Is It a Long Road to Economic Stability?

The good news is that Prime Minister Harper, along with the other G20 leaders, agrees something must be done about the economic crisis. Another very encouraging note is the emphasis will be on doing the right thing, not the expedient thing.

Even though the next meeting of the G20 leaders is scheduled for April 30, 2009, the Finance ministries of all the countries will have their work cut out for them in the intervening months. It will be their job to build on the leaders’ " foundation for reform to help ensure that a global crisis, such as this one, does not happen again".

Most importantly to Canadians, Harper concedes that his government will likely have to set their ideological ideals aside, for now, and allow budgetary deficits. Here’s hoping that Harper will do the former with conviction and the latter with all due caution.

Finance Minister Flaherty has already acknowledged that the government is considering the sale of assets in an attempt to reduce or eliminate any deficits. I agree that deficits must be strictly controlled and provide demonstrable direct benefits.

However, the presence in the Harper cabinet of Harrisites Baird, Clement and Flaherty, all ideologues to the core, raises a large red flag if they are involved in the sale of government assets.

As a group, these men strongly endorsed the privatization Ontario Hydro. The problems Hydro faced at the time were mainly two fold;

1. A lack of transparency as demonstrated by the governments of all three political parties over decades. It was most evident by their interference with the setting of electricity rates and in the building of nuclear generating facilities.

2. Poor management practices in the running of Ontario Hydro. It was broken up and was sold at bargain prices, while leaving the public with a huge “stranded debt” and the new companies being managed by executives who are over-paid and have guaranteed golden-parachutes should all not go as planned.

This trio also endorsed the sale of the bargain priced 407 highway mainly to avert a deficit. The result was a momentary relief from a deficit while leaving Ontario drivers totally at the mercy of the private sector for longer than any driver at the time would be driving.

This same group is in a position of influence in the evaluation of the possible sale of Canada’s assets. Potential candidates likely  include:- Atomic Energy of Canada, just when nuclear power is about to become the main source for “green” power for years to come; the CN tower, a major communication hub in southern Ontario; Canada Post, surely a significant requirement in any nation; the CBC, for years an essential part of the life of the rural areas of the country. Based on their Ontario track record, I have doubts there will be any sustainable benefits for Canada.

Hopefully, the Prime Minister will be true to his promise to put aside ideology, at least for now, in pursuit of solving the economic problems of the day, which were years in their building.

The main political issue Harper may face is that the solutions, when found and implemented, are not likely to provide the instant gratification to which so many in this world are addicted.

Comments

[Fred Leis]

well written...excellent article in my opinion.