Conservative front bench could use a spring cleaning

It is said that governments defeat themselves in their second mandate, i.e. in years five to eight. In year seven of the Harper government, which has made fiscal responsibility its hallmark, voters see Tory senators making incorrect claims for housing expenses and being forced to pay back tens of thousands of dollars. We have the questionable use of taxpayers’ dollars to attack Justin Trudeau through the use of “ten percenters“; the Auditor General reporting there is some $3.1 billion in terrorism-related spending that Ottawa can’t account for; and another huge ad buy to herald for their Economic Action Plan. The opposition is right to target this version of fiscal accountability.

In Question Period on Tuesday the Liberals employed a tactic the Conservatives used to deploy quite often on them. Scott Brison reduced government spending to something  the general public can understand: Every time an Economic Action Plan ad is broadcast on Hockey Night in Canada, targeted at Canadians glued to the Stanley Cup playoffs,  it costs the equivalent of summer jobs for 32 students. Simple stuff, but it resonates with Canadian families struggling to get their kids through university. It also makes for great talking points on the BBQ circuit, which is coming up shortly. This type of attack will resonate with taxpayers who see the ads as nothing better than a chance to take a bathroom break or grab a snack before the next faceoff. The government response — that it has saved Canadian families $3,000 in taxes since 2006 — is lost on Canadians. I suspect none of us feel $3,000 richer.

NDP leader Thomas Mulcair has focused on the missing $3.1 billion. Perhaps he recalls the success of the Conservatives’ “Billion Dollar Boondoggle” attacks. They helped chip away at Liberal credibility so effectively that the term is still remembered more than a decade later. Once again government response is weak. When your only defence is to quote the Auditor General, you have a problem.

I can’t imagine the Harper of 2006 responding in the same disinterested manner. He would have been kicking butt to to find out where the money went, and whether it was actual waste or merely an accounting error. Auditor General’s reports are not written overnight. There are months of discussions with departments leading up to the public release of the report. Did officials report the AG’s concerns to their ministers? If so when? Mulcair is on to something if he can sustain his attacks. “When did you know, what did you do and when are you going to report back to us?” is a theme that has worked for opposition parties in the past.

The Tory front bench is looking tired. The Prime Minister might have been wise to shuffle it a few months ago. Jason Kenney and James Moore are by far the best performers. In year seven, the Tories still have lots of time to pick up their game, but they will have to do it soon and they will have to stop taking the lead in defeating themselves.

Original Article
Source: fullcomment.nationalpost.com
Author: Keith Beardsley