Harper: the right choice at the right time

The week when the opposition had it within it's power to keep this Parliament going, we urged in this space that reason prevail. We urged that Canadians be spared a needless waste of $350 million on an election nobody wanted and this nation did not need. Our plea, and those of so many others, went unneeded.

Now the hour of decision is upon us. Just as there was no justification for ending this past Parliament, there is no justification in changing governments. It is not the policy of The Suburban to give endorsements in every election. But we feel endorsing the Harper government in this election has an import equal to our endorsement of the Equality Party in Quebec and the strong positions we took in both referendums.we believe this Conservative government best reflects Canadian values, provides robust leadership and is the best defender of a united Canada.

 Under this Prime Minister Canada has restored purpose and principle in our foreign and defense policies. Not only have we had  deeper and broader engagement in democratic development throughout the world, we are finally shouldering our fair share to ensure the survival and success of liberty. We are punching above our weight. And in international fora, Canada does not pander to anti-Western sentiment just to cozy up to rogue states right to be wrong nor equivocate on protecting smaller sister democracies like Israel. We are finally nobody's "yes man." Our decisions are based on an unflinching moral compass, and even at the UN Canada fears no state in telling that body it is wrong when it is. 

Canada did not fail to gain a seat on the Security Council because of its support for Israel, nor for any other of its democratic principles. It failed because all of the autocratic regimes ganged up and voted against Canada, and the Prime Minister’s critics know it.

Economically, Prime Minister Harper's stewardship has been without peer in the developed world. The opposition's criticisms that we are in a deficit are specious arguments. All western nations are in deficit because of the need for stimulus spending after the 2008 crash. The opposition actually wanted more spending which would have resulted in an even bigger deficit. The Prime Minister's mix has been just right. Not too cold.

Not too hot. It has made us the envy of the world. The corporate tax cuts he has proposed are essential to guarantee that our economic recovery and growth continues unabated. They will allow Canadian companies to invest in themselves, grow and create more jobs for Canadians. Harper is our only alternative to the tax and spend chaos of the left.

On the social agenda, the Harper administration has taken resolute steps on two matters of primordial concern to our community. The government is restoring funding on health care to record levels to give Quebec all the financial assets to fix the problems in our provincial system. Secondly, the Harper government has been the first in years to address the problems of non-francophone rights in Quebec. The Commission it created, co-chaired by Quebec Sen. Andrée Champagne, boldly stated that the civil rights of non-francophones in Quebec were being abused and went so far as to recommend that the federal government send some transfer monies directly to groups working to protect non-francophones rather than to the Quebec bureaucracy. That's the kind of pragmatic federal intervention we need. Action, not just words.

There is one final compelling reason to vote for the Harper government. Just as the Conservative numbers are rising, so too are NDP numbers particularly here in Quebec. If we are witnessing a rising tide of the statocratic left that would engage in the most suffocating social engineering constricting individual imperatives with collectivist yokes, we need this government back to protect the sovereignty of individual worth and dignity. We must beat back new experiments in social engineering that have drained us morally and materially in the past and will do so in the future. Only Stephen Harper is committed unconditionally to this goal.

 Stephen Harper is a leader in the classic sense of the word. His policies are based on his principles. He is not swayed by daily polls.

The choice has rarely been clearer. The issues rarely more vital.  In the end we need to support the team that wins for us, and at this time in our nation's history it is Stephen Harper's Conservatives. He deserves a full mandate to govern. If people are not satisfied in four years they can vote differently. But this country needs stability after three elections in five years. It is time to give him a chance. He has earned it.