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Globe national affairs columnist Jeffrey Simpson writes today in his column Money, money everwhere: "Forget the stuff and guff about Prime Minister Stephen Harper's 'hidden agenda.' Maybe he hungers for a right-wing, ideological crusade, but he's doing a brilliant job of concealing it.
"Mr. Harper has one agenda: to get re-elected with a majority. To help win that majority, his 'new' government presented a mainstream budget yesterday that could have been designed by a Liberal.
"The government grabbed the spending hose and showered money everywhere, from big transfers to provinces, especially Quebec, to itsy-bitsy programs. Then it cut taxes through child tax credits and a small benefit to encourage people to move from welfare to the work force. Big spending (a 5.7-per-cent increase next year, almost triple the inflation rate), plus modest tax cuts and some writedown of the national debt: It's the old Liberal formula, updated by the Harper government. It's the formula for winning elections that it hopes to update."
The Liberals and the NDP decried Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's goodie-laden second budget immediately after it was presented. But the Bloc Québécois gave it a provisional nod, thanks to hefty new payments promised to Quebec.
Globe columnist Jeffrey Simpson
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- Video: Flaherty's announces the budget
- The Federal Budget document
- Budget 2007: Globe stories, photos, interactives, discussions and more
The Bloc's decision appears to lessen the chances of a snap spring election brought about by a budget defeat.
But what will the short-term impact of its $3-billion in extra funding for Quebec be on the provincial election taking place next Monday (March 26)?
What do the tax breaks and other handouts to key suburban voters mean long-term for the chances of a federal vote later this year?
Mr. Simpson was online earlier today to answer those questions and any others you may have.
Your questions and Mr. Simpson's answers appear at the bottom of this page.
Mr. Simpson has won all three of Canada's leading literary prizes — the Governor-General's award for non-fiction book writing, the National Magazine Award for political writing, and the National Newspaper Award for column writing (twice). He has also won the Hyman Solomon Award for excellence in public policy journalism. In January 2000, he became an Officer of the Order of Canada.
He joined The Globe and Mail in 1974. His career with the newspaper began at City Hall in Toronto and with coverage of Quebec politics. In 1977, he became a member of the paper's Ottawa bureau, and eighteen months later he was named The Globe and Mail's Ottawa bureau chief. From 1981-1983, Mr. Simpson served as The Globe's European correspondent based in London, England. He began writing his national affairs column in January, 1984.
Mr. Simpson has published six books — Discipline of Power (1980); Spoils of Power (1988); Faultlines, Struggling for a Canadian Vision (1993); The Anxious Years (1996) and Star-Spangled Canadians (2000). His most recent book, The Friendly Dictatorship: Reflections on Canadian Democracy (2001), was nominated for the Donner Prize as the best book on public policy.
Editor's Note: globeandmail.com editors will read and allow or reject each question/comment. Comments/questions may be edited for length or clarity. We will not publish questions/comments that include personal attacks on participants in these discussions, that make false or unsubstantiated allegations, that purport to quote people or reports where the purported quote or fact cannot be easily verified, or questions/comments that include vulgar language or libellous statements. Preference will be given to readers who submit questions/comments using their full name and home town, rather than a pseudonym.
Jim Sheppard, Executive Editor, globeandmail.com: To our readers, let me just add that Mr. Simpson will take questions only from those readers who use their real names, not pseudonyms.
Jim Sheppard, Executive Editor, globeandmail.com: Good morning, Jeffrey, and thanks for joining us again today on globeandmail.com.
You wrote today in your column that yesterday's federal budget shows "Mr. Harper has only one agenda — to get re-elected with a majority. To help win that majority, his "new" government presented a mainstream budget that could have been designed by a Liberal . . . The biggest overall winner is — wait for it — Quebec, where the Conservatives intend to make gains to secure their majority and where Liberal Premier Jean Charest finds himself in election trouble."
Our readers have lots of questions for you about the federal political effects of this budget, so let me start by asking you to analyze what impact this budget might have on the Quebec provincial election next Monday?
