive – Just 60 days ago, they predicted a surplus instead of the $30 billion deficit we’re facing today.
In my view, the old saying ‘fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me’ really applies here. Canadians gave Mr Harper a chance to come forward with a plan for the economy. Canadians wanted a new approach to politics that saw politicians cooperate and work together. Canadians want real change and their interests put first. But Mr Harper let us down.
A budget is a confidence measure. It’s a test of whether Canadians have confidence in Mr Harper and his Conservatives. It is my belief that we don’t.
Put simply, we don’t trust him to deliver. This budget could promise the earth, but I don’t think we can trust a person who promises things he’s spent his entire life fighting against.
The budget may look enticing, and it may look progressive. And many will be tempted to endorse it. But Mr Harper promised $250 million in childcare spaces in 2007 – but not one space has actually been created. Mr Harper twice promised $30 billion in municipal funding – but our cities have never seen most of this.
In fact, there’s a pattern of broken Conservative promises – from senate appointments, to income trusts, to fixed election dates.
I expect this budget to be just another one of them. Mr Harper will do anything to hang onto power at the moment and escape the threat of a Liberal-New Democrat Government.
It remains to be seen what the Liberals will do. I hope that they will join with us to champion the issues in which New Democrats believe – affordable housing, a national childcare strategy, sustainable public transit, healthcare for everyone and a clean environment.
I know that I want to see change. I want to see cooperation. I want to see stability. And I want to see hope for Canadians. I believe strongly in and have spent decades fighting for affordable housing, protecting jobs and looking out for workers. But I don’t believe that the Conservatives can deliver what we need.
As the week progresses, a number of votes will be held on the budget. We expect the first vote to happen on Thursday, with a second next Monday and the final vote next Tuesday. Please feel free to contact me with any thoughts, opinions or ideas you may have.
Best regards,
Don
Don Davies MP
Vancouver Kingsway