Maybe it is premature to mark them this early in their new mandate so let's just call it an Interim Mark and hope that things improve over the longer term.
Why an 'F' ?
Okay let's start with my most recent Blog - introducing Back To Work Legislation for both the Post Office and Air Canada with indecent haste.
Both Organizations have the legal right to strike and there was little evidence to suggest that the public is being seriously inconvenienced.
The Tories were wrong to so quickly introduce Back to Work Legislation and for that they get an 'F' from me.
Note to Report Card: if you aspire to an "A' at the end of term, you will need to Bring In Legislation Revoking A Public Servant's Right To Strike since that is the real issue here.
So that's One Area - there are more ...As Follows:
- Your attempt to Reform the Senate will render the Upper House even more dysfunctional. Elected Senators, with but one term, will cause them to think they are of equal or greater importance to the lowly MP. As well, with no need to worry about re-election, they will be entirely without accountability. Interim Grade F-
Note to Report Card: if you aspire to an 'A' in this subject, you must find a way to Disband the Senate & redeploy the freed up resources to making the House more effective (i.e. more powerful committees).
- Proposed cuts to the Civil Service of 5 to 10 % are anemic and will have little effect on reducing the Deficit / Debt. Interim Grade F+
Note to Report Card: if you aspire to an 'A' in this subject, you will have to cut much deeper - 25 to 40%*
*(I expect many of you will find these numbers to be draconian but please realize, the world is facing a debt crisis the likes of which we have not seen since the Great Depression and the only way for Canada to minimize its affect on us is to get our financial house in order pdq. Programs will also have to go under the knife.)
- Your Stand on Asbestos is most incomprehensible. It is a known carcinogen. To continue to allow its export from Canada is nothing less than inhumane. Your vote this week at the UN to block its addition to its list of dangerous substances is simply bizarre. You rate an F-- and a lower mark if one was available.
Note to Report Card: if you aspire to attain a higher mark at the end of term - you will need to stop these exports now. Even then, the best mark I could give you would be a B given your tardiness.
- Your policy to send people to jail for longer periods and to build more prisons is for the most part misguided. Prisons should be a very last resort save in the case of violent offenders. By following such a policy we are most closely aligning ourselves with the United States which, as shown in the Conrad Black case, has become one mean spirited country. Again an F.
Note to Report Card: To attain a better mark in this subject you will have to scrap your current policy and find ways to get people out of jail and keep them out of jail i.e. effective alternative punishments. With that, the over-crowding will be a thing of the past and we'll have better citizens for it.
- Taking Canada into Libya was a mistake since we have no idea who we are helping there i.e. the likelihood is that in the end, a greater Tyranny will assume control from the lesser Tyrant Qaddafi. Plus what about the real threat in that part of the world - Iran? Estimates now indicate that we are but days away from Iran acquiring Nuclear Weapons. Another F
Note to Report Card: Finish the work in Libya since it has been started but be prepared to live with the consequences. Also find someway to help destabilize Iran in concert with NATO.
- Heritage James Moore announced the day after the recent Election that "CBC funding was secure" and that CBC provides cultural significance for the country. An F
Note to Report Card: There are now enough private sector media outlets that we no longer need our government to support a public sector alternative. And this is not even getting into the issue of outright bias by the Mother Corp against all things conservative. To get a better mark Harper will need to scrap the CBC and cashier the Hon James Moore.
- The Conservatives continue to support the acquisition of expensive state of the art Jet Fighters. We are a middle power and simply do not have the financial resources to spend on such high end machines. Even the USA has started to cut back in the face of financial reality. Another F
Note to Report Card: Find a cheaper alternative or at the very least, reduce the size of your planned purchase.
- Their Plan to Eliminate the Electoral Subsidy I believe is wrong. This subsidy, unlike the Income Tax Deduction (i.e. refund $75 dollars for a $100 dollar donation) at least has some rationale - each Party is compensated on the basis of how many votes it received so in a sense it has a direct relation to the voters who supported it. In the case of the Income Tax Deduction, all taxpayers are financially supporting parties that they did not vote for. Plus the less public funding - more private funding is inevitable - big corps / big unions - just like the Americans.
Note to Report Card: Preserve the subsidy and deep six the Income Tax Deduction - if individuals believe in one Party they should be prepared to spend their own money in support of it and not expect taxpayers to join them in the privilege.
- I could not let this interim report go without honourable mention of Quebec. Your reimbursement of costs associated with Quebec's combining its Provincial Sales Tax with the Federal GST years ago - i.e. some $2 billion dollars is tainted. Quebec did this on its own and for its own purposes. It alleged unfairness but conveniently forgets about the $10 to $15 Billion it receives annually from the Rest of Canada in transfers and the like. If the Federal Treasury was bursting at the seems - this could possibly be overlooked, but you are broke. Hence another F.
Note to Report Card: To late to do anything here to redeem yourself but if you worked on getting Transfer Payments generally under control - I'd be pleased to give you an A++ in your final report.
As I see it...
'K.D. Galagher'
