Prime Minister Harper did not rule out an economic depression on Monday, a total about-face from his initial view that Canada was the one country in the world that would not go into recession.
First he thought there won’t be a recession in Canada and that now would be a good time to invest in the stock market. Then he believed there might be a recession and the appropriate economic response is to remove subsidies that would totally cripple the opposition parties. That idea did not go over so well, resulting in a temporary shutdown of parliament, but prorogument afforded Mr. Harper some time to catch up on some current economic readings because now he believes we not only go into recession, but potentially a depression.
And Mr. Harper used to be an economist? I’ll tell you what’s depressing: our Prime Minister’s dwindling credibility.
The PM’s evolving views
Oct. 7: “I think there are probably some great buying opportunities emerging in the stock market as a consequence of all this panic.”
Asked whether he would unequivocally rule out a deficit under his government: “Yes. … Yesterday I think I was asked one question about whether we would run a deficit and I said, ‘No.’ That’s my answer.”
Oct. 11: “The fact of the matter is independent analysts, including the International Monetary Fund, say that Canada is not going to go into recession with the current world environent and its current set of domestic policies. We’re the one country that’s going to continue to show some growth.”
Nov. 23: “The most recent private-sector forecasts suggest the strong possibility of a technical recession the end of this year, the beginning of next.
“I am surprised at this. I am also further surprised, more importantly, by deflationary pressure that we’re seeing around the world. This is a worrying development, one of the reasons why it may well be necessary to take unprecedented fiscal stimulus.”
Dec. 15: “The truth is, I’ve never seen such uncertainty in terms of looking forward to the future. …. I’m very worried about the Canadian economy.”
Asked whether the situation could turn out to be a depression: “It could be, but I think we’ve learned enough about depression; we’ve learned enough from the 1930s to avoid some of the mistakes that caused a recession in 1929 to become a depression in the 1930s.”
Mr. Harper also continues to allege that opposition parties are attempting a coup by “overturning the results of the election,” but those of us who are not politically ignorant know that this allegation is not true since a coalition is entirely within the rules of parliamentary democracy.
PROTIP: No matter how often you say it Mr. Harper, it won’t become true. Stop treating the Canadian public like ignorant fools, and try presenting sensible policies instead.
Jack Layton is hoping Santa delivers him a miracle this Christmas, while Stephen Harper must be hoping for even just an ounce of credibility.
An interesting poll was published today by the 
