Do you really believe the government of Stephen Harper will balance the books by 2015? Only if he cuts expensive, useless programs. Instead the Harper government has targeted Old Age Security, unions, the census, employment insurance and scientific research. For example, he will save $2 million by shutting down the world-renowned Experimental Lakes Area in Northwestern Ontario. Another million will be saved by shutting down the Coast Guard in Kitsilano (Vancouver) which was responsible for rescuing slightly more than 50 lives last year. On the other hand, on the expenditure side of the ledger (ignoring Bev Oda's orange juice) we now find out about the Libyan mission hotel bill: $11 million; the Prime Minister Protection Detail: another $20 million (this to cover the cost of waiting and idling black SUVs and personnel for Harper); the PMO budget for staff: $9 million; and a minimum of $14.7 billion (if we believe Peter MacKay numbers vs Auditor General numbers of $29.3 billion) for the F-35.Canada's debt is currently at $600 billion. Yep, looks like the fiscal fairy will balance the books by 2016. Maybe Freedom 67 is not so bad, 68, 69 ...
