It can be infuriating watching the Conservatives govern, whether it is political bluster in Parliament, empty assurances of fulfilling a fiduciary duty to taxpayers while running up federal expenditures, or gimmicky tax proposals that undercut the country's economic potential. One is frequently reminded of the games played by the former Liberal government.
And yet, it is necessary to put all that aside. It is time to support Stephen Harper because Canada finds itself at crossroads. One path takes us toward lower taxes, a less intrusive federal government and an aversion to deficit spending. Canadians know this road well. It is the one our country has been following for the past two decades.
That journey began in the 1980s, when Brian Mulroney began reigning in federal spending, implemented free trade with the United States and reformed the tax code. These were necessary steps to control the vast appetite of the state and make Canada more economically competitive.
Jean Chretien was ultimately responsible for putting Ottawa on a sound fiscal footing by balancing the federal budget and ending a generation-long era of deficit-financed spending. His government expanded free trade and lowered business taxes and cut all personal income tax rates.
Prime Minister Harper is an extension of this sensible fiscal tradition and has moved Canada forward. He cut the GST by two percentage points (a policy aped last month by Britain's Labour government), provided childcare support to parents with young kids and enacted a five-year plan to lower the country's business tax rate.
But these actions are not solely why the Prime Minister should remain in office. Yes, his budget update went too far in a minority Parliament by proposing the elimination of subsidies paid to political parties. Big deal, get over it already. He has embarrassingly reversed himself on that policy and all others the opposition found objectionable. But surrender for that? Hardly.
Canada needs a prime minister willing to push the envelope from time to time. Mr. Harper has successfully done so, despite the political odds being stacked against him. A Throne Speech last year declaring the Kyoto Protocol targets as unattainable won the support of Parliament, as did tougher crime legislation, an immigration reform bill, extension of the Afghanistan mission and -- the crown jewel -- a dramatic cut to business taxes. When these proposals were first announced, the opposition declared each one unacceptable.
No, Mr. Harper should only consider stepping aside when he stops taking calculated risks. That will be the time for him to go. Not before that and certainly not now.
The other path now confronting Canadians is one of higher taxes, massive government spending and structural deficits. On offer is a $30-billion stimulus package, which will become permanent spending. The upshot for taxpayers will be an increase to the GST or some other levy, like a carbon tax.
Less than eight short weeks ago, Canadians rejected putting Stephane Dion in the prime minister's chair when they had that chance on election day. Adding Jack Layton's tax-and-spend New Democrats to cabinet was never contemplated, nor was the possibility of consulting Gilles Duceppe's Bloc Quebecois on national issues. This is a journey in the wrong direction and a return to the failed policies of economic statism.
It is easy to forget the steady progress Canada has made in its economic standing under Conservative and Liberal governments over the past 20 years. We were a high-taxed, heavily regulated nation, and government had become too large, too bureaucratic and too wasteful. The debt burden was unmanageable, inflation rampant and unemployment high.
Our turnaround began when Ottawa finally got serious about reducing expenditures, selling Crown assets, eliminating deficits, limiting government involvement in the economy and eventually lowering taxes.
Today, the country is facing tough economic challenges, but the situation could be worse. It is elsewhere. Consider, for example, the United States and Great Britain. Canada is doing well relative to the other G7 nations.
This is not a question of left or right political labels. It is about whether we continue to move forward or tumble backward. Mr. Harper has his faults. But what's on offer to replace him will undo hard won economic gains that Canadians sacrificed to make. Moreover, it is a deal that would never find popular support among voters. The Prime Minister must not yield.
John Williamson is a Chevening scholar studying at the London School of Economics and a fellow with the Manning Centre for Building Democracy.
