THE LONGEST CONSERVATIVE MINORITY GOVERNMENT... EVER
As I pointed out the other day, as of October 29th, the current Harper government is the longest Conservative minority government of all time. That is not a fact that any Conservative should be bragging about by any means. Harper became Prime Minister on Feb. 6, 2006 making this past Wednesday the 10 month mark in his reign. When the Conservatives first took office someone told me that it would only be for 18 months. And while it may be less than 8 months before the next election is called Harper will be in office for much longer than that. I know that back in October I posted a rant about how Harper's time as government was going but today I just wanted to talk about what they have actually done so far in the ten months they have been around.
Say what you want about the whole Quebec being a 'nation within Canada' and the same-sex marriage issue, I'm talking about everything else that the Conservatives have done since being elected in January. Critics thought that Harper wouldn't be able to get any of his legislation passed with a minority government but he certainly is trying. Let me give you a few examples.
Parliament reconvened in April with the new Conservative government. Between then and now a lot has been done. The federal accountability act has been introduced to prevent things such as the sponsorship scandal from ever happening again. The GST was cut from 7% down to 6% as promised with a promise of it going down to 5% in the future. There were a number of new laws to crack down on crime: the elimination of house arrest for possible sentences for violent crime, much harsher sentences for repeat offenders, stronger stance on gun related crimes. Finally, a formal apology to the Chinese-Canadian community for the head taxes charged to Chinese immigrants from 1885-1923. And that was all just from the Speech from the Throne.
At the end of April the Conservative government was able to finally reach a deal in the softwood lumber dispute with the US after it has plagued the Liberal government for many years. At the beginning of May the first Conservative budget came through that included the GST cut, the new child-care allowance along with $250M to help create new child-care spaces beginning in 2007, and an increase in military spending which was fledgling along under the Liberals.
There were two new crime bill introduced in the House of Commons: one to input mandatory minimum sentences for crime and the other to eliminate conditional sentences for violent crime. Also in May Canada's involvement in Afghanistan was extended by two years as the ever important UN mission there continues. The Conservatives eliminated the ridiculous gun registry that the Liberals wasted over $1B on that went nowhere. More crime controls came into affect with the criminalization of street racing and the raising of the legal age of consent from 14 to 16.
Military spending included $1.2B on new trucks, $8.3B for new aircraft, and 3 new navy ships. There were measures introduced to make it harder for criminals to seek parole. Canada's international efforts were increased by money sent to help aid Afghan farmers, money sent to aid Darfur, and $25M sent to aid Lebanon after the Israeli attacks. Democratic reform seems to be on the agenda with promises to introduce legislation to have fixed election dates and elected senators.
When Parliament reconvened in September there were even more issues brought forth. The Conservatives introduced new legislation that allows us to label repeat offenders as 'dangerous offenders' so that they will not get back out after repeat offenses. The new Canada's Clean Air Act was introduced to help lower pollution and greenhouse gases. New legislation cracks down on drug-impaired driving to make it as illegal as alcohol-impaired driving.
There are certain issues of national importance that certain parties are recognized as being "the best" at dealing with. Issues like national security, national defense, crime controls, and taxes are strong points of almost any Conservative government and that is definitely expressed here. But this government has been able to branch out and include important legislation about other important issues too such as the environment, national unity, and fixing all of the Liberals many mistakes.
All of these ideas have been introduced into the House of Commons but what kind of results are we seeing as Canadians. Of all this proposed legislation what has actually been passed and made into law. The throne speech and budget were passed so everything in there is now in effect such as the tax cuts and so forth. As for all of the crime control legislation and the accountability act, well the Liberal government is trying to stall it for as long as it can. Why? I'm not sure. There is not one of these laws that I disagree with and I can't see why other people would disagree with them so why are they blocking them? Maybe it's because the Conservatives are doing a better job in power than the Liberals have been for the past decade or so and they don't want people to realize this. Right now as I speak Harper is introducing a $300M plan to eliminate the use of toxic chemicals in Canada. Results... I see them.
- DCM
Say what you want about the whole Quebec being a 'nation within Canada' and the same-sex marriage issue, I'm talking about everything else that the Conservatives have done since being elected in January. Critics thought that Harper wouldn't be able to get any of his legislation passed with a minority government but he certainly is trying. Let me give you a few examples.
Parliament reconvened in April with the new Conservative government. Between then and now a lot has been done. The federal accountability act has been introduced to prevent things such as the sponsorship scandal from ever happening again. The GST was cut from 7% down to 6% as promised with a promise of it going down to 5% in the future. There were a number of new laws to crack down on crime: the elimination of house arrest for possible sentences for violent crime, much harsher sentences for repeat offenders, stronger stance on gun related crimes. Finally, a formal apology to the Chinese-Canadian community for the head taxes charged to Chinese immigrants from 1885-1923. And that was all just from the Speech from the Throne.
At the end of April the Conservative government was able to finally reach a deal in the softwood lumber dispute with the US after it has plagued the Liberal government for many years. At the beginning of May the first Conservative budget came through that included the GST cut, the new child-care allowance along with $250M to help create new child-care spaces beginning in 2007, and an increase in military spending which was fledgling along under the Liberals.
There were two new crime bill introduced in the House of Commons: one to input mandatory minimum sentences for crime and the other to eliminate conditional sentences for violent crime. Also in May Canada's involvement in Afghanistan was extended by two years as the ever important UN mission there continues. The Conservatives eliminated the ridiculous gun registry that the Liberals wasted over $1B on that went nowhere. More crime controls came into affect with the criminalization of street racing and the raising of the legal age of consent from 14 to 16.
Military spending included $1.2B on new trucks, $8.3B for new aircraft, and 3 new navy ships. There were measures introduced to make it harder for criminals to seek parole. Canada's international efforts were increased by money sent to help aid Afghan farmers, money sent to aid Darfur, and $25M sent to aid Lebanon after the Israeli attacks. Democratic reform seems to be on the agenda with promises to introduce legislation to have fixed election dates and elected senators.
When Parliament reconvened in September there were even more issues brought forth. The Conservatives introduced new legislation that allows us to label repeat offenders as 'dangerous offenders' so that they will not get back out after repeat offenses. The new Canada's Clean Air Act was introduced to help lower pollution and greenhouse gases. New legislation cracks down on drug-impaired driving to make it as illegal as alcohol-impaired driving.
There are certain issues of national importance that certain parties are recognized as being "the best" at dealing with. Issues like national security, national defense, crime controls, and taxes are strong points of almost any Conservative government and that is definitely expressed here. But this government has been able to branch out and include important legislation about other important issues too such as the environment, national unity, and fixing all of the Liberals many mistakes.
All of these ideas have been introduced into the House of Commons but what kind of results are we seeing as Canadians. Of all this proposed legislation what has actually been passed and made into law. The throne speech and budget were passed so everything in there is now in effect such as the tax cuts and so forth. As for all of the crime control legislation and the accountability act, well the Liberal government is trying to stall it for as long as it can. Why? I'm not sure. There is not one of these laws that I disagree with and I can't see why other people would disagree with them so why are they blocking them? Maybe it's because the Conservatives are doing a better job in power than the Liberals have been for the past decade or so and they don't want people to realize this. Right now as I speak Harper is introducing a $300M plan to eliminate the use of toxic chemicals in Canada. Results... I see them.
- DCM
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