A Commentary by Doug Draper
If you have spent any length of time driving around the Ontario side of our greater Niagara region over the past year, you have no doubt seen or at least passed signs advertising ‘economic Action Plan’ projects paid for, in part, through the Canadian federal government’s dispersion of our tax dollars.
This federal 'Action Plan' sign lines a main road to the parking lot of Brock University where our taxes are contributing to the building of new facilities there.
Those signs posted across the Canadian landscape – a few of them highlighted here – make up a good chunk of a record $130 million Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Conservatives spent on advertising themselves in the 2009/2010 fiscal year ending this past March, according to a wave of recent stories in The Globe and Mail and other mainstream media. And God, or maybe only Harper, knows how much more of our money will be spent on federal government ads in this 2010/2011 fiscal year with an election looming sometime in the not-to-distant future.
What should concern all of is that this Conservative government also markets itself as the one and only party of fiscal responsibility in Canada. Yet they’ve now spent an amount on promotion that well surpasses the previous $111-million record set by the former federal Liberal government in 2002-2003. Harper and his Conservatives pounded the Liberals, as they should have, over that one.
Of course, a good deal of the anger over the Liberal pig-out came in the wake of reports that the money – our money – was going to people in the marketing world that happened to be their political friends. Which should beg the question. Who is profiting from the $130 million the Harper Conservatives spent on marketing last fiscal year and the millions they are no doubt spending in the months coming up to a possible election?
Another 'Action Plan' sign, advertising the spending of our money on an infrastructure project in Thorold, Ontario, just a few minutes drive away from that sign featured above at Brock University.
The other thing all Canadians, regardless of their political stripes, should be concerned about is that, according to reports in the Canadian Press and other media, the Conservatives’ marketing campaign, right down to and including where those ‘Action Plan’ signs should go, is micro managed through the prime minister’s office.
Now one would think that with a great recession, joblessness, a $54 billion deficit, an ongoing war in Afghanistan that is costing us billions of dollars that could be spent on health care and other programs at home, not to mention costing young Canadian lives, and all the other challenges we face in this country, the prime minister’s office would have enough on its plate outside of p.r. campaigns. But apparently not.
What we should all remember in the end, regardless of what party is in power, is that when government is spending our dollars on needed projects in our community; those ARE our dollars – not those of the politicians who happen to be there for a photo opportunity while they make the announcement. Too often, those politicians make those announcements as if it is their money they are spending and if it is some kind of magnanimous gesture on their part.
Enough of this crap. We should all call the MPs in our ridings and express outrage over this record $130-million advertising budget and warn any government that continues to spend our money so frivolously that it will not be in power for very long.
(Visit Niagara At Large at www.niagaraatlarge.com for more news and commentary for residents in our greater binational Niagara area.)
Niagara At Large 
Harper and his Conservatives, That pretty much sums up the political commentary or what passes for political commentary. Replace “Harper and his Conservatives” with any other party the commentary goes silent..
From what I read in the press the other two lame ducks, Iggy and Taliban Jack can more or less roll around on the floor of the Commons and little mention will be made..
Just a reminder for all those with short memories
Liberal Boondoggles and Scandals
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Broken 1993 Campaign Promise Remove GST: $100 Billion +??
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Tainted Blood Secret $Millions
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Firearms Boondoggle: $2 Billion +
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Jane Stewart HRDC Scandal: $1 Billion
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Jean Chretien Shawinigate: $780 thousand +
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Employment Insurance Ripoff: $40 billion +
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7 year failure to report the occurring GST fraud: $1 billion +
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Helicopter Cancellation: $500 million
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Under funded Armed Forces: $Billions
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The Election Gag Law: Silencing Canadians 1
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Un-tendered contract Bombardier: $100 million
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Allan Rock Misrepresentation of the 1993 RCMP Statistics: Criminal
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Radwanski – Privacy Commissioner double billing expenses $Thousands +
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Somalia Inquiry: Gov’t Cover-up 1
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APEC Inquiry: Gov’t Cover-up 1
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Paul Martin’s CSL contracts: $161 Million
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Gov.Gen. Adrianne Clarkson: $41 million 1
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Administration of Abuse Claims: $200 million 1
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Toilet Paper Purchase: $36 million 1
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Secret Unity Fund: $500 million 1
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Quebec Sponsorship Kickback to Liberal Party: $250 million +
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Arar Inquiry – CSIS Cover-up: Insult/Cover-up
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Kyoto: $10 BILLION
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Air India – not calling an Inquiry: Insult/Cover-up
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Olympic Expense Scandal $340 thousand + 1
All on the Liberal watch.
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We are so used to big government using our money for self promotion and get so little of it back, it usually goes to that black hole called Quebec La Belle Province, who are never satisfied with whatever they get, it is never enough, when we get a few crumbs here in Ontario we tend to forget who they got the money from in the first place.It is like tax time if we get a refund we are sooo! grateful that they don’t squeeze more juice out of us,until our eyes pop. How paternalistic government is ,shades of Kim Jon Ill North Korea.the source of all good things,would you like some propaganda with your fries? George
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Excellent commentary Doug. I just returned from a vacation out west. Among countless Economic Action Plan signs I saw was one at the top of the Banff Gondola ride. What a way to spoil a view!
