I am often reminded of how our current Canadian government really should not be in power. They've only been able to have minority governments the last few elections because not enough people really want them, but there's no one else they can get behind either as the other parties have gotten new leaders or are trying to build up new platforms and policies. After the headlines yesterday, I'm hoping they just tipped the scales against themselves, although I'm cynical and think a lot of people won't bother to read the news and get the whole story.
If you own a home here in Canada I'm sure you've heard a lot about the one year home reno Tax credit: Spend over $1000 (and up to $15000) on renovating your home and you'll get 10% back as a non-refundable tax credit this tax season as long as you have the receipts to prove it. For people like me who are doing stuff to their house anyways, it's a nice bonus...and we're just doing a small amount of work - there are people going all out and hoping for a nice big tax rebate. It's all part of the economic stimulus package to help fight the recession.
But here's the thing - even though we've all been told to keep our receipts (there are even envelopes at stores like Rona and Home Depot to put them in) I just learned that IT DOESN'T ACTUALLY EXIST YET. Yeah - it is just a bill that will *maybe* be passed in fall session of Parliament. And here's the other shitty thing - it's technically a budget bill, so if the opposition wants to make a vote of non-confidence in the government to call an election (which they plan to and I think should, as Harper and his government are not doing very much) they will have to vote this down to do so. There's no saying they can't pass it if/when they get elected if they beat the current government, but it's turning all of this tax credit business into a sneaky manipulative election ploy. It's taking the average Joe and making them put their homes and $$ ahead of the politics of the country and what is best for all of us. Harper is trying to make the opposition look bad in the eyes of the public and playing manipulative games and creepy politics to keep in power.
So here's my little rant to you Stephen Harper - Stop screwing around and playing schoolyard games to stay in power. You're the leader of our country. Lead it. How about you look after the country? If you were even slightly good at this we wouldn't be itching to get you out of power and let someone else have a go at it so they could actually DO something.
Boo to you I say. You and your little dog too.
7 comments:
So ... you're saying you want Harper to behave as though he had a majority government, even though he doesn't?
I want him to look after the country. I want him to stop playing games with the country- he seems more concerned with staying in government than doing things for us.
He needs to convince us to give him a majority.
He wouldn't have to "play games" if the opposition parties didn't insist on playing them too (remember how they all conspired to take him down and put themselves in charge last year, only a few weeks after they had all lost the election?).
And obviously, if he's going to "do things for us", he needs to stay in government. It's like they say on the airplanes: put the oxygen mask on your own face first before you help anyone else with their own masks.
It is, admittedly, a little strange that we have had three minority governments in a row (one led by Paul Martin, two led by Harper). I don't believe such a thing has ever happened before in Canadian politics. It suggests a certain political indecisiveness on the part of the country as a whole, right now, though you have to wonder how things might be different if we weren't giving so many seats to the Bloc -- a party that is officially dedicated to the break-up of the country yet still wanted to be part of the "coalition" government late last year.
Anyway, I can't help thinking it's ironic that you'd say Harper "seems more concerned with staying in government" on the one hand, yet he "needs to convince us to give him a majority" on the other hand. So he "needs" to stay in government without "seeming" to be concerned about it? For some reason that reminds me of a movie: "Keep your distance, Chewie, but don't look like you're keeping your distance. ... I don't know, fly casual!"
"So he "needs" to stay in government without "seeming" to be concerned about it?"
No - that's not what I said. There is nothing wrong with wanting to stay in government. I'm mad at how I was told by them that this tax credit was already in place when it isn't. I'm dissapointed at how he has already turned the possible turning down of the tax credit into a sound bite, making the opposition look bad. I find it demeaning to have a carrot dangled like that..especially when it wasn't even real. I honestly don't feel he has done enough to prove to me that he is doing transparent, forward moving work to improve Canada. I know it is very difficult to do things with a minority government, but this recent thing with the tax credit makes it look like he is playing pedantic games. The attitude behind the inaction is what really grates me.
I know you like Harper Pete, but I just can't give him this. I admit I'm biased against him...but he's not doing anythign to win me over that's for sure.
"He wouldn't have to "play games" if the opposition parties didn't insist on playing them too (remember how they all conspired to take him down and put themselves in charge last year, only a few weeks after they had all lost the election?)."
Yes and then Harper shut down parlaiment so they couldn't do anything...and they never misled us about the coalition and what they were going to do. It wasn't an election ploy. It was because the majority of the Canadian people had expressed their dislike of the Harper government. It was acting in the bset interest of the country.
This whole tax thing is just adding list of ther things he's done to make me distrust his leadership. Here's a few others:
Shunning of the media and then setting up his own little media room
He called the Kyoto accord a "socialist scheme" designed to suck money out of rich countries
He LIED about transfer payments to our province. He took back funding we deserved and were promised.
This is just another thing to convinceme that not I not agree with his ethics and he has not earned my trust.
Well, I wouldn't say I like Harper. I certainly didn't care for it when he called the election in 2008, for example, since he was basically violating the spirit of his own law calling for fixed four-year terms. I can live with him, though, certainly more than the other guys.
As for that little constitutional crisis created by the opposition parties late last year, it was not Harper who "shut down Parliament" but the governor-general -- at Harper's request, sure, but from the sound of it, she didn't make it easy for him. And Jack Layton was caught bragging about how he and the Bloc had agreed in advance to bring down the government as soon as the opportunity presented itself, so don't tell me they were following the will of the people, so soon after the people voted against them.
I must admit, I haven't paid any attention to the home-reno tax-credit business, so I don't have an opinion on that particular subject.
My opinion of the entire batch of politicians we have had foisted upon us in recent years is unfit for public consumption, but I don't think the majority of Canadians want to see another election.
I, for one, am sick to death of the blood-sucking bastards pouring our tax money into holding elections in order to elect the same freakin' minority gov't over and over! The Liberals and the NDP should just suck it up and start trying to help Harper run the fucking country rather than playing these petty games!
(If they held an election and nobody voted, would we still have to give them our tax money to pay for it?) It costs millions to even hold an election, and in these times of economic uncertainty, the last thing we need is yet another election. It's ridiculous.
Your rant should perhaps be directed at the Liberals and NDP rather than Harper - if they would support the home-reno tax credit bill, it would pass....
The whole bunch of them need to be taken out behind the woodshed and whupped 'til they learn to get along and get down to the business of running the country rather than trying to see who can get whom in the most trouble, or who can shout the loudest in the house! Drives me crazy that they can't even be civil with each other - sounds like a kindergarten class run amok. Buncha asshats.
Sigh.
Okay, I'm done now. Sorry to hijack your comment section!
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