While the federal government may be putting the clamps on all things Parks Canada during the present national election campaign, we have noticed the same can’t be said for campaign promises.
Complaints and concerns have been raised for some time now about the manner in which the federal Conservative government under Prime Minister Stephen Harper has limited comment from its own scientists and via other federal departments.
We suppose from the Harper regime’s point of view, and it seems to have run this way for some time now, it’s better to have nobody under the government’s umbrella saying anything – all the better to not lay speed bumps in the path of the Conservative campaign machine … kinda reminds one of the arrogance shown in this province by the former government Conservatives.
How unfortunate for Harper’s Conservatives then, that for weeks now the ongoing saga of who paid Senator Mike Duffy’s $90,000 in expenses trial has been a daily feed via national media outlets. Unlike the government’s own departments, at least the court system is out of reach for message manipulation.
Unfortunately for the public, but fortunately for Harper, it appears the Duffy trial will be on hold for several months.
So, while Parks may not be able to comment on where dollars will be spent in Lake Louise for transportation, for example, or on what (buses, signage, a new gondola?), or on how its excellent warden service hauled yet another sad sack out of the backcountry, or how its highly trained wildlife managers dealt with a human/wildlife interacation and stopped it from being a negative incident, Harper can always trot out another promise to spend millions or billions on some new program as part of his campaign.
Really, now that we’re into a nearly three month long election campaign, can anybody keep track of all the money the parties are vowing to spend? Or is that the point?
From what we’ve seen so far, and maybe all parties are just pacing themselves, waiting to get to the meat of matters as election day looms, so far, campaigning has been all about spending money – at a time when this country’s economy has a rather dim aura about it.
Odd, isn’t it, that no matter how bad things seem, or what a governing party promised during the prior three or so years of a mandate, there’s nothing but money to spend come election time.
No matter the country’s economic situation, there always seems to be billions available in promises.
What we’d rather hear about is job creation, making more with less, maybe a pledge to go big with alternative energy resources, rather than rely on oil and gas big business as an economic generator. So many other countries are embracing alternative energy sources like wind, solar, wave energy, alternative fuels, etc. but in Canada we keep protecting the oil and gas industry. Rather than taking the commonsense step of being a leader in all manner of energy creation, we hang onto oil and gas like it’s a forever commodity, rather than a commodity that’s rapidly running out.
As the election campaign wears on, and on, and on … let’s hope we all hear more creative solutions to clearly visible problems like Aboriginal issues, affordable education and the strengthening of the diminished middle class in this country.
