The Conservatives are planning to dare the opposition parties to vote against an EI ways and means motion this coming Friday. It being a money bill, defeat means we'll have an election.
Well, provided Harper doesn't run tail-between-legs to the Governor General and try to close Parliament down again.
There's a two-prong attack here by Harper. First, he's daring the parties to vote against a proposal to help workers out, which the parties have been correctly fighting for for some time. Second, he's trying to appease the NDP, in the hope they will vote with him to sustain the government, increasing the noisy crosstalk between parties. If so, not much of a coalition there, Harper.
Curiously, he's relying at least in part on the opposition parties' goodwill to support needed changes he has dragged his feet on for some time. Harper doesn't act in the interests of Canada very often, but he relies on the opposition to do so. Ironic.
It seems to take brinkmanship to get this government to actually do anything.
In related news, I remind readers that the Parliamentary Budget Office released figures yestereday showing that the Conservative government completely misrepresented the cost of the Liberal EI proposal before the EI sham committee this past summer. Dianne Finlay was waving these false figures around just the other day, while also hinting that EI recipients are lazy. Sadly, these false figures came out of our government, which is not supposed to produce such partisan numbers. Harper never has appreciated our institutions.
In even more related news, the Conservatives are planning to break an election promise and increase EI rates for reasons none other than deficit reduction. This is something they used to go on about (quite correctly) under the Liberals, and had promised during the 2008 election to place the entire administration of the fund under arms-length management based on a zero surplus curve. Nada. Their grubby hands are all over the fund now, and they will be raising rates to fight their deficit, one mostly unrelated to the need for stimulus spending.
Stimulus spending Harper claimed we never needed, which is what brought about the formation of the Coalition last year and ultimately forced him to produce a proper budget. I wonder how many jobs the stimulus has saved?
Running counter to this, the Conservatives are increasing payroll taxes with the planned EI increases in order to make up for too deeply slashing the GST. Workers will be getting more expensive in Canada during an economic recovery.
Which doesn't sound very prudent.
7 comments:
Didn't the Conservatives just spend a whole bunch of time preventing any kind of EI reform from happening in committee? And now this? I call shenanigan.
The real issue is that EI and CPP are regressive ways to tax people. It's even worse than lowering the GST.
Nope the Liberals walked out before they were done planning what do about EI and the Conservatives kept meeting with out them. Shocking what you can get done with out the Liberals around eh?
Oh, c'mon Robert! The Conservatives were attacking the Liberal proposal in the media with completely false numbers, and being completely obstructionist in committee. It's only once the Liberals left the committee that the Conservatives made a fake show of doing anything.
The media called them on that one, at least.
We haven't forgotten the Conservatives extensive instruction booklet on committee obstruction either.
In the stats the Democrats and Republicans met all summer on Health Care even though they don't agree because they know trying is worth it. I would have like the Liberals to try instead of picking up their ball and going home. Now the Conservatives will come out with plan claim all the credit and say the Liberals had a chance and they turned their back.
The Liberals did try all summer, and the Conservatives obstructed. The only time the Conservatives move on anything is when their back is up against the wall, as they are now. If there are improvements to EI, it will be because Ignatieff pushed for an election, forcing the Conservatives to seek and out.
The Conservatives haven't even been pushing their crime bills through Parliament, yet again, They'd rather stall them and run ads and ten per centers falsely blaming the opposition parties for the lack of progress on that front.
And the Republicans are only negotiating with the Democrats -- the few that are -- because the Republicans have a minority.
The Liberals want an election ,and to come back with at least a minority, and then get things done. I think Jack is fooling himself if he thinks Harper will carry though with a deal.
The Liberals walked away from the table after 3 meetings that is not trying. The Conservatives still held meetings after they left in the same office for a month after they left and are now ready to offer something? Seems to me the Liberals picked up their ball too early.
The Conservatives obstructed the entire time and released a proven false. How many meetings filled with obstruction are the Liberals supposed to endure?
How can the Liberals be held to account for the Conservatives demonstrated and proven poor faith? The Cosnervatives response to the Liberals decent enough proposal was to go to the media and release contrived cost allegations now proven to be absolutely false.
Ridiculous, Robert. Absolutely ridiculous.
I expect me parliaments to stand up to such BS and not put up with it, and that's what was properly done.
There are real people out there needing results, not partisan obstructionist games from the Conservatives. The Conservatives were only going to do something once the Liberals gave up trying. This was supposed to be worked out during the summer, and three meetings to work over details is sufficient.
The Conservatives wrote the book on obstructing committees. Literally. There really is a book. And we've watched the Conservatives sabotage our democracy in this way for years. They don't get anything more than second chances. They shouldn't even get that. Three meetings, and nothing done but the Conservatives lying to the Canadian people about an important proposal, lies but together by what is now a politicized civil service, at least in Finance.
And in parallel, we now have millions of taxpayers money now spent on partisan ads. An Adscam it is.
What's interesting is that I've cited the Parliamentary Budget Officers report on the tremendous falsehoods perpetuated by the Conservatives. What you you cited?
Baseless assertion.
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