Trudeau Airport named despite protests

[wrench]

What ever they called it, at least they didn't call it "COLLENETTE INTERNATIONAL"

[Guest G3]

I think renaming Mirabel in his name would have been more appropriate.

G3

[Guest neo]

There was a little rain a couple of days ago, and cooler temps in general are helping, but far more precip is required.

The OK normally sees Vancouver-style rain about twice a year, and that's what we need for the fires.

Ironically, many of us moved here to get away from The Swamp.

neo

[RFL]

Last Updated: Tuesday 3 October 2000 LOCAL BUSINESS

Trudeau's economic legacy dismal

The 'Just Society' came about through aggressive taxation and government spending that has saddled us with debt today.

Michael Campbell Vancouver Sun

In reading and watching all the commentary discussing the legacy of Pierre Elliott Trudeau I was amazed at how one of his most lasting and profound influences is regularly overlooked.

Certainly the repatriation of the Constitution and the creation of the Charter of Rights are worthy of a great deal of discussion, but no less of a monumental legacy is his economic policy.

Trudeau is the godfather of Canada's interventionist government policies regarding the economy. It was Trudeau who spearheaded the drive for the "Just Society" through aggressive increases in government spending and wealth redistribution that led to Canada leading the world in the growth of taxation.

It was the Trudeau government that brought Canada's federal deficit from zero in 1968 to $38 billion by the time he left office in 1984. It was the buildup of debt during the Trudeau years that laid the foundation for today's $40 billion in interest payments.

While socialists or Marxists may like to take credit for the philosophical underpinnings of his economic policy, it was Trudeau who put the thoughts into action.

In 1968 the federal government launched what was then called the short-term bailout of the Cape Breton Coal company that finally this year, after $1.7 billion in subsidies, shut down.

It was during the Trudeau era that employment insurance subsidies became a way of life for some in the Maritimes with the results still well in evidence today.

Under Trudeau we got nationalization of companies and industries. Canada curtailed foreign investment and exploded the government bureaucracy.

But his legacy extends beyond specific economic policies and into a mindset that dominates the landscape today.

It was during the Trudeau years that the anti-business, anti-success attitude -- referred to by Nobel Prize-winner Robert Mundel as the chief obstacle to our economic prosperity -- took hold and flourished.

Marketing all government policies as part of the pursuit of the Just Society has permanently linked the concepts of government intervention and justice in many people's mind.

We see the results today where opposition to extending government programs is regularly regarded as a form of incivility at best and godlessness at worst.

As Prime Minister Jean Chretien has told us regularly, only the selfish and greedy want to lower taxes. Only the most cold-hearted could oppose a national day-care program or business subsidies.

What's interesting to note is that before we headed on the path toward the Just Society, Canada had the second-highest economic output per person in the world.

The latest numbers from the OECD put us at 20th out of 29 in the developed world. Our economy grew at an average pace of five per cent, excluding inflation, before 1968, which is 40 per cent higher than the average since.

Our federal debt has grown from 0 to $750 billion, while our currency has gone from being at par with the U.S. dollar to 66.5 cents today.

Also interesting to note is the fact that our satisfaction with government institutions like health care and education has also declined in the past 30 years in spite of huge increases in government spending.

As for the pursuit of the Just Society, poverty advocates tell us nothing has changed, which always leaves me somewhat startled considering that so many Canadians continue to call for more of the same policies.

[DEFCON]

"He has the distinction of doing more harm to Canada than any other PM before him, and these several years under JC have been a part of that harm. If he hadn't blown PC credibility to ratpoop..."

I'm not a BM fan however I must ask, what particular "harm" is BM responsible for?

[RFL]

Last Updated: Tuesday 3 October 2000 LOCAL BUSINESS

Trudeau's economic legacy dismal

The 'Just Society' came about through aggressive taxation and government spending that has saddled us with debt today.

Michael Campbell Vancouver Sun

In reading and watching all the commentary discussing the legacy of Pierre Elliott Trudeau I was amazed at how one of his most lasting and profound influences is regularly overlooked.

Certainly the repatriation of the Constitution and the creation of the Charter of Rights are worthy of a great deal of discussion, but no less of a monumental legacy is his economic policy.

Trudeau is the godfather of Canada's interventionist government policies regarding the economy. It was Trudeau who spearheaded the drive for the "Just Society" through aggressive increases in government spending and wealth redistribution that led to Canada leading the world in the growth of taxation.

It was the Trudeau government that brought Canada's federal deficit from zero in 1968 to $38 billion by the time he left office in 1984. It was the buildup of debt during the Trudeau years that laid the foundation for today's $40 billion in interest payments.

While socialists or Marxists may like to take credit for the philosophical underpinnings of his economic policy, it was Trudeau who put the thoughts into action.

In 1968 the federal government launched what was then called the short-term bailout of the Cape Breton Coal company that finally this year, after $1.7 billion in subsidies, shut down.

It was during the Trudeau era that employment insurance subsidies became a way of life for some in the Maritimes with the results still well in evidence today.

Under Trudeau we got nationalization of companies and industries. Canada curtailed foreign investment and exploded the government bureaucracy.

But his legacy extends beyond specific economic policies and into a mindset that dominates the landscape today.

It was during the Trudeau years that the anti-business, anti-success attitude -- referred to by Nobel Prize-winner Robert Mundel as the chief obstacle to our economic prosperity -- took hold and flourished.

