By Joe Average
Op-Ed Contributor
1. Ho Hum. Tuesday, October 30. Another “economic statement”. It was a clone of every other financial declaration out of Ottawa for the last ten years, I had to look up every so often to make sure it wasn’t Paul Martin delivering the tedious screed. Not that the news wasn’t generally good. In fact, there was something for everybody. That’s why it was so boring. It was predictably middle-of-the-road. It could have been delivered by the Liberals or the NDP. If this was part of the Harp Trap scenario, designed to force an election under circumstances favourable to the Tories, it was a miserable failure. The Libs would be nuts to vote against it. They would be better off advocating the slaughter of the Harp seals (pun intended).
2. The “economic statement” like the tough on crime bill that preceded it, emphasises the dilemma facing a right wing party trying to engineer its own demise. The Tories will find it tough to produce a bill that the opposition feels comfortable in defeating but won’t cost the Harp his job in a general election. The longer this goes on, the more likely it is that the Harp will have to deliver something on the environment. When that happens we will see him on the political night train to the big Adios. It can’t come soon enough for me.
3. By the way, why does the finance minister always seem so furtive? He looks like he’s afraid his fly is open or that someone is going to drop a sixteen ton weight on him. Perhaps he fears Divine Retribution.
4. What ever has happened to Dion’s English. Last week I thought that his invisible summer had borne some linguistic fruit. His English seemed less laboured and almost comprehensible. I guess he hasn’t practiced over the past few days because his comments concerning the statement were Chretienesque. Poor Dion! One step forward and six back. I fear that he will never get it right. He probably has a very coherent and intelligent position on everything but simply cannot communicate it to an English audience. The Harp, on the other hand, is reasonably eloquent but has, generally, nothing to say.
5. I’m becoming increasingly fearful that we are headed towards a major recession. The things that can go wrong seriously outweigh the things that can go right. On the negative side are:
(a) U.S. fiscal and trade edifices that are staggering.
(b) A wooden-headed American administration that is incapable of recognising the folly of its policies.
(c) Canadian trade policy that insists we shackle ourselves more tightly to the American corpse.
(d) A Chinese economy that must, sooner rather than later, retrench if it is not to self destruct.
(e) Changes to the global climate that carry unpredictable but negative consequences for everyone
On the positive side, however, we have:
(a) The end of the George W. Bush administration is in sight and the likelihood that the Harp will get a majority is fading
It’s not much but it may just be enough to save us.
Goodnight and lots of luck!
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