Pay close attention to Harper's "omnibus" bills. Those contain the bulk of his agenda. They're so big that he's hoping you don't even look. These bills are so multi-dimensional that calling them "budget implementation bills" is a bad joke. Bill C-31, the budget implementation bill for 2014, is no exception.
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BigCityLib Strikes Back: The Hand They Will Play
Its a good hand. A surplus for the election year. Taxes to cut, and money to wave in front of people. Not unbeatable, however: some creative policy, an economy that will remain lack-lustre, a sense that its time to try things differently as long as nothing done can be tagged
Continue readingPolitical Eh-conomy: Another (budget) day, another dollar (cut): Canada’s slow-motion austerity
Yesterday’s federal budget was a non-event. Indeed, the no-surprises budget was itself no surprise: the Conservatives have long done their fiscal policy dirty work in omnibus bills and other dark corners scattered throughout the legislature, Crown corporations and federal agencies. This leaves the media circus of budget day a very
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Jimbo Flaherty and the Con Snake Oil Salesmen
I like to think that Jim Flaherty's recent illness has made him a better human being, because I'm a firm believer in the power of redemption.And he has come a long way from the days when he was calling for the homeless to be jailed.But unfortunately he's still a Con, he
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: In Harper’s World, Everything Is Partisan
Harper has turned everything into ‘partisan advantage’ in Ottawa. When Flaherty “asked” the opposition for “input” into the next budget, the letter was designed as less of a sincere request for input as a partisan attack. “I will not entertain the traditional ‘laundry list’ of new spending or subsidy programs
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