The other day I heard Stephen Harper proclaim that we should vote for him because he has a proven track record as a good manager of the public purse. I would like to know, where is the evidence to support that claim? My recollection is as follows:
The G8-G20 summit meeting that he hosted in Toronto and Huntsville in 2010 (complete with fake lake) lasted all of 48 hours and cost taxpayers over $900 million.
The bloated Senate, full of Harper appointed cronies, costs the taxpayer over $100 million annually.
When Mr. Harper took office in 2006, youth unemployment in this country was over 13%. Since that time, about $200 million per year has been spent to ‘address’ the problem. Youth unemployment today still stands around 13%. Who spends money on programs that don’t work?
Government advertising has hit $900 million, including $300 million for the over-hyped ‘Economic Action Plan’. This propaganda should be paid by the Conservative Party of Canada, NOT the Canadian taxpayer.
We see the news media follow Mr. Harper around like sheep hoping he will say something meaningful. So there are lots of photos and video file footage of these events. Unfortunately, that is not enough for Mr. Harper. He has his own camera crew taking pictures and videos, at taxpayer expense. It has been reported – and I hope it is not true – that his hair and make-up for these occasions also comes courtesy of the taxpayer. If Mr. Harper cannot afford a comb then this is another bill that should be sent to the Conservative Party of Canada.
We are going through one of the longest election campaigns in Canadian history (78 days). Even though with the availability of the internet and instant communications it could have been one of the shortest – and just as effective but much less costly. Why were we subjected to this unnecessary extravagance?
These are just a few examples that already total in the billions of dollars. Without these expenditures the deficit would have been significantly smaller and we would have a healthy surplus by now to spend on much needed programs like health care, veterans, boosting employment, etc.
Victor Shantora