Marketing all government policies as part of the pursuit of the Just Society has permanently linked the concepts of government intervention and justice in many people's mind.

We see the results today where opposition to extending government programs is regularly regarded as a form of incivility at best and godlessness at worst.

As Prime Minister Jean Chretien has told us regularly, only the selfish and greedy want to lower taxes. Only the most cold-hearted could oppose a national day-care program or business subsidies.

What's interesting to note is that before we headed on the path toward the Just Society, Canada had the second-highest economic output per person in the world.

The latest numbers from the OECD put us at 20th out of 29 in the developed world. Our economy grew at an average pace of five per cent, excluding inflation, before 1968, which is 40 per cent higher than the average since.

Our federal debt has grown from 0 to $750 billion, while our currency has gone from being at par with the U.S. dollar to 66.5 cents today.

Also interesting to note is the fact that our satisfaction with government institutions like health care and education has also declined in the past 30 years in spite of huge increases in government spending.

As for the pursuit of the Just Society, poverty advocates tell us nothing has changed, which always leaves me somewhat startled considering that so many Canadians continue to call for more of the same policies.

[Mitch Cronin]

Do you mean to tell me that these several years of Liberal majority under JC aren't themselves enough evidence of that?

Political debates are not among my favorite conversations to engage in... my views are fairly mixed and seem to puzzle most hard nosed one siders... So beyond that, I'll stay away from any more.

[DEFCON]

"Do you mean to tell me that these several years of Liberal majority under JC aren't themselves enough evidence of that?"

JC's been my least favorite PM but, my question was in regard to the "hurt" caused by BM?

When BM brought in free trade the public's fear of a sell out to the US was cultured by his then political competition. For the past 10 years JC and his party have reaped the rewards of "free trade" as demonstrated by Canada's exceptional economic prosperity.

Mulroney ordered helicopters and JC cancelled them. BM gave Pearson to his friends and JC reversed the deal and gave it to his friends. Both of these decisions cost the tax payer dearly.

Perhaps BM had the "right stuff" and perhaps the only thing JC and his bandits have successfully done is to sell the public on a false bill of goods.

[Mitch Cronin]

The helicopter fiasco was huge, but I place the blame on Mulroney for it. He knew damned well that Chretien would have to kill the deal, because of his oath to do so, before he committed to it. He knew, that we all knew, what a huge mess it would turn into, and he did it anyway. The guy was driven by arrogance and almost nothing else.

[Guest Nobias]

I beg to differ. I think that most people would now agree that buying those helicopters would have been the right thing to do. Do you not do what you believe to be the right thing to do because you think that someone else will undo it? Perhaps he hoped that Chretien would see the wisdom of the purchase and the folly of cancelling it. I believe that that incident was more indicative of Chretien's being driven by arrogance than vice versa.

[Guest HPT-TOUR]

Harm.......... how about the GST

[Steam Driven]

because of his oath to do so ?

You mean like his "oath" to scrap the GST in the Red Book of Promises. (Or should that be fairy tales?) :@

[Steam Driven]

because of his oath to do so ?

You mean like his "oath" to scrap the GST in the Red Book of Promises. (Or should that be fairy tales?) :@

[Mitch Cronin]

... and because BM had set it up to favour his own buddies. He would have been ground to whimpers himself, if he'd had the time to see that deal through... no way could JC let it go. Brian threw us all into the swamp with that mess.

[Guest lupin]

I am not a supporter of more taxes but Unlike the many salary taxes,at least the gst is a tax that everyone has to pay.It seems rich people can always get away from paying taxes with a combination of write offs, rrsp contributions ,special tax clauses etc.At least with the GST everyone pays.Even the rich.....

[DEFCON]

I agree however, if that tax had only replaced the manufacturer's tax it would have been better than what it became. JC promised he'd get rid of it upon his party's becoming the government. It just became another "Red Book" lie.

[UpperDeck]

I'm very, very sorry if this comes as too much of a surprise but I must tell you...the "rich" (whoever they may be) are not necessarily part of that grouping "everyone pays". Not even being close too rich, I can assure you that everyone does NOT pay and, in fact, and when taken judiciously, one can receive money as an "input credit" never having collected any GST. There was a recent case reported of a group who received copious amounts over a period of years. They failed to exercise the appropriate degree of caution or the ruse would be ongoing.

[Guest Banana Wind]

Here Here

An excellent post that puts into perspective what PET has done for our country. Not all of it bad and certainly one of the most flambouyant and entertaining PMs that we have had, Unfortunatly his policies have driven us into a debt load that I'm not sure we can ever recover from without declaring CCAA(insert smiley & wink wink thing)

Our dollar is an embarassment and often when in the company of people from another country I hear them chuckle about how cheap it is in Canada and comparing us to MEXICO.

You know what I fear most in regard to our leadership? Is that after Paul Martins term the PCs or Alliance will win with a minority and then get voted out with a non-confidence vote for a policy that will then be implemented by the new leadership led by no less than JUSTIN TRUDEAU.

Yes I think That MIRIBEL should be the one renamed after PET.

take a breath

[Guest flyersclub]

I am beginning to wonder how he got elected for so many years. A good friend of mine is a lawyer in the firm in YUL that Trudeau joined after politics and the man was brilliant and a great Canadian. He is most appreciated around the world and not in Canada ... isn't that one of our traits, we bash our own!!