Talk is cheap

Remember during the election, how Stephen Harper assured us that our economic fundamentals were strong? And how there was no way we were in recession, because if it was going to happen, we would have already been in one? And how this downturn in the market meant great buying opportunities? Because he’s an economist, don’t you know?

Um, well, he’s certainly singing a different tune these days. Suddenly, he’s never seen such economic uncertainty, and we might even be on the way to a depression, even though we learned enough lessons in the thirties to avoid it. Oh, and we’re going to have to spend ourselves into deficit.

Wait, doesn’t this dire talk mean that he’s badmouthing Canada?

Meanwhile, Jim Flaherty is out in Saskatoon today to meet with his provincial and territorial counterparts. All part of looking like he’s actually listening to people’s concerns, but as Scott Brison said of these pre-budget ‘consultations’ – “Talk is cheap.”

The Canadian Press wanted to know just what Canadians thought of Michael Ignatieff’s ascension to the Liberal leadership throne one week later, and so far, the numbers are looking good. Most Canadians don’t really care about how he got there – they’re just glad he ‘s there.

And finally, John Baird is getting set to start planning those infrastructure spending photo ops, by meeting with his counterparts in Atlantic Canada yesterday. They’re still sorting out the red tape, and I suspect it has a lot more to do with Baird and the PMO trying to cherry-pick projects that either benefit Conservative ridings or which look impressive enough to look like they’re doing more than they really are. But maybe I’m just cynical like that.