Compassionate Conservatism brings about a balanced budget and tax cuts for all

[tinydancer]

From the get go I'd like to make note of former Finance Minister Flaherty's dedication to keeping Canada's finances in order and with Prime Minister Harper kept our financial sticks on the ice and brought home the win that our new Finance Minister Oliver could deliver today.

Wasn't easy but they did it. We're in the black with a small cushion to buffer any future volatility.

Looks like we'll be on the plus side by the end of 2016.

Bravo Mr. Oliver. You had very big shoes to fill when Jim Flaherty left the office. Well done sir!

Among the announcements:

Canadians will be able to put more money — $10,000 a year – in tax-free savings accounts.

Seniors will benefit from relaxed rules about their RRIFs

And this is awesome....

• Compassionate care benefits for those looking after a gravely ill family member will be extended from six weeks to six months.
• 
  Seniors and people with disabilities will be able to claim a new tax credit for renovations that make homes more accessible, such as ramps and walk-in bathtubs.
• 
  
• As previously announced, parents with children can split their income for tax purposes, and the government will provide regular child care benefits for families.

Oliver emphasized how his government is taking specific measures to help families, seniors and caregivers.

More at link:

Canada federal budget 2015 Tories slice out a small budget surplus for pre-election books National Post

 

[Derideo_Te]

Judging by the OP the "conservatives" to the north are on the left of the Dems here in the USA.

So does Canada only have CINO's and Liberals as their political choices?

 

[tinydancer]

Judging by the OP the "conservatives" to the north are on the left of the Dems here in the USA.

So does Canada only have CINO's and Liberals as their political choices?

New Democrat Party are the official opposition party and were brought to power by one of my all time favorite politicians Jack Layton who sadly has passed away. I knew him as an awesome local politician in Toronto and despite political differences Jack was universally loved up here along with his wife Olivia Chow who was also a dedicated servant of the people.

Layton cared about the country and the people. Green Party isn't doing well but their leader finally got elected.

But trust me the Conservatives are not to the left of your progressive Dems. The difference in the politics I believe come down to the simple fact that the majority of Canadians expect their politicians to work for them.

Social issues take a back burner. We want our politicians to fix the freaking pot holes and not save the planet.

And that pretty well goes across all party lines except for the extremists that you always find in each party.

And not that social issues don't come up. It's just that in the US you have hand to hand combat with two sides so deeply entrenched that there is no discussion any more. Just screaming from both parties.

When it's that deafening no one can hear the other.

We have our problems don't get me wrong.

Just like the US we have a huge urban/rural divide.East vs West vs fly over too.

Race issues not so much because we've never allowed race baiters to become as professional and as powerful as the American players.

But then we have this one province who think they are being mistreated like a red headed step child but instead are the brat of the country getting everything they want via repeating temper tantrums. They are what nightmares are made of. The bad kid in the family who never understands how good they've got it.

Quebec.

 

[Derideo_Te]

Judging by the OP the "conservatives" to the north are on the left of the Dems here in the USA.

So does Canada only have CINO's and Liberals as their political choices?

New Democrat Party are the official opposition party and were brought to power by one of my all time favorite politicians Jack Layton who sadly has passed away. I knew him as an awesome local politician in Toronto and despite political differences Jack was universally loved up here along with his wife Olivia Chow who was also a dedicated servant of the people.

Layton cared about the country and the people. Green Party isn't doing well but their leader finally got elected.

But trust me the Conservatives are not to the left of your progressive Dems. The difference in the politics I believe come down to the simple fact that the majority of Canadians expect their politicians to work for them.

Social issues take a back burner. We want our politicians to fix the freaking pot holes and not save the planet.

And that pretty well goes across all party lines except for the extremists that you always find in each party.

And not that social issues don't come up. It's just that in the US you have hand to hand combat with two sides so deeply entrenched that there is no discussion any more. Just screaming from both parties.

When it's that deafening no one can hear the other.

We have our problems don't get me wrong.

Just like the US we have a huge urban/rural divide.East vs West vs fly over too.

Race issues not so much because we've never allowed race baiters to become as professional and as powerful as the American players.

But then we have the red headed step child of what nightmares are made of. The bad kid in the family.

Quebec.

 

[feduptaxpayer]

Judging by the OP the "conservatives" to the north are on the left of the Dems here in the USA.

So does Canada only have CINO's and Liberals as their political choices?

New Democrat Party are the official opposition party and were brought to power by one of my all time favorite politicians Jack Layton who sadly has passed away. I knew him as an awesome local politician in Toronto and despite political differences Jack was universally loved up here along with his wife Olivia Chow who was also a dedicated servant of the people.

