EDITORIAL
They don't know who we are

As you read this, the finishing touches on a campaign to sell the new federal budget will have been polished and the plans to present it to a hostile and blood-thirsty Parliament will have been made by the ruling Conservative Party.

The prime indicator that we may see a budget far out of touch with the realities of Canadian life was given in the play-out of a budget tradition.

The federal Minister of Finance traditionally buys a new pair of shoes in which to deliver the budget speech. It is a singularly Canadian tradition that is practiced by most (but not all) finance ministers and the purchase is meant to send a message to the country about what the budget focus may be. For instance, a pair of construction boots means jobs are the focus and having current shoes re-soled may say that the time for belt-tightening is at hand.
As we come out of the worst economic slump the world has seen in decades and as small businesses and multi-nationals alike all reel from the effects of the past months, the current finance Minister - Whitby’s own Jim Flaherty - sent us a clear message. He doesn’t know who we are!

He walked into a shoe store in Durham and bought himself a pair of plain black shoes with a price tag of ... wait for it ... $271.

The man who told us before the last election that there was no economic problem anyway, has now told us that all is well again, or well on its way. Anyone currently in business knows that while the earthquake of economic loss has passed, we are still feeling the resulting tidal wave of a public badly scared and not yet spending. He flew in the face of young struggling families who may only have a total shoe budget of $240 to buy footwear for a growing family of four. The sad thing is we are not hearing any new ideas from any other politicians on either side of the house.

We have reached a stage in Canada where the leaders are too far removed from those who are led. We need a new wave of politicians who can tell us how things are instead of how they will make them, who will deal with the world as it is for the common Canadian and stop telling us how we ought to deal with it.

We need some people who wait for the shoes to go on sale, that’s what we need. Better still, give us some politicians who will bring forth a budget that will give us the money for a new pair of shoes. And if we don’t get it, let’s tell them not to bother buying any running shoes!