OTTAWA
There has been no Stephen Harper revolution.
But there can be little doubt, as he celebrates the first anniversary of his majority Wednesday, Harper has delivered a year of transformation.
One year in, Harper is focused on making Canada a resource superpower, rewriting environmental regulations and giving his cabinet the power to overturn any decision that slows their agenda.
He has formally withdrawn Canada from the Kyoto protocol and all but declared the environmental movement in this country a radical enemy of the state.
Those decisions will leave an imprint in this country for years to come.
He has also waged war on big labour, interfering in the collective bargaining rights of unionized workers, all in the name of the economy, and in a futile bid to brand the opposition New Democrats as the party beholden to the big union boss bogeyman.
He boldly changed the age requirement for old age security from 65 to 67, the type of over-the-horizon, third-rail decision impossible with a minority.
He has had successes.
The Canadian military played a strong role in toppling the regime in Libya, even if this government sat on its hands like the rest of the world, unable to prevent the carnage within Syria.
The awarding of giant shipbuilding contracts should be the template for all future procurement programs of such magnitude.
Conservatives point to other accomplishments, such as the dismantling of the wheat board monopoly, the omnibus crime bill, derided by so many as anachronistic and counterintuitive, the killing of the long-gun registry and the addition of 30 seats to the House of Commons to better reflect growing populations.
The Conservatives are the masters of the symbolic, celebrating our military, reattaching the word Royal to the titles of our navy and air force, embracing the British royals, waving the flag for the anniversary of the War of 1812.
But Harper has not moved hard right and recent elections in Ontario and Alberta — and an anticipated NDP victory in British Columbia next year — show that Canadians appear content with a move to the middle and clearly Harper is listing to the middle.
There have been no moves on conservative social policy and the government smack down of a backbencher’s bid to reopen the abortion debate was a powerful message to the Prime Minister’s restive caucus.
Many Conservatives, however, feel the first majority budget was a squandered opportunity, did not cut deep enough and did nothing to remake a bloated federal bureaucracy.
They also know this has been a sloppy year for the Conservatives, a strange malady for a government that works so hard to control its message.
In this case, the Conservatives are well ahead of the curve.
Governments often get tired and careless in the latter stages of a majority before trying to clean up nice and shiny for a re-election bid.
This government looks tired and careless one year in.
The year started with an auditor-general’s report implicating Treasury Board president Tony Clement in a G8 slush fund scandal that sticks to this day.
The year ended with International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda apologizing for wanton disrespect for the taxpayer, with her upgrade to London’s Savoy Hotel, her limousine rides and her $16 orange juice.
Between those bookends, we’ve had Defence Minister Peter MacKay using a search-and-rescue helicopter as his personal taxi, followed by his inept defence when another auditor general caught the government purposely lowballing the price tag on the F-35 fighter jets.
Industry Minister Christian Paradis scored a hat trick, being found guilty of conflict of interest once by the ethics commissioner, and still under investigation in two more ethics cases.
Public Safety Minister Vic Toews’ infamous child pornographer comment has mothballed his Internet surveillance bill.
Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan looked seriously ill informed during the Attawapiskat housing crisis last winter.
None of these are rookie ministers. But they’re all still there.
The robocall controversy has damaged the party’s brand, regardless of how widespread it ultimately proves to be.
Harper won his majority with discipline, never straying from message, but that discipline seems to escape too many of his ministers.
You can win re-election by being the calm hand at the wheel of a stable economy. But you can lose that reputation if too many of your ministers appear to believe in self-entitlement.
After he blows out the candles Wednesday, Harper should make his year-two priority an infusion of some new, untainted blood in his cabinet.
Original Article
Source: Star
Author: Tim Harper
There has been no Stephen Harper revolution.
But there can be little doubt, as he celebrates the first anniversary of his majority Wednesday, Harper has delivered a year of transformation.
One year in, Harper is focused on making Canada a resource superpower, rewriting environmental regulations and giving his cabinet the power to overturn any decision that slows their agenda.
He has formally withdrawn Canada from the Kyoto protocol and all but declared the environmental movement in this country a radical enemy of the state.
Those decisions will leave an imprint in this country for years to come.
He has also waged war on big labour, interfering in the collective bargaining rights of unionized workers, all in the name of the economy, and in a futile bid to brand the opposition New Democrats as the party beholden to the big union boss bogeyman.
He boldly changed the age requirement for old age security from 65 to 67, the type of over-the-horizon, third-rail decision impossible with a minority.
He has had successes.
The Canadian military played a strong role in toppling the regime in Libya, even if this government sat on its hands like the rest of the world, unable to prevent the carnage within Syria.
The awarding of giant shipbuilding contracts should be the template for all future procurement programs of such magnitude.
Conservatives point to other accomplishments, such as the dismantling of the wheat board monopoly, the omnibus crime bill, derided by so many as anachronistic and counterintuitive, the killing of the long-gun registry and the addition of 30 seats to the House of Commons to better reflect growing populations.
The Conservatives are the masters of the symbolic, celebrating our military, reattaching the word Royal to the titles of our navy and air force, embracing the British royals, waving the flag for the anniversary of the War of 1812.
But Harper has not moved hard right and recent elections in Ontario and Alberta — and an anticipated NDP victory in British Columbia next year — show that Canadians appear content with a move to the middle and clearly Harper is listing to the middle.
There have been no moves on conservative social policy and the government smack down of a backbencher’s bid to reopen the abortion debate was a powerful message to the Prime Minister’s restive caucus.
Many Conservatives, however, feel the first majority budget was a squandered opportunity, did not cut deep enough and did nothing to remake a bloated federal bureaucracy.
They also know this has been a sloppy year for the Conservatives, a strange malady for a government that works so hard to control its message.
In this case, the Conservatives are well ahead of the curve.
Governments often get tired and careless in the latter stages of a majority before trying to clean up nice and shiny for a re-election bid.
This government looks tired and careless one year in.
The year started with an auditor-general’s report implicating Treasury Board president Tony Clement in a G8 slush fund scandal that sticks to this day.
The year ended with International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda apologizing for wanton disrespect for the taxpayer, with her upgrade to London’s Savoy Hotel, her limousine rides and her $16 orange juice.
Between those bookends, we’ve had Defence Minister Peter MacKay using a search-and-rescue helicopter as his personal taxi, followed by his inept defence when another auditor general caught the government purposely lowballing the price tag on the F-35 fighter jets.
Industry Minister Christian Paradis scored a hat trick, being found guilty of conflict of interest once by the ethics commissioner, and still under investigation in two more ethics cases.
Public Safety Minister Vic Toews’ infamous child pornographer comment has mothballed his Internet surveillance bill.
Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan looked seriously ill informed during the Attawapiskat housing crisis last winter.
None of these are rookie ministers. But they’re all still there.
The robocall controversy has damaged the party’s brand, regardless of how widespread it ultimately proves to be.
Harper won his majority with discipline, never straying from message, but that discipline seems to escape too many of his ministers.
You can win re-election by being the calm hand at the wheel of a stable economy. But you can lose that reputation if too many of your ministers appear to believe in self-entitlement.
After he blows out the candles Wednesday, Harper should make his year-two priority an infusion of some new, untainted blood in his cabinet.
Original Article
Source: Star
Author: Tim Harper
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