Don't you wish for Harper now

Garrett said:

lol the point is they are all more qualified than Trudeau. You could argue a chia pet is more qualified than Trudeau, as at least the chia has produced something!

Odd you are not taking issue with our degrading economy and false unemployment numbers.

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Employment numbers are gathered by stats canada EI claims have remained moderate, if the economy was tanking they would start to climb noticably . As for degrading economy I had a great year last year and I am off to my best start ever this year.
" the total number of jobs created in last 12 months up to 327k, with gains split evenly between full-time and part-time roles, which makes for total employment growth of 1.8%. Total hours worked were up by 1.2%.."


https://www.poundsterlinglive.com/c...y-january-unemployment-and-jobs-data-in-focus

jcpro said:

Yes, as a matter of fact. Rob over Smitherman and Doug over the Skeletor- on policy.

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Policy? what policy?

Garrett said:

lol and still more accomplished than Trudeau! Honestly, I do not think you have ever been the same since Patrick Brown would not let you blow him.

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Yeah, you were wrong about that story too. Remember? You blamed the Liberals... LOL!

In fact, why do you bother posting about politics since you're horribly misinformed?

Garrett said:

lol you never think far enough, and if being informed was required to post here, 90% of the posts would be gone.

There is a simple rule that the more people post here, the less their ideas matter in the real world (and you can bet nobody is paying them for their ideas).
At some point, and in all seriousness, I find it very sad.

I debated breaking your balls a little, but it really is pointless. Blowhards and heavy posters care more about their own voice than learning anything.
Here's hoping you get smarter.

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Don't flatter yourself Garrett - you're misinformed and you were totally wrong on the Patrick Brown thread and in the same thread tried to say the exact opposite of your earlier posts once I called you out. Remember? - surprised that you're apparently dumb enough to bring that up while YOU were trying to be a "blowhard" in this thread (and in typical fashion, now you're whining about it).

K Douglas said:

Harper was a good leader and guided us through some tumultuous times. Canada fared better than any other western nation during the economic meltdown of 2008/2009.

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Don't forget it Liberal Policies re banking and bank capitalization that did the job things that Harper fought against while in opposition.

K Douglas said:

1. You're being intellectually dishonest here Captain. Blaming Harper for deficits....really? They had to run deficits during the economic meltdown. By the time he left office there were budget surpluses. Trudeau has since made a mess. And if you did any studying of the U.S. sub prime mortgage crisis you would know it wasn't just deregulation that was the problem. There was also ineffective and over regulation and policies put in place by government agencies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac which fueled the foreclosures. Also didn't the TD and Canada Trust merger happen while Martin was finance minister?

2. Carney was a good Governor of BofC. And yes he's a conservative liberal. Or a liberal conservative. Or a centrist.

3. Flaherty and Harper were chums and had great respect for one another. Harper has an economics background. Don't think he wasn't involved in the guidance. That was part of his micro management nature.

Overall I thought Martin did a good job as Finance Minister. But let's be honest he got into budget surplus territory by cutting the rate increase in provincial transfer payments. That hurt Ontario particularly hard which is why Harris had to find cost savings in the system. Also the mid to late 1990's were boon times economically for most of the advanced economies of the west. That certainly helped.

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Don't forget Harper cut revenues against advice from many economists that a recession was coming he went from a 12 billion surplus to 15 billion deficit a Deficit of 27 billion

K Douglas said:

...

3. Flaherty and Harper were chums and had great respect for one another. Harper has an economics background. Don't think he wasn't involved in the guidance. That was part of his micro management nature.

...

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So much so, Harper forced Flaherty to resign, on account of philosophical differences of opinion on Family Income Tax and such. Yes, great chums. Not. It was plain in one public instance that, before Flaherty resigned, Harper made Flaherty sit through one of Harper's presentations that the Finance Minister should have given.

R.I.P., Jim.

shakenbake said:

So much so, Harper forced Flaherty to resign, on account of philosophical differences of opinion on Family Income Tax and such. Yes, great chums. Not. It was plain in one public instance that, before Flaherty resigned, Harper made Flaherty sit through one of Harper's presentations that the Finance Minister should have given.

R.I.P., Jim.

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That is a load of bullshit. Flaherty resigned due to health concerns. The stress of handling that portfolio during rough waters likely did him in. RIP he was a good guy.

guelph said:

Don't forget Harper cut revenues against advice from many economists that a recession was coming he went from a 12 billion surplus to 15 billion deficit a Deficit of 27 billion

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WTF are you talking about? Harper can't control revenue tax receipts dropped in 2008 and 2009 due to the economic downturn. From 2010 onward they increased more or less at the same rate as pre 2008. The deficits were created mostly due to increase in expenditures.

K Douglas said:

That is a load of bullshit. Flaherty resigned due to health concerns. The stress of handling that portfolio during rough waters likely did him in. RIP he was a good guy.

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Believe what you want, with your political bias. Just stating the facts. Flaherty was healthy enough to have accepted a private sector job after he was forced to resign. That is a fact.

