Alright. I'll try to keep this as brief as I can. So as many of us know, since the Harper government has a majority, we pretty much are forced to deal with the new federal budget. And after only a few days of the budget being released, already plans are in motion to implement the plethorum of cuts to federal spending. I understand that we are just recovering from a worldwide economic crisis, caused by criminal activities within the financial sector, but I won't get into that today. That being said, I find this budget EXTREMELY hypocritical to the so-called tenants of coservativism. Let me explain:
First of all, aren't conservative politicians supposed to be all about creating jobs? Let's see... 19 200 federal jobs cut. That is a lot of Canadians who planned a secure career in public service that now have to scramble to make other plans. Let's not forget that these cuts don't just affect the people getting canned, but their spouses, children, friends, retirement plans, etc. Yes, of course, they are all receiving some sort of severance package. But according to many public servants, the packages aren't as amazing as the media is making them out to be. For example, one man was supposed to retire in 18 months. The package he was offered gives him $400 LESS each month from his pension than he would otherwise be receiving. How are massive job cuts supposed to help Canadian families?
Secondly, aren't conservatives supposed to care about our service men and women? Is it not the responsiblity of our federal government to ensure that our veterans (many of who suffer from PTSD, ambutated limbs, etc) have access to the programs that will help them live normal lives again? I thought that's why the Veteran's Affairs department was created. But nope, instead of taking care of our veterans, the feds are cutting 261 jobs from Veteran's Affairs. Most of those jobs involve providing essential services to those who fought for our country. But I guess they don't matter to Harper. Not a priority.
Now on top of cutting funding for veterans, the conservatives are also getting rid of most of those "lefty" programs. Let's cut all environmental programs and any form of government outreach. Forget programs that engage youth with their own country and provide leadership skills (aka Katimavik). All the young people in the North that were excited to take part in Katimavik and help lift themselves out of the third world conditions they live in, well I guess they can go back to abusing drugs and alcohol to stay busy. The CBC is finally getting quality Canadian content on the map and becoming relatable to many age groups, but let's slash their funding too so that the only successful Canadian shows can be cancelled. Oh and who needs food inspectors anyways. Lysteria isn't that bad, is it? I guess we all forgot about that Maple Leaf disaster that happened a few years ago. And don't even get me started on the cuts to CIDA. Already this government has turned our aid budget into a subsidiary of the mining industry. Yes that's right: our tax dollars are going directly into the already deep pockets of Barrack Gold and other multi-million dollar mining companies. But now, let's just slash any possible hopes that Canada will continue to provide life-saving aid to the poorest people on the planet. I guess that's not important to Canadians anymore.
So ok: Conservatives are all about saving money and small government. Got it. But this is what I find profoundly hypocrital: in the midst of massive layoffs accross Canada affecting tens of thousands of Canadians, Harper is going ahead with plans to expand our existing prison system and build mega prisons. Of course, most of the Canadians living behind bars are there for non-violent crimes. Forget about rehabilitation, let's just lock up more petty criminals. It's not like our tax payer money goes to pay for each prisoners food, accomodation and entertainment. I guess it doesn't make sense to the feds to rehabilitate non-violent criminals so they can participate and contribute to our economy, instead of spending outrageous ammounts of our money keeping them locked up. I'm not talking about freeing Paul Binardo. I'm talking about the majority of criminals in jail for tax evasion or having (god forbid) dealt pot.
Moreover, Harper is going ahead with plans to buy top of the line F35 jets for a joint airstrike program with the states. Oh, and due to a small "accouting error" they actually cost at least $10 BILLION dollars more then Peter MacKay told us. And now we find out, that the conservatives knew since at least 2010 that they were lying about the pricetag on these luxury jets. My question is: why do we even need $25 billion dollar jets right now? Aren't we cutting 19,200 jobs? I understand we need to replace our ancient planes for the Air Force, but why are the only planes being considered the most expensive ones on the market? What war are we planning on fighting that require these planes? Couldn't that money be better spent supporting our veterans?
Anyways, I guess I wasn't as brief as I promised to be with this post. I just wish I could get into Stephen Harper's head for a few minutes and figure out what the hell he's trying to do with our beautiful, democratic country. Unless we all band together to get him out of Ottawa and put Rae or Mulcair or even May into power, what are the the conservatives going to cut next? Or waste our hard-earned money on next?
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