Triple E Senate News Archive

Some tips for Harper if he becomes PM
Calgary Herald
Thursday, January 5, 2006
Page: A14
Section: The Editorial Page
Byline: Bert Brown

It was Stephen Harper in the late 1980s who said Quebec should ask its people a clear question on separation. That eventually led to the Clarity Act.

Recently, Quebec's former premier, Bloc leader, and prominent opinion makers, admitted that province's policies had led to a disastrous dependency on social programs. They said whether Quebec stayed or left, those programs cannot be sustained and major cutbacks are inevitable to prevent catastrophe.

Some years ago, Harper said Canada's policies were creating dependency that stifled growth and stilted opportunity. Only weeks ago a Canadian government committee on competitiveness and dependency came to the same conclusions.

Harper says a national day-care system is the wrong way to go. He says Canada has millions of child-care experts called parents, and the government should give a higher tax deduction for each child and let every parent benefit, instead of creating another bureaucracy to waste tax dollars.

Again, good advice. Only one example of government administration in the Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) is enough to make taxpayers ill when they realize the HRDC bureaucracy spent 84 per cent of its money on bureaucracy and only 16 per cent on the benefits it gave to people. ($69.8 million expenses, $11 million in benefits. Calgary Herald editorial column, Nov. 13, 05.)

National health care in Quebec with 1/6th of the population currently costs $1.3 billion per year. Nationwide, it would cost $10 billion per year when enacted and grows to become a black hole of expense unparalleled in Canada.

When Harper called for dual purpose naval ships able to carry troops and helicopters, he was ridiculed as wanting aircraft carriers. A year later, the government ordered the same dual purpose ships. Faced with growing costs in health care, Prime Minister Paul Martin and NDP leader Jack Layton pour in billions of tax dollars with no plan to fix anything, and end up only shortening months- and years-long waiting lists by a single day.

Is it possible every single government program created in the past two generations is no more than a vehicle for passing tax dollars to government cronies or hiring thousands of people to become dependent on an Ottawa pay cheque?

Do all departments spend more than 80 per cent of their budget on bureaucrats and less than 20 per cent on the benefactors? Is this why the national gun registry that was promoted as a $2-million project consumed more than $1 billion, and now costs $70 million a year to administer? Is that why Stephen Harper wants to scrap it?

Many in the media claim Harper is not Mr. Congeniality. He may not be overly congenial but he is the most intelligent politician on the Hill according to most print media, and his honesty is unquestioned.

As a candidate for the leadership of his party, Harper flatly stated the prime minister has far too much power. In the belief that he still feels that way, there are some goals Harper should strive to achieve during his first six months as prime minister. Some are already announced and Conservative Party policy.

1. Declare the next election date the day he takes office. A four-year term with a fixed election in November would be nice or in early spring, say March or April.

2. Assure the U.S. that gratuitous insults and inflammatory rhetoric are things of the past.

3. Form an all-party committee of MPs to interview and select an ethics commissioner answerable to Parliament.

4. Declare that the only vote of confidence will be a deemed vote of confidence, with two weeks notice and that henceforth bills will pass or fail on their merits.

5. Tell the House who you will select for your cabinet, but that only a 2/3-vote of peers can remove a colleague between elections except on conviction of a felony or fraudulent use of tax money.

6. Tell the people of Canada that in a Harper government entitlement must be earned with honest service.

7. Fulfil the party promise to appoint only senators elected by the province they will represent. Appoint the winner of the latest Alberta senatorial election and challenge B.C., Saskatchewan, and Manitoba to elect senators-in-waiting with the guarantee the person winning the largest percentage of eligible votes in the three provinces will be appointed immediately.

Issue the same challenge to the four Atlantic provinces that two senators will be appointed, one from each of two provinces with the winners in each province again holding the highest percentage of votes. Finally, challenge Ontario and Quebec to hold elections for two candidates from each province. This action will give the provinces eight elected senators in less than a year. These senators are provided for even if all the normal 105 Senate seats are filled. Clause 26, page 9, Constitution Act 1982.

Stephen Harper is the only federal candidate who is believable in a desire to reduce corruption and reduce Canada's democratic deficits in parliament.

Bert Brown is a businessman, retired farmer and political activist

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