Is Harper’s early election call a Conservative cash-grab?

By calling an 11-week general federal election, the Conservative government of Stephen Harper has guaranteed Canadians two things: The longest election in modern Canadian history; and he will continue manipulating the system to his own advantage.

To be sure, in Sudbury, the election call doesn’t make much of a difference. We’ve been in a byelection since May. My campaign team has been busy reaching out to voters by phone, at events or on their door steps all summer long. We will continue that strategy, no matter what Harper’s machinations are.

But it’s worth asking the question: Why did Harper call the election so early? What purpose could there be to such a long campaign? And what effect will it have on the election itself?

The answers can be found in the election law passed by the Harper government itself. Under Harper’s own election law, the Conservative Party will receive 50 cents for every dollar it spends in an extended campaign period. At the conclusion of this campaign, taxpayers could end up writing Harper’s Conservatives a $27-million cheque.

Is this something we can afford in such a precarious economy?

While millions of middle-class Canadians are struggling to get ahead, Stephen Harper is funnelling as much as $27 million of taxpayer money into Conservative Party coffers.

While Harper’s government breaks its promise to finally balance its first budget and Canada’s economy slides back into recession, he is busy wasting public money on helping his government get re-elected.

By using his parliamentary majority to change the rules for his party’s benefit, it is clear that Harper is so self-absorbed and out of touch that he doesn’t think twice about misusing Canadians’ tax dollars or gaming the system to his own advantage.

The sad thing is this is part of Harper’s nine-year strategy to use taxpayers’ money to support his party’s narrow agenda.

Since 2006, the Conservatives have spent nearly $750 million on government ads, many of which are highly partisan. They’ve repeatedly purchased expensive advertising during peak viewership time slots – such as during the NHL playoffs, the Super Bowl and the Oscars – and continually refuse to detail the costs.

To paraphrase the Conservatives themselves, they are not doing any of this for you. Harper does these things for himself and his colleagues, and he expects Canadians to accept them.

In contrast, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau has promised to create an Advertising Commissioner, in the Office of the Auditor General, to ensure that government advertising cannot be so blatantly partisan. The Liberal plan for open and fair government is a sweeping agenda for change that will allow us to modernize how the Canadian government works.

Together, we can restore a sense of trust in our democracy. Greater openness and transparency are fundamental to accomplishing this. The Liberals have led the way by introducing numerous bills and motions in Parliament to raise the bar on transparency and accountability in government, including the sweeping 32-point plan for fair and open government released in June.

It’s time our federal government respected Canadians’ right to access information and worked with and for Canadians again.

Over the course of the next 11 weeks, I hope Canadians remember what balanced budgets and responsive government looked like before Harper, and vote his secretive, cynical and manipulative government out of office.

Paul Lefebvre is the federal Liberal candidate for Sudbury.