Layton cared about the country and the people. Green Party isn't doing well but their leader finally got elected.

But trust me the Conservatives are not to the left of your progressive Dems. The difference in the politics I believe come down to the simple fact that the majority of Canadians expect their politicians to work for them.

Social issues take a back burner. We want our politicians to fix the freaking pot holes and not save the planet.

And that pretty well goes across all party lines except for the extremists that you always find in each party.

And not that social issues don't come up. It's just that in the US you have hand to hand combat with two sides so deeply entrenched that there is no discussion any more. Just screaming from both parties.

When it's that deafening no one can hear the other.

We have our problems don't get me wrong.

Just like the US we have a huge urban/rural divide.East vs West vs fly over too.

Race issues not so much because we've never allowed race baiters to become as professional and as powerful as the American players.

But then we have this one province who think they are being mistreated like a red headed step child but instead are the brat of the country getting everything they want via repeating temper tantrums. They are what nightmares are made of. The bad kid in the family who never understands how good they've got it.

Quebec.

Quebec should have been told decades ago to become a bilingual province and stop treating the anglophones as second class citizens. But for some, no doubt cowardly reason, most politicians especially anglophone ones remain silent about what is going on on quebec. If what were happening to any francophone outside quebec, the chit would hit the fan, and just about every politician would come running to the aid of some frenchman being denied their rights. Canada should really have one official language and that should be English. French should be treated as just another language in this country. Personally, I would like to see quebec get the hell out of Canada.

 

[Mr. H.]

Made possible in part by the fuckload of tax revenues garnered from the Tar Sands industry.

 

[TheOldSchool]

From the get go I'd like to make note of former Finance Minister Flaherty's dedication to keeping Canada's finances in order and with Prime Minister Harper kept our financial sticks on the ice and brought home the win that our new Finance Minister Oliver could deliver today.

Wasn't easy but they did it. We're in the black with a small cushion to buffer any future volatility.

Looks like we'll be on the plus side by the end of 2016.

Bravo Mr. Oliver. You had very big shoes to fill when Jim Flaherty left the office. Well done sir!

Among the announcements:

Canadians will be able to put more money — $10,000 a year – in tax-free savings accounts.

Seniors will benefit from relaxed rules about their RRIFs

And this is awesome....

• Compassionate care benefits for those looking after a gravely ill family member will be extended from six weeks to six months.
• 
  Seniors and people with disabilities will be able to claim a new tax credit for renovations that make homes more accessible, such as ramps and walk-in bathtubs.
• 
  
• As previously announced, parents with children can split their income for tax purposes, and the government will provide regular child care benefits for families.

Oliver emphasized how his government is taking specific measures to help families, seniors and caregivers.

More at link:

Canada federal budget 2015 Tories slice out a small budget surplus for pre-election books National Post

That's Canadian Liberalism. Not Compassionate Conservatism. Compassionate Conservatism involves 10's of thousands of killed and maimed soldiers and domestically sacrificing freedom for security.

 

[Dragonlady]

Judging by the OP the "conservatives" to the north are on the left of the Dems here in the USA.

So does Canada only have CINO's and Liberals as their political choices?

The Conservative Party is definitely to the left of US Democrats and for good reason. The party would cease to exist if they tried to legislate the kind of right policies that the Republicans favour. Stephen Harper has said that he would like to scrap the Canada Health Act but he hasn't touched it.

Twice in the past 25 years Canadians have destroyed political parties which have displeased the voters. Brian Mulroney's Progressive Conservative Party went from a solid majority government in the House of Commons, to 2 sitting members and lost party status after Mulroney gifted us with the Goods and Services Tax. You have to have 6 members of Parliament to be considered a party. The PC's were pretty much forced to merge with the Reform Party after that. The merger created the current Conservative Party.

After the Liberal government was caught in a patronage scandal, Canadians punished them at the polls by electing the Conservatives. They currently have only 34 seats in Parliament and are neither the governing party nor the official opposition for the first time since Confederation, but this has more to do with the popularity of the late Jack Layton than anything the Liberals did.

Jack Layton was the leader of the very left wing New Democratic Party. I loved Jack. I lived in his riding. Before he was our Member of Parliament, he was my city councilor. He worked tirelessly for his constituents. If you called his office, they got back to you right away and most issues were solved within a day. His death was a great loss to Canada. I would never vote NDP - too far to the left for me. But I voted for Jack.