Pubdate: Wed, 14 Oct 2015
Source: Toronto Sun (CN ON)
Copyright: 2015 Canoe Limited Partnership
Contact: http://www.torontosun.com/letter-to-editor
Website: http://torontosun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/457
Author: Joe Warmington
Page: 22

HARPER CONFIDENT 'PEOPLE ARE SMART'

We have learned Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau is in favour of
loosening rules on marijuana and approves of safe heroin injection
sites, as well.

He's also for wearing the niqab at citizenship ceremonies and for
convicted terrorists keeping their Canadian citizenship.

Justin supports withdrawing from NATO responsibilities with allies
including sending over sleeping bags instead of fighter jets. He is
also opposed to the plan to purchase F-35 fighters from the United
States.

He'll run up multibillion-dollar deficits to fund infrastructure
projects, insisting the expenditure will stimulate the economy and job
growth. He's in favour of Premier Kathleen Wynne's Ontario pension
plan, higher EI premiums and carbon taxes.

Meanwhile, Justin is against Harper's universal family child payments,
income splitting for families, tax-free savings accounts and mandatory
prison time for serious crimes.

He has said things like he has "admiration" for China's "basic
dictatorship," that he may reopen an embassy in Iran, that Quebecers
are "better" than other Canadians, and a "large percentage of small
businesses are actually just ways for wealthier Canadians to save on
their taxes."

Trudeau said deficits are a way to measure a government's success,
that "budgets balance themselves" and did not attend his party's
$146.5-billion economic platform announcement. He's admitted to
smoking marijuana, not in his youth, but at a dinner party at his home.

You can imagine the kind of scrutiny that would ensue if former mayor
Rob Ford had said or done any of the above.

Or Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Trudeau has not been held back for any of his stances, behaviour or
comments.

There is a different standard for him, just like his father Pierre
Elliot Trudeau had during Trudeaumania.

And that's the challenge the Conservatives have in this last week of
the election campaign.

Does steady but perhaps not too exciting governance do it for
Canadians or are they going to make a change and give the keys to the
country to someone who does draw a crowd and has movie star charisma
but lacks depth or experience?

Harper told me Sunday he thinks people are going to see through the
smoke.

"People are smart," he said, adding they know what it means for a
government to spend money we don't have. He believes people realize
politicians who promise higher taxes for the wealthy are also going to
dig deeper into everybody's pockets.

"Do voters really want to replace benefits they have with a bunch of
deficits and things are going to be taken away, do they really want to
replace lower taxes with higher taxes?" asked Harper. "Do they really
want to replace an economy that is creating jobs to go down the path
of so many economies that have not been creating jobs the past few
years?" We will know soon. "I think the choice will be clear," said
Harper. "We'll continue to make that pitch to Canadians. You know in
terms of change, the change we represent is moving forward with more
tax cuts, with balanced budgets that can mean you keep the benefits
you have and you can get more. The change proposed on the other side
is to go back to the era of tax hikes and deficits, frankly to make a
federal government look a lot like the government of Ontario and I
don't think that is in our economic interests."

So is it going to be the veteran guy telling you to eat your broccoli
and live within our means or the sire of a former prime minister with
the country's credit card in hand, saying, 'Let's go for it now and
get this party started?'

Canadians will decide Monday.
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MAP posted-by: Matt