Smells like Karl Rove Spirit

Recent media leaks that the government may be thinking of extending the income splitting it recently provided to senior couples to all couples is indicative of the desperation emanating from the PMO.

This past week we have been exposed to all kinds of indicators of a Prime Minister who recognizes that things definately are not going his way. With recent polls showing that a leaderless Liberal party has now passed the Conservatives in voter support, it is no wonder that Steven Harper has turned to discriminatory policies as an attempt to win the vote from his hard core supporters; married couples who care more about their own wallets than they do about anything else. The types of couples who move to the suburbs surrounding our cities in order to escape the civic duty of paying the higher property taxes which accompany the benefits provided by living in a city, while still taking in the economic benefits of living and working in the region of a major urban centre. Such couples contribute to the massive problem of urban sprawl and now we are learning that the government wishes to give them tax preferrence over singles.

This development should be of no surprise to anyone, this government from day one has cared little for governing Canada as a whole, rather it caters to the interests of its core supporters in every policy announcement. It is all too evident that the current government is no different than the one which preceded it, all they care about is how to get re-elected, and preferably with a majority so Canada can really see what this party has in store for it.

If one pays close attention to everyday political events it is all too obvious how hypocritical this government has become as it sniffs around for any vote that might be available for purchase. One one hand Mr. Harper claimed that his government would not sell out Canadian principles for the almighty dollar in his dealings with China. Yet when it comes to environmental policy and the laughable Clean Air Act, what has Mr. Harper done if not cave in to the pressures of the large industrial companies? On one hand Mr. Harper wishes to be seen as the defender of human rights against the indefensible and brutal acts of China. Yet Mr. Harper seems oddly silent on the human rights abuses by the United States seen in pictures from Abu Ghraib in Iraq and whisperings of abuses from the modern day ghulag of Guantanamo Bay. The Conservatives claim to defend Canadian values which according to polls do include concerns over the environment and issues like global climate change, and yet the government has removed its climate change website and put forward weak legislation in the Clean Air Act while waffling on Canada's Kyoto responsibilities.

It is sad really, to see how quickly the party which campaigned on a promise of change has reverted to familiar political games of hide and seek. One can only hope that in the next election most Canadians will see the Conservative party for what it truly is. One has to believe that Canadians will vote with the interests of the nation and indeed the health of the planet in mind, rather than voting for divisive and discriminatory tax breaks which are tantamount to nothing less than voter bribary in my estimations.