John Rafferty - From The House

It was another eventful week in Ottawa, with more misspending our tax dollars, the prime minister backtracking on his promise to end Canada’s military commitment in Afghanistan by 2014, and a floor crossing to boot.

Even though Parliament wasn’t sitting, it was quite an eventful week in Ottawa with two new appointments for me and a shadow cabinet announcement by NDP leader Tom Mulcair.

Is it possible for a government to cut $10 billion in spending and more than 19,000 jobs without affecting the quality of the services delivered to the public?
No. In fact, no one would even argue it was possible except for the Harper government.
Let’s take a look at some of those spending and job cuts in this year’s budget to see whether the Conservatives are to be believed.

Auditor General Michael Ferguson tabled a scathing report in Parliament last week that said the Harper Conservatives did not conduct an open and fair selection process for replacing the aging CF-18 fighters.

While many New Democrats were focused on our hotly-contested leadership campaign over the weekend, many also were trying to shift their attention to what is sure to be a landmark federal budget presentation tomorrow (March 29).

This Saturday (March 24), more than 130,000 NDP members will be voting for a new leader of the Official Opposition and our party.
We have a great slate of seven strong candidates, but one stands above all others in my opinion and would make the best prime minister. I will be casting my vote for Thomas Mulcair.

This past week, the Conservative government of Stephen Harper defeated an NDP motion to help Canada’s veterans during what is sure to be a slash-and-burn budget process this spring.
As part of the Conservative government’s spending review and desire to cut its massive budget deficit, each department has been asked to trim between five and 10 percent from their annual budget.

The past week in Ottawa saw the long gun registry finally sealed as Bill C-19 passed its final hurdle in the House of Commons.
I was happy to have been present for all of the votes on C-19, and to have voted in support the abolition of the long gun registry on behalf of my constituents.

This past week in Ottawa was a busy one, with continued uncertainty surrounding Harper’s plans to change Old Age Security (OAS), a key vote on the long-gun registry, and a meeting with my fellow New Democrat MPs from Northern Ontario to discuss the new riding redistribution scheme that’s coming to Ontario in time for the next federal election in 2015.

This past week was not a good one for Stephen Harper’s government, but it was far worse for Canadians who take their citizenship and rights seriously and for seniors and “baby boomers” with lower-than-average incomes.
The week began with revelations that the Harper government has hit new heights, or should I say depths, of dishonesty.