The Conservatives have announced that Ottawa is going to waive gun registry fees. "Documents obtained by CBC News under access to information show the federal government's decision to waive fees for people licensing their firearms will cost more than $15 million this year alone. Should the fee waiver be extended for another three years, internal forecasts predict an additional $60 million in "projected lost revenue."
Contrast that value of $60 million with the $30 million that they were envisaging on saving in December with the elimination of federal subsidies for the parties. It's double. At the time, the Conservatives were adamant that the subsidies were a case of fiscal mismanagement. They needed to be eliminated in a time of economic frailty, as they were a case of unnecessary spending.
Now they're engaging in unnecessary and unwise cuts that fly right in the face of principles advocated in December last year. Seems that it's more the politics that are important.
Cutting the funding to political parties was popular with Harper's base. Scraping the gun registry, or making it ineffective, is another policy popular with it.
Clearly, Stephen Harper is using the finances of the nation for his own political gains, again, instead of for good policy. Recommend this Post at Progressive Bloggers If you liked this post, please vote for my blog at Canadian Blogosphere
Call it a cash loser, a money pit, and no tax-payers will support it. Harper will please/appease his base, and also hope to tack the label "tax and spend" on the Liberals when we take power (likely in a minority), and end up having to charge these fees again.
ReplyDeleteIt's part of the overall CONservative strategy: Deplete departments. Destroy Ottawa, and Parliament. Tear everything assunder.. Then sit back, and force a new Liberal government to raise taxes, set fees, etc., to help keep the country from bankruptcy.
Luckily - for us - there are still sane taxpayers out there - who will support putting fees on the program - and keeping it around, when there is a Liberal Government. Sane taxpayers who understand where our schools, hospitals, roads, airports, and social services come from...
We are in a war of philosophy... A war we MUST win - at the peril of losing our nation and national identity.
I couldn't agree more.
ReplyDeleteI am happier with the money in my wallet though instead of the government.
ReplyDeleteThe question is how much money in your wallet and how much to the government. And the amount is becoming less and less to the government. Too little money is going to the government.
ReplyDelete