[ridenrain]

Accomplishments of the Harper government.

1. Age of consent legislation – from 14 to 16 effective May 1, 2008
2.Agent Orange compensation package of $96 million –$20,000 to all veterans and civilians who lived within 5 kilometers of CFB Gagetown in N.B. between 1966 and 1967
3.Apology to Native people – by Government of Canada on June 11, 2008 for residential school abuses
4.Canada Employment Credit of $1000.00
5.Child Tax Credit ($2000 for every child under eighteen)
6.Chinese Head Tax Apology– by the government on June 22, 2006
7.Chinese immigrant provision of $20,000 to every individual and/or surviving spouses who paid the head tax plus $24 million towards an “historical recognition program”
8.Columbia Free Trade Agreement – signed at the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation meeting in Lima, November 21, 2008
9.Disability Savings Plan, part of the 2007 budget, it was fully implemented in December, 2008
10.Doer, Gary, former NDP Manitoba Premier, appointed – the Ambassador to the United States on August 28, 2009
11.Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario – officially launched on August 13th, 2009 in Kitchener- Waterloo, Canada’s fifth such regional organization
12.European Free Trade Association – Canada Agreement – signed on July 2, 2009 — between Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland
13.First time buyers tax credit – any Canadian who purchases a first property after January 27, 2009, will be eligible for a $5,000 non-refundable income tax credit.
14.Food Labelling Initiative – to clarify and modernize labelling on food products, including “Product of Canada” and “Made in Canada” claims
15.GIS — Guaranteed Income Supplement Improvements – for seniors, changed to allow for higher earned income
16.GST — Goods & services tax cut from 7% to 6% and then to 5%
17.Hep C compensation redressed – for latest court rulings that clear the way for national $1 billion package
18.Income splitting for Canadian seniors and pensioners
19.Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement
20.Jordan Free Trade Agreement – signed by Canadian and Jordanian government officials and reported on June 28, 2009
21.Kid’s sport tax credit (up to $500 per child)
22.Kuwait Foreign Investment Promotion & Protection Agreement (FIPA) — completed in April 2009
23.Land Claim Agreements – five-point plan for Aboriginal Canadians — to compare the years the Conservatives have been in power to previous years
24.Lobbying Act – passed July 2, 2008
25.Manley Report approved (Report)
26.Mental Health Commission of Canada – established and incorporated as a non-profit corporation in March of 2007
27.Northern Regional Development Economic Agency – announced by Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Tuesday, August 18th, 2009 in Iqaluit, Nunavut
28.Nunavik Inuit Land Claims Agreement
29.Ombudsman for Victims of Crime established
30.Panama-Canada Free Trade Agreement – signed in Panama on Tuesday, August 11th, 2009 (but still to be ratified by Parliament)
31.Peru – Canada Free Trade Agreement – adopted by Parliament June 18, 2009
32.Poland — Youth Mobility Agreement signed on July 14, 2008 that allows youth from either country to work and travel for up to one year
33.Public transit tax credits
34.Quebecois as a nation – a motion to confirm Quebec within a united Canada
35.Savings Account that is tax free
36.Softwood Lumber Agreement (Bill C-24)
37.Street racing crack down
38.Students exempted from taxation for scholarships, bursaries and fellowships
39.Tackling Violent Crime Act
40.Taxpayers Bill of Rights
41.Taxpayers Ombudsman
42.Ukrainian & Eastern European immigrants – $10 million to educate Canadians about the internment in Canadian work camps during WWI
43.Universal Child Care Benefit – $1,200.00 per year for every child under age six


http://www.crux-of-the-matter.com/2009/ ... lishments/

[Lemmy]

Good list, except for #1. There hasn't been a charge laid (no pun intended) on that statute in decades. They could make it 18 or 32 and it still means nothing.

[herbie]

Quote:

36.Softwood Lumber Agreement (Bill C-24)

Reason enough to receive ZERO votes in British Columbia.
Other than the lumber execs who made a lot of money sinking every goddam penny returned into mills in the USA and the thousands of semi-educated workers so fucking dumb they haven't figured out why they have anal leakage and will vote Tory no matter what.

[Zipperfish]

I hope you're getting paid, ridenrain.

[ridenrain]

The softwood lumber agreement was still better than a shut out by a cusomer that had many alternatives. If forestry workers have anal leakage, don't come crying to me. Maybe their union bosses should teach them to wipe their asses or do the union reps do that for them?

[ridenrain]

Zipperfish wrote:

I hope you're getting paid, ridenrain.

Dude. You bitch when we don't sing the praises and then you bitch when we do.
Do you need the union to wipe your ass too?

[Bruce_the_vii]

Good list. It's easy to forget what all the government does so a list is handy. Thanks for the post.

[Bruce_the_vii]

The list misses the fact that Harper ran prudent budgets and reduced the national debt significantly. He paid down the debt in good times and now that a recession is here we are in good shape to take on more debt. The USA and UK weren't so prudent and have damaged their country's government finances. Harper presided over good times but did not screw up the budget as most governments do. A major achievement.

[ridenrain]

The purpose was to list the actions that were directly attributable to the Harper government and not carry over's from the last or events that were simply good house keeping. This is viewed up and above the call.

[Bruce_the_vii]

Maybe so but just to comment it's interesting how the media, politicians and politically oriented citizens can talk details and miss the big picture. In the end the vast majority of the population only wants to know a little bit about politics, the major issue or issues of the day. I see your point but I'm just injecting this truism here.

[leewgrant]

Lemmy wrote:

Good list, except for #1. There hasn't been a charge laid (no pun intended) on that statute in decades. They could make it 18 or 32 and it still means nothing.

One of his olive branches to the hard-core Reformers. Another was the resolution to review SSM. It didn't pass (which was what Harper intended) and thus got it off the political agenda.

[leewgrant]

Bruce_the_vii wrote:

The list misses the fact that Harper ran prudent budgets and reduced the national debt significantly. He paid down the debt in good times and now that a recession is here we are in good shape to take on more debt. The USA and UK weren't so prudent and have damaged their country's government finances. Harper presided over good times but did not screw up the budget as most governments do. A major achievement.

That's something Iggy's forgotten. He'll whine about the recession and the budget deficit and Harper will point to a growth in jobs (compared to the US where employment still going down), that we had a much milder recession and that our national debt is manageable unlike in the US.

[Apollo]

Another thing to add to your list is that seperatism is never talked about in Quebec anymore.

[Wada]

Ha Ha! Let's not forget how Stevie himself alienated Atlantic Canada by adding insult {Welfare bums} to injury {lying about offshore mineral rights}.

[leewgrant]

And white collar crime has become an issue - even the Libs and Dips think so. Harper can use that to point out how his crime legislation is thwarted by the Oppos.