“Election 2004 Gives Canadians Reason to Hope ”

May 19, 2004

Let’s face it. Canadians are again heading into a federal election in a sceptical mood. The trend that resulted in the lowest voter-turnout in modern history in the last federal election threatens to continue. People are cynical about elections, suspicious of politicians and indifferent to campaign slogans. So it would be understandable if many people reading this article were to roll their eyes when I state that ‘Election 2004 is about hope’.

Allow me to defend my optimism by outlining the utter state of hopelessness currently facing Canadian taxpayers, particularly the middle class. Think about it. The average Canadian family gives up fully 47 percent of their income to pay taxes. Almost half of everything they work for goes to some form of government.

You’ll hear arguments that those taxes are well worth it. That in return for our tax dollars, we receive essential and valuable public services. Really? Let’s take a look at what half of our income is getting us.

Our healthcare system is in critical condition. Waiting lists for essential medical treatments, tests and surgery continue to grow. There aren’t enough nurses. Residents in many Canadian communities can’t even find a family doctor. And how about those roads and highways? Potholes in even the wealthiest of cities are commonplace, even while the federal government continues to collect billions in fuel taxes.

It does sound rather hopeless especially when Canadians are bracing themselves for more provincial and municipal tax hikes. How much more can they give? Where is all your money going?

Well, we can’t be entirely certain. Under the federal Liberal government roughly $55-billion in spending is subject to scrutiny by Parliament. However total annual federal spending is $186-billion. That means $131-billion of your tax dollars is spent each year with completely inadequate accountability.

So where does my promise for hope come from? For the first time in many years, there is a real opportunity for a change in government. A strong, united, viable opposition. No vote-splitting. One fiscally conservative voice. Last week, Stephen Harper unveiled the Conservative Party of Canada’s plan to cut $18-billion in taxes. For the average Canadian family earning $50,000 that means a tax cut of at least $1,000.

The Liberals claim that tax cuts would mean they’d have to make further cuts to federal healthcare funding. Make no mistake, the Liberal Party of Canada chose to fund the HRDC boondoggle, the gun registry fiasco, the sponsorship scam, the Prime Minister’s secret unity fund, and continued corporate welfare. Billions of dollars that came out of your pocket, but didn’t end up in our healthcare or education systems.

In contrast, the Conservative Party is choosing healthcare over these Liberal pet projects and there will still be money leftover. It’s a Conservative philosophy that says you should know where all of your money is spent and that it should buy more than substandard healthcare and social services that don’t meet society’s needs.

So yes, Election 2004 is about hope. Hope that a political party with a real chance at forming government wants to bring relief to all Canadians by providing a smaller, more efficient government that works!