Federal Bullying
So the federal Minister of Finance, Jim Flaherty, thinks it's his business to interfere in the Ontario provincial budget.
That's a laugh! This is the same man who, as provincial Finance Minister under Mike Harris, left Ontario with a whopping $5.6 billion deficit.
This is the same Finance Minister who convinced Ontarians that that same budget had been balanced when it wasn't and who today, as federal Finance Minister, assures us that the nation's books are well balanced.
There is a credibility issue here. But that is another story.
The very idea that a federal Finance Minister should interfere in a province's budget process is unprecedented.
The politically partisan way in which that interference was done is callous...but it is the lack of understanding of constitutional jurisdiction; the disregard of consequences and the open contempt for another level of government that should sound the alarm bells for all of us.
A federal government should seek to build bridges, strengthen social cohesion and build a nation. The fact that this one is bent on the petty politics of partisanship and fragmentation is reason for concern.
Yesterday, the fight was with Newfoundland. Today it’s Ontario.
Will BC be singled out next?
- Hedy
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Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld
Vancouver, March 28, 2008
