Letter: Is there a line Harper won’t cross?

Over the Holiday Season, I watched the Prime Minister give his Christmas message to Canadians and came away concerned and also wondering if he really knows what he is doing. I have doubts because his remarks were a departure from what we expect the PM to say when he wishes Happy Holidays to fellow Canadians.

He started off by mentioning Christmas and quickly moved to a very political message. All of a sudden he is talking about the economy, creating jobs and growth. We all get it, he is in election mode and 2015 is an election year and every opportunity to talk to a Canadian audience is a golden opportunity to get his politics across. Personally, I thought it in bad taste.

He politicized another one of our holidays and he could have used the same speech as budget night or his standard speech to the Economic Club. Canadians right across the country probably had the reflex reaction of not believing his Christmas message more than any other of his messages.

Lets be clear, Stephen Harper has a habit of going over the top and tilting the message. We later come to understand the message was inaccurate and somewhat false. Clever guy but we are on to his little game.

The tragic events in Paris recently gave him an opportunity to raise the “fear your neighbour” rhetoric. Some analysts and commentators say he will scare Canadians during 2015 as an election strategy, to make sure they only feel safe if he is PM with a Conservative majority in the House of Commons. That may be his goal but it will not be the result.

On thing is for sure, when he makes a punchy headline the Conservative party turns it into a fund-raising device to get more money from his political base. It would be nice to have the country run for all Canadians and not just for his 20 per cent Conservative base.

That is why I am seeking the Liberal Party nomination in Nickel Belt. I want to be part of the Liberal team that will show Stephen Harper how to govern for all Canadians. This will happen after voters show him and his party the door on election night.

Gerry Guimond
Nickel Belt Liberal Party Federal Nomination Candidate
www.gerryguimond.com