Canada's Economic Stimulous

Canada's Minister of Finance is set to bring down a new budget for the country. A most important document this will be, given the potentially straitened economic circumstances hovering over Canada, mostly through the impact on our trade with other countries, most notably the United States, no longer in quite the same position as it was formerly, to import Canada's goods and services.

Commodities, particularly energy, yes, of course. Canada is the world's seventh-largest oil producer, possesses the second-largest proven reserves. We rank third in natural gas production, first in the production of hydroelectricity, and first in uranium. Pity that all those commodities are now facing a relatively low-dollar trade advantage, but that is cyclical, and will rebound.

Our financial institutions are in fine shape, our employment statistics still show us at close to full strength, despite the dwindling jobs in our vital logging, fishing, and manufacturing sectors. There are even some financial analysts so bold as to aver that Canada will manage to avoid the depths of a recession, that we're already in recovery mode.

Still a deficit is forecast for the coming years, largely imposed by frantic soothsayers called financial experts stampeding government into emergency measures to extend credit here, there and everywhere, and discharge government obligation to uphold the economy. Extending funding for infrastructure renewal is excellent. For failing corporations whose own lack of acumen in business basics, not so much.

We may still have a surplus of $6-billion for the last fiscal year before we go into deficit overdrive. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has promised tax relief, and that may come through in the form of permanent tax cuts. The Conservatives, as a minority governing body, have managed to retire $37-billion in debt since 2006.

Which stands in danger of being wiped out in one fell swoop if the decision is made to extend excessively-generous government initiatives not really required to boost the economy at all. Successive Liberal and Conservative governments managed to retire about $105-billion over an 11-year period. The federal debt is about $457-billion, representing the lowest in the G7.

We're in good shape. No need to panic. No need, other than for political manoeuvring for Liberal leader George Ignatieff to promise that if Prime Minister Harper isn't sufficiently attuned to Mr. Ignatieff's idea of what Canada needs at this juncture, in the budget, he's on notice that the budget will be rejected. Consultations have taken place; they will be taken into account.

Rest easy. True, we don't need an election. But nor do we need a Liberal leader who feels it incumbent on himself to pronounce that he has the option of leading a coalition government, bringing down the current government. He isn't keen on an election, would prefer to bypass the democratic process, and still avail himself.

He's becoming altogether too comfortable foregoing the democratic process; it worked very well indeed for him, in the last instance, when he ascended to the leadership without the annoying process of a democratic vote. Canadians don't appreciate his pompous statement that "The choice is up to Mr. Harper. It's up to him to make the right decision, and up to me to decide if he made it."

Matter of fact, it is up to the electorate. Back to basics. This is a democracy. Have a need to govern? Undergo the democratic electoral process. Assess the budget reasonably, stop throwing inconsiderable weight around. Grow up.