Commentary
When the Toronto Star's Tom Walkom gives muted praised to the government of Stephen Harper for steering us through the recession — this coming after the tabling of last week's federal budget — then a dramatic sea change has taken place.
But you win some and you lose some.
No sooner had the budget lockdown been lifted that the Canadian Taxpayers Federation — as right wing as they come — was all over Harper for not cutting spending immediately and work towards balancing the federal budget.
“The deficits of today are the taxes of tomorrow,” said the federation's director, Kevin Gaudet.
And he is dead on the money with that one.
Remember the deficit that Trudeau left us? Seems, though, that it is easier to forgive iconic Liberal spenders than it is give credit to a non-charismatic Tory with some fiscal sense.
This country's growth the last quarter was 5% of the GDP, and there are countries around the world who would love to in that league — countries like Greece, Spain and Portugal who are in deep danger on defaulting on their debt.
Canada, on the other hand, is prospering. Housing prices remain hot everywhere. The interest rate is at rock bottom. Inflation is low. And unemployment, while high, is still below the recession levels in the '80s and '90s.
For that, we should be grateful.
