Jim Flaherty, is bad!
Conservative Campaign Against Ontario
Almost since taking office, the Conservative government of Stephen Harper has courted controversy with the government and people of Ontario on a number of fronts.
On Democratic representation:
The Conservative government’s Bill C-22, introduced in November of 2007, seeks to reallocate the number of seats representing each province in Parliament. The bill allocates ten new seats to Ontario, just half of what a fair redistribution would deliver based on that province’s population growth relative the rest of the country. Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty protested the bill and, for his concern, was accused of being the “small man of Confederation”[1] by Ontario Conservative Member of Parliament and Federal Government House Leader Peter Van Loan.
On Funding for Cities:
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities represents hundreds of communities large and small. Dozens of them are in Ontario, including Toronto, Windsor, Hamilton and Ottawa. On November 20th, 2007 the FCM released a report outlining its analysis of the amount of funding required to bring the infrastructure of Canada’s cities and communities – roads, sewers, water systems – up to modern standards. Their total: $123 billion.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty countered that the Conservative government was not in the “pothole business” and labelled municipal leaders “whiners.” [2]
 Flaherty, Minister of Finance |
On the Economy:
The Ontario economy has been hit hard of late. The major impact has been on the province’s manufacturing sector, which has lost 100,000 jobs since January 2006. Statistics Canada reported, in July, 2008, the Canadian economy lost 55,000, the most in 17 years, including 95,000 private sector jobs. The manufacturing sector in Ontario alone lost 41,000 jobs [3].
The Conservatives have claimed that their preferred response is to cut taxes, rather than “picking corporate winners and losers”[4] through public investments in private sector industries. Numerous observers however have pointed out that ths cclaim isn’t consistent with the government’s actions, which have included the funnelling of more than half a billion dollars for “long-term development” in communities in Quebec.[5]
With regard to the tax-cutting strategy, the single largest tax cut implemented by the Conservative government has been to the GST. Critics point out that the GST cut (down from seven per cent to five per cent) costs the treasury between $11 billion and $12 billion dollars annually and, as economists say in near-universal agreement, provides little economic stimulus (a high cost for a low return).
But perhaps most controversial in Ontario were the remarks made by the Finance inister Flaherty in a Toronto speech in which he accusedPremier McGuinty of undercutting the Ontario economy by keeping business taxes too high: “If you’re going to make a new business investment in Canada, and you’re concerned about taxes, the last place you will go is the province of Ontario.”[6]
References
[1]] Hansard, November 11, 2007
[2] Calgary mayr tells Flaherty he's got a shovel and hard hat for him Canada NewsWire, November 22, 2007
[3] CANSIM 282-0088, Statistics Canada, February 2008
[4] It's politics as uual for Flaherty; Federal minister's fud with McGuinty no surprise, but carries some obvious risks, Toronto Star, March 10, 2008
5] Toryy ridings in Quebec get more funding; Province enjoys disproportionate amount of economic development money, Ottawa Citizen, March 10, 208; Toryy ridings in Quebec get more aid: analysis; Minister denies any bias involved in regional development, National Post, March 10, 2008
[6] Flaherty calls Ont. ``last place'' to invest due to tax regime; calls for rate cut, Canadian Press, February 29, 2008
