Nov 12
16
It’s an Integrity Deficit: Rod Taylor
The year was 2008. Prime Minister Harper and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty were running for re-election. During the campaign, Mr. Harper said at least 5 times that the Canadian government, under his leadership would not go into deficit. Here were some of his campaign promises:
• “We’ll never go back into deficit” (Oct. 14, 2008 Toronto Star commentary)
• “We will not go into deficit. That’s the underpinning, the central plank of our policy of fiscal responsibility” (Sept. 17, 2008 speech in Welland, Ont.)
• “We will not be running a deficit” (Oct. 7, 2008 interview with CBC-TV)
In 2009—after the election was over—the Conservatives ran the biggest deficit in Canadian history.
The year was 2011. Prime Minister Harper and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty were running for re-election. During the campaign, Mr. Harper said he would be able to “eliminate the deficit in 2014, a full year ahead of schedule”.
Seven months later—after the election was over—Mr. Flaherty announced that the end of deficit spending might not come until the 2015-2016 budget. Now, in November of 2012, Mr. Flaherty tells us that, since revenues are down, we might not be able to tame the deficit until 2016-2017. Are budget projections and deficits determined solely by revenues and the winds of fate? Are they not also affected by careless spending and a willingness or refusal to cut programs we can’t afford?
The truth is, in 2006, Canadians elected a government that they were told would cut the size and cost of government, cut taxes and pay down the debt. In fact, the size and cost of government has increased by 42% since Mr. Harper has been in power. 2007-2008, the first fiscal year for which the Conservatives were responsible, marked the highest spending by any federal government in Canadian history. The spending in every year since then has been even higher. The total federal debt is about to break through the $600 billion mark, higher than it has ever been.
The problem is much bigger than deficits and taxes though. The problem is a political system that allows slippery politicians to make promises for which they are rewarded with power by gullible taxpaying voters and for which they are not held accountable.
The moral deficit that allows people campaigning for office to make promises they have no ability or intention to keep is a modern tragedy and will lead Canadians into very difficult days indeed. A crusty old codger once told me, “If a man’s word is no good, then he’s no good either”. While every one of us may struggle at times to keep our commitments, meet deadlines and fulfil the expectations of others, it behooves those in the public eye (and even more in the public purse) to take their own promises seriously. Don’t make promises you can’t keep. Buying the confidence of the public with empty words is not only selfish and irresponsible; it’s also a sin.