- Surely Our Seniors Are Worth Half a Point - Rock On Iggy.

Submitted: 7:25am, PST, 15 Jan.'11 Winnipeg Free Press
(by the way, it seems they didn't post my comment last time - see below - go figure)
Ignatieff unveils $1-B plan to care for sick, dying, Kevin Rollason, 01/15/2011, Winnipeg Free Press
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/ignatieff-unveils-1-b-plan-to-care-for-sick-dying-113752939.html?commentConfirmed=y#comments

" Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff has unveiled plans to help 600,000 Canadian families look after their sick or dying loved ones."

Wow, all Canadians getting together through the Canadian government helping those that need help.

Sounds humanitarian and compassionate, almost what being Canadian had come to mean over the many years and blood, sweat and tears of our forefathers, until Harper and the Con's got hold of power, that is.

Nice alternative. Rock on Iggy!

We must all keep in mind the debt we owe to our seniors. They spent a life time contributing to and building this great nation we call Canada.

Not simply by paying taxes and thus leaving us a legacy of infrastructure that is top in the world (our at least has been).

But, they were the ones that brought in such programs as Health care, Employment Insurance, Pensions, an educational system that has been the envy of the world, an outstanding International reputation as moderate, peace-keepers, and, not the least of which the Charter, that single instrument so important to protecting our civil rights, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

***
Wait a minute, aren't those precisely the policies and values that Harper and the Con's are so against.

"First, facts about Canada. Canada is a Northern European welfare state in the worst sense of the term, and very proud of it." Stephen Harper's speech to the Council for National Policy, June 1997 (when you read the speech it doesn't sound like he's joking)

"Canada appears content to become a second-tier socialistic country, boasting ever more loudly about its economy and social services to mask its second-rate status." National Post, Dec. 8 2000 p. A18

oh, and by the way did I mention:
Whether Canada ends up as o­ne national government or two national governments or several national governments, or some other kind of arrangement is, quite frankly, secondary in my opinion… And whether Canada ends up with o­ne national government or two governments or ten governments, the Canadian people will require less government no matter what the constitutional status or arrangement of any future country may be." (Speech to the Colin Brown Memorial Dinner, National Citizens Coalition, 1994)

. . . mummmm, I wonder, could it be . . .
***

They [our seniors] built this great nation and as they approach the end of their lives, it is certainly the least we can do to assist in ensuring they do so with dignity, surrounded by their loved ones and in the homes in which they lived their lives and raised their families.

Surely this is better than the Harper corporate tax cuts that will only benefit the already well off, and many times not even Canadian, corporations by reducing their taxes even lower than in the US, ideologically based and with no tangle evidence that there would be any real benefit to Canadians overall.

Harper corporate tax cuts reduce the Corporate taxes by 3 points and will cost Canada 6 billion per year. So, Ignatieff's proposal represents a half a point out of the total three point corporate tax reduction.

Now, come on, lets be real.

Would it really hurt Canadian commerce that much to Give Our Seniors Half-a-Point; or, to give other Canadian in need the other 2 and a half points, for that matter.

Those who have held stewardship before us worked and sacrificed hard to build, and were vigilant to maintain, a nation, separate unto ourselves, for which we can all be proud. Let us do the same and hand off to our children a Canada that we all can be proud of and not something for which our children will regret that we were ever given a chance at the helm.

Lloyd MacILquham cicblog.com/comments.html