Dear friends,
The election of a Stephen
Harper majority government marks the start of four tough years for
Canada.
Harper did a lot of damage
during his five years of minority government. He cut corporate taxes
and the GST, robbing public services of billions of dollars. He
slashed funding to groups advocating for a fairer, more equal
society. He broke election finance laws. He turned the G-20 meetings
into a violent show of force. He showed nothing but contempt for the
democratic traditions that made Canada great.
He brought politics in this
country to a new low. Michael Ignatieff did not deserve the vile
personal attacks the Tories aimed at him. The historic collapse of
the Liberals showed what a schoolyard bully like Harper can do.
And now we have a Harper
majority.
Harper has made no bones
about his dislike for public services and the taxes that support
them – he actually said "All taxes are bad" on his first day as PM.
A former head of the far-right National Citizens’ Coalition, Harper
doesn’t think much of unions either. The only thing he believes in
is his own vision. That vision says that the purpose of government
is to help make the rich richer – at the expense of the majority.
Harper never says this, of
course. He pretends that what is good for bosses is good for workers
–that lower taxes, free trade, privatization, weaker unions, and
starved public services will make us all better off.
It’s not true. Unfortunately,
40 per cent of Canadians seem to believe him. And in our outdated
electoral system, those 40 per cent were able to give Harper carte
blanche to do whatever he wants. Until 2015.
The historic success of Jack
Layton and the NDP was the one bright spot on May 2. In the
election, our union spoke to members in selected ridings about
helping New Democrat incumbents. In those seven ridings, six NDP MPs
were victorious. Those six will be a much-needed voice of experience
in a 102-member caucus where many new MPs are just getting started
in politics.
It is impossible to know how
or when Harper’s election will directly affect provincial and
municipal workers in Ontario. But the federal government is an
important source of funding for many programs OPSEU members deliver.
We will be watching closely.
In the meantime, another
critical election is just five months away. In those five months,
we’ll keep working to build a progressive alternative to the tax
cuts, layoffs, wage freezes, and privatization that are supported by
provincial Liberals and Tories alike.
