I’ve had Enough

Yesterday the Globe and Mail published the findings from it’s investigation on how the stimulus money is being spent. Frankly, the results were dispicable.

The report found that the stimulus money being spent in the RInC (Recreational Infrastructure) program disproportionately favored government-held ridings by an average of six hundred thousand dollars. The bias was particularly evident in Liberal held ridings who received an average of seven hundred thousand dollars less than Conservative ridings, while NDP held ridings received a comparatively rosy three hundred thousand less.

Prime Minister Harper has attempted to whitewash this by suggesting that opposition MP’s aren’t working hard enough to secure stimulus funding for their constituents. I find this comment ridiculous. It is the responsibility of this Prime Minister to look after the interests of all Canadians, not just the ones who are fortunate enough to have good representation. The constitution emphasizes good government, and I hardly think that just tossing ridings to the winds and allowing the free market of the House of Commons parcel out resources. Not to mention that this approach gives a distinctive advantage to government MP’s. Tories will not only have an easier time making the required connections to secure stimulus due to the fact that they are the sitting government, but will also be more likely to secure said funding due to an inherent, natural bias by the government towards it’s own party.

I call for more transparency and fairness from this government. Currently, we have no idea of how our deficit is being spent, because the government has not opened the records to the public. This has something to do with the newly appointed Parliamentary Budget Officer being placed under the jurisdiction of the Library of Parliament instead of reporting to parliament itself. Whatever the problem is, it needs to be fixed so that the officer in question can do his job: keeping Canadians informed about how their tax dollars (or rather, future tax dollars) are being spent.

This government…has a moral and constitutional obligation to look out for the interests of ALL Canadians.

Second, fairness. As I have already alluded, a party may be elected into government on its ideological or partisan platform, but once in power it is a truly mean-spirited thing to punish Canadians for exercising their democratic right for voting for anyone they choose. This RInC program is such a punishment. This government, especially because it is a minority government, has a moral and constitutional obligation to look out for the interests of all Canadians. They need to put aside their practices of patronage and start focusing on doing good for all of Canada.

I congratulate the Globe and Mail for lending it’s exceedingly credible voice to this issue. Without them, Canadians would still be in the dark.

Also, now that this issue has come to light, the opposition parties better get back on their horses; that is to say that they must criticize this clearly undemocratic and cruel policy of punishing non-Conservative voters. They should do it with vitriol, and propose constructive alternatives. I never though I’d say this about Jack Layton, but I’d rather have him governing all of Canada poorly than have Stephen Harper, “Getting by with a little help from his friends” and rewarding them for it.

Because if we went with Stephen Harper’s friends, we might as well have no government at all.