NDP Candidate Katy Austin Argues that Conservatives Can’t Take Credit for the Economy
The Conservative party is playing fast and loose with the facts when it claims credit for minimizing the effects of the global recession on Canada. The real reason we did not experience the financial meltdown that the U.S. did is that previous governments had maintained the regulations which kept our banks and stock markets stable.
When the Conservatives took power in 2006, the country had a $13 billion surplus. By the time the recession hit in 2008, it had dwindled to $200 million, leaving no cushion for hard times. Shortly after re-election in October, 2008, the Conservatives put forth a budget which essentially ignored the need for a stimulus package to create jobs. It was that shortcoming that made the opposition parties decide to try a coalition. The Conservatives prorogued Parliament and returned in late January with a budget outlining a stimulus package. If they had had a majority, who knows what would have happened? Minority governments can make good things happen.
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