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| NR cover March 11, 2013 |
"Conservatives, wherever they live, can be pleased with Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper. He is a leader of the West, and he is particularly interesting, not least because he is a surprise: a conservative flower that has bloomed in unpromising soil." By Jay Nordlinger
The importance of keeping spending under control is a Conservative priority. But since they took power, annual federal spending has risen to $280 billion, an increase of more than 30 per cent.
ReplyDeleteA much-promoted Conservative restraint measure is reducing the federal public service by 19,000 positions. But the size of the government during the Harper years had grown by 32,000 before those cuts.
After inheriting a $13-billion budget surplus from the Liberals in early 2006, the Conservatives were running deficits within three years. The current $26-billion annual deficit won’t be erased until 2015 at the earliest.
The Conservatives effusively praise Canada’s job-creation record under their government, including the creation of 900,000 net jobs since the recession. But the number of people out of work is still nearly 225,000 higher today than in 2006.
The Harper government has certainly been liberal with the spending. And many Conservatives, including me, are none too happy with that.
ReplyDeleteI think Jay Nordlinger's appreciation of Stephen Harper stems mostly from his (Harper's) foreign policy stances.