My concern for the coalition is not so much the separatists. They might get a temporary shot in the arm but that can be remedied over time by keeping them on the opposition benches for another decade or so. The more immediate concern is allowing the NDP access to the till. I am sincerely concerned that the coalition is using the excuse of the economic downturn to ram through expensive social programs and pet projects.
Now I'll admit that I have my doubts about high speed rail and the feds funding urban transit. But I do agree that we need to invest in our infrastructure. Unfortunately, high speed rail and subway lines with 10 year time frames do very little to provide stimulus. Indeed, that's exactly why they are not being proposed as part of the Obama stimulus plan. There is no talk of undertaking a responsible stimulus which would be tackling things that can be done immediately....by tackling deferred maintenance on our post-secondary education infrastructure (6 billion dollar backlog), defence infrastructure (2 billion), buildings and facilities under federal jurisdiction (ports, airports, heritage buildings, federal offices, etc.), infrastructure on first nations reservations. Combined all that expenditure, under federal jurisdiction alone could easily top 10 billion, be distributed throughout Canada, and be underway in months.
Investment in urban transit, water infrastructure, etc. is certainly necessary over the long term, but it will provide no stimulus, because by the time the first shovel is in the ground this recession will be over and all the government will be doing is inflating the boom that follows. Worse still is the proposal for various social programs like child care. They pass them off as stimulus. But what happens when the recession ends. Who pays for them then? It'll be another program to severely damage the fiscal positions of the provinces....if the provinces agree to these programs. All these are certainly needed but if we are going to implement, let's have the discussion of how we should pay for them, not ram them through on the credit card.
As for Harper, one hopes he's brilliant enough to figure out that he has irreparably damaged his career, and caused recoverable but severe damage to the Conservative Party and Canad. It's time for him to resign and give up the reigns of the CPC to somebody more moderate/centrist.