Resignation from Cabinet

On March 18, 2014, Flaherty announced that he was resigning as Minister of Finance in order to return to the private sector. While he had openly discussed health challenges associated with managing bullous pemphigoid, including taking prescription steroids, he said the decision was reached after many months of consultation with his family and that his health was not a factor in his decision.[SUP][51][/SUP][SUP][52][/SUP] Flaherty continued sitting in the House of Commons as an MP until his death three weeks later.[SUP][1][/SUP][SUP][53][/SUP] At the time of his resignation, he had been the honour of being the Longest continuous serving cabinet minister in a single portfolio in the 28th Canadian Ministry.[SUP][54]

[/SUP][SUP]
[/SUP] Published March 18, 2014 Updated June 19, 2017

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, the only one to hold the portfolio during Prime Minister Stephen Harper's time in office, announced on Tuesday he was resigning from cabinet. Below is the statement sent out by his staff.
Yesterday, I informed the Prime Minister that I am resigning from Cabinet. This was a decision I made with my family earlier this year, as I will be returning to the private sector.

I am grateful to Prime Minister Stephen Harper for providing me with the opportunity and responsibility to serve Canadians as their Minister of Finance since 2006, one of the longest serving Finance Ministers in Canadian history. As a government, we achieved great things for Canada and I could never have accomplished what I have as Finance Minister without the full support of Prime Minister Harper.
As I reflect on my almost two decades in politics, I am proud of the accomplishments of the governments I was part of, provincial and federal.

In my time as Finance Minister, I am proud of the work I have done to help manage the deepest economic challenge to face Canada since the depression of the 1930s and ensure Canada emerged stronger and as a recognized economic leader on the international stage.

Along with managing Canada's performance during the global economic crisis, I am pleased our government brought forward positive measures to make Canada one of the world's best places to do business. I am proud to be part of a government that:

I also made it a priority to help improve the well-being of people with disabilities. Our government has worked hard to ensure our country benefits from the talents and abilities of Canadians with disabilities. We improved accessibility through the Enabling Accessibility Fund, provided new investments for people with disabilities to join and contribute to the workforce, and helped improve access to financial independence through programs such as the Registered Disabilities Savings Plan (RDSP).

My goal was always to get Canada back on track to a balanced budget after the large deficit we agreed was necessary in Budget 2009 to combat the Great Recession and protect Canadian jobs. As outlined in Budget 2014, I followed through on that commitment. There is no doubt that Canada's budget will be balanced in 2015. Canada's fiscal position is the envy of the developed world. All Canadians can be proud of the country's performance.

Now, I will focus on life beyond politics as I return to the private sector. I believe that I have served my country, province and constituents of Whitby-Oshawa to the best of my abilities and thank them for their continued trust and support for almost two decades. It has been an honour to serve Canadians with the Prime Minister, Cabinet and caucus colleagues and all Members of Parliament in the House of Commons.

As many of you know, I faced a health issue over this past year. I have received much support and good wishes from Canadians across the country and for that, I am thankful. I am happy to report that I am on the road to a full recovery and the decision to leave politics was not related in any way to my health. This decision was made because it is the right one for me and my family at this time.

I would also like to thank all Canadians who expressed their support and encouragement over my years in public service. I have often said that public service is a noble calling and have encouraged young people, including my own children, to consider it as a worthy career choice. I believe a career in the public service is the most satisfying and personally enriching career you will ever find.

I want to thank my wife Christine and our three sons for their unwavering support during my time in public office. I am lucky to have such a wonderful family.

As I begin another chapter in my life, I leave feeling fulfilled with what we have accomplished as a government and a country during one of the most challenging economic periods in our country's history.
We live in the greatest country in the world, and I want Canadians to know that it has been my honour and my privilege to serve them.

Thank you.

Jim Flaherty

K Douglas said:

WTF are you talking about? Harper can't control revenue tax receipts dropped in 2008 and 2009 due to the economic downturn. From 2010 onward they increased more or less at the same rate as pre 2008. The deficits were created mostly due to increase in expenditures.

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Check the facts Harper cut tax rates HST and Corporate Income Tax in defiance of all advice to the contrary. He then tried fudge results by telling departments not spend their budgets but carry forward expenditures into the next fiscal period

K Douglas said:

That is a load of bullshit. Flaherty resigned due to health concerns. The stress of handling that portfolio during rough waters likely did him in. RIP he was a good guy.

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There was definite friction between Flaherty and Harper in the last months. This might have added to the stress and his health concerns. There were very open rumours of an ideological split surrounding the continued abuse of stimulus funds (the “Action Plan” lasted far longer than Flaherty wanted) as well as disagreements over the handling of the Duffy scandal.

Trivia question: Who was the last person to see Flaherty alive? (Hint, a fellow MP who is a doctor).

K Douglas said:

WTF are you talking about? Harper can't control revenue tax receipts dropped in 2008 and 2009 due to the economic downturn. From 2010 onward they increased more or less at the same rate as pre 2008. The deficits were created mostly due to increase in expenditures.

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He cut the GST and most economists say he gave up a lot of revenue for negligable economic benefit

K Douglas said:

That is a load of bullshit. Flaherty resigned due to health concerns. The stress of handling that portfolio during rough waters likely did him in. RIP he was a good guy.

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Flaherty did not hesitate to throw his own province under the bus to hurt the Liberal govt. The he gave BILLIONS to GM to bail out the pensioners in his own riding and did squat for NOrtel or other pensioners who lost their pensions. Can't say I liked him very much at all. He was also the anti-Paul martin in that he squandered a surplus into deficit.