Apparently Wayne did not read your article before firing off his diatribe. This self-promotion should be offensive to all Canadian taxpayers no matter their political stripe, but considering the HarperCons. promises of transparency and accountability, this is particularly galling.
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So, Mr. Lymburner, the big difference between present and past governments, a difference that you so carefully ignore, is that Harper came to power with explicit promises of transparency, accountability and, of course, the big promise of being ultra-careful with our hard-earned tax dollars. His Conservative/Reformer coalition was supposed to clean up the boondoggles of the past and bring us a pristine government that would be so lily-white we would gaze in awe at its splendid vision and accomplishments. They claimed to be an upstanding, righteous bunch, with their solid Christian values and their biblical dictums of honesty and truth.
Guess they were just kidding after all, eh?
Because look what they have given us instead? They inherited a $13.2 billion surplus from the Liberals in 2006 and by the end of this year will have turned it into a projected $55.9 billion deficit. Fiscal conservatives? Good money managers? Really? Just who do they think they are they kidding?
Among their recent noble achievements is the $1 billion plus boondoggle – for security costs alone – putting the country’s largest city under siege for 3 days for an asinine, ill-conceived junket with other heads of state. And to *prove* it was worth the money they threw a thousand mostly innocent protestors in jail for a few hours, in a sham exercise to justify their outrageous waste of tax dollars.
And in this time of austerity, with the threat of a double-dip recession looming over us, they continue to spend like drunken sailors. They are *stupid on crime*, promising billions on unnecessary prisons to lock away those perpetrators of unreported crimes. And another $16 billion on new jets (untendered) to fight those peskie Ruskies. Where DO they get off thinking they can squander our money like this?
Which brings me to those outrageous signs, the signs that you fail to comment on in any way, deflecting instead to past government injustices and excesses. Why didn’t you actually address the topic of THIS article -the obscenity of thousands upon thousands of these crap signs installed (and meticulously counted) at a huge cost to taxpayers, solely to promote the Partay of Harper. There they stand, these ugly billboards, up and down the highways of the land, extolling the supposed virtues of an economic action plan that wasn’t even this government’s idea (“recession, what recession?”). These ghastly signs are a blot on the landscape, an abomination to the eye, a stark symbol of every failed promise of these Reformer politicians. These signs stand, in their shame, for everything that is wrong in our Brave New Harperland.
I sincerely hope that by the time an election is called, the people of Canada look around them and truly see the incredible waste foisted on them with these hideous monuments to Harper government arrogance. I have faith that Canadians will clearly see the spin and the lies we have been fed for the last four years after false promises of transparency and accountability. And I trust that they will then throw these self-aggrandized, sign-making cads out on their sorry ears!
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I agree in part with the first comment but ALL parties are in it for their own benefit, not ours. Anyone who thinks ANY politicians of ANY party are honest or honourable (after all most are lawyers – need we say more?) must be pretty gullible.
As for the second comment, Quebec is definitely a black hole and one that is indescribably corrupt to boot but keep threatening to leave and the money pours in.
The government is VERY generous with our hard earned cash, continues to give itself raises and perks the average person can only dream of (notice how often most of these clowns even attend Parliamentary sessions to earn these raises) , is under the financial thumb of big money lobbyists, and then brags about how it is contributing so much money to good causes. All kinds of money goes overseas ( Pakistan – home of flood victims and terrorist haven for example). Then the government has the balls to say they will match our contributions – DUH – they’re matching it by giving OUR money. They make it sound ever so altruistic. The public is never consulted about these generous contributions of OUR money (but it wins votes from segments of the electorate). This is also true with their self promotion expenses. The government should just do what they were elected to do and the advertising and self promotion would be rendered redundant.
Illegal “refugees” soak up dollars galore and those who made this country live on cat food. Then we get an HST dumped upon us. Ah yes, as compensation, couples get back $1000 of their OWN money whereas us singles get $300. That sounds logical to me. I’m glad I don’t have any living expenses and a single fixed retirement income!!!! Again, the politicians go where they will get the majority of votes. Our taxes go up and health and education get gutted. Where are the promotional signs that advertise the closing of hospitals. (I know this is provincial but it is happening all across the country.)
Governments in general are returning to medieval fiefdoms and we poor peasants must just struggle on under the burdens imposed by the wealthy 3.8% of Canadiands who own 67% of our country’s wealth. The remaining hard working 96.2% of us can live it up riotously on the remaining 33%. To my way of thinking that is criminal.
Who is to blame? The creeps in the government and we lazy, apathetic, uneducated, disinterested Canadians who continue to elect them!!!
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http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2009/11/09/bc-us-signs-canadas-economic-action-plan.html
see above link – our dollars spent in USA to make these signs!!!!! how does that
exactly help our economic situation? giving the job to the americans.
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