With the announcement of new deficit record, set by who else the Conservatives I sent this to the National Post today. I cannot find an on-line link to the article, but the chart I've added in.

While I agree with the basis of Mr. Veldhuis' proposal for enforcing strong measures to eliminate deficit spending I really must correct some incorrect information.

He mentions "A Conservative government that came to power committed to limiting the growth of government spending ..." Who are they? The Federal Conservatives were elected on the basis of promising $92 billion (cf National Post's estimate at the time) in new spending. This was double the spending increases promised by the other parties. The Harper Conservatives planned to spend spend spend from day one. I understand the board of directors where Mr. Veldhuis works is almost exclusively partisan Conservatives and facts can be embarrassing to perceptions - but let's keep the facts straight.

In this spending orgy the Conservatives are clearly emulating thier roots in Alberta, where as the article points out the Conservative party has been increasing spending at double to rate of the other provinces. Given the recent attempts of Alberta to cozy up to OPEC I guess this can be now be seen for what it is: emulation of the other oil rich states like Venezuela and Iran that squander their huge tax revenue with populist spending orgies.

I really don't know where the 6.2% average increase in spending estimate comes from either, statistics Canada indicates a higher increase, but hey why quibble about a few billions in spending when we are talking about the Conservatives? Of course this new record deficit is beating the record set by a previous Conservative government, so for those who would portray exorbitant spending by Conservatives as something new; well that can only be seen as revisionism as the Canadian Conservative movement is by and large about big government both fiscally as well as it's ever increasing restrictions on personal freedoms.

Unfortunately there is also a flaw in the attempt to add constitutional limits to governments. In Canada we have a constitution that is not binding on government. Until we have a constitution that is ironclad and judges that will interpret it as written any attempt to limit government will only come at the ballot box and we know only too well how weak a control on government that is.

Sent to the National Post May 26th.

Given the recent Conservative advertisements questioning Mr. Ignatieff's loyalty I wonder if the Conservative Party is now disowning Sir John A McDonald? After all as someone born in Europe how could he possibly be worthy of the trust of the people?

Once again the hollier than thou David Suzuki is putting his authoritarian junk science views out. I had to say something even if it has ~zero chance of being published in the Era Banner which is one of his pulpits.

Hi:

Not content that he and his peers in the pressure groups that have successfully forced governments into increasingly excessive regulation an increasingly autocratic David Suzuki is now saying people have no right to even complain. Let them ride bikes he decrees: while he of course makes a very lucrative living jet setting around the world. He and his friends creating 1,000 of tons of excess carbon emissions at conferences where the participant claim they are meeting to find way to reduce carbon emissions. He talks about totally dead rivers, when of the facts are the results are much less and there are easier ways around the problem than authoritarian regulations.

His critique of the consumer society is of course also just a thinly veiled opening to present his preference for the command driven economy: the one that of course was so devastating to the ecologies of the countries like Russia and China that practiced it. Of course it was about a year go when he adopted the American idea (cf James Hansen) of proposing jail for people who question his pressure group's views, so maybe it is best my name be withheld if this is published.

The Debate Continues

Hi:

So the debate on that hidden word "Libertarian" continues; esp in the context of the almost mutually exclusive word "Conservative". Wait the debate is on libertarian vs Conservatives- the Libertarian parties have not yet been invited to the debate, sigh seems to be a continuation of a trend methinks. The Conservatives continue to control the agenda.

Terence Cocoran yeaterday wrote the latest installment, and it has created a lot of traffic and interesting comments. My in-box this morning overflows with more than just 'offers I'd rather not see'! Below are some of the replies in the National Post this morning.