We Have the Strongest Banks in the World, but...

This morning started as a typical April day. The morning breakfast television show on CHCH predicted rain showers for most of the day. Since I am recovering from recent knee replacement surgery, I decided to put off my morning walk until later on in the afternoon. Typically, I scanned the cable television directory to see what I could watch to fill the morning. I found a movie called, “Maxed Out”, which documents the history of the current financial, and debt crisis we find ourselves in. I watched this and can I recommend this to anyone who thinks that we are doing okay and the real issues are only in the U.S. During the documentary, I got a couple of wrong number calls from someone who was wondering if the food bank was going to be open today? These rapidly brought the economic situation closer to home and made me think how real this crisis really is.

I thought back to the morning show I had watched, where the lead news story was Stephen Harper's attendance in London at the G20 conference where he is patting himself on the back for the strength of the banking industry in this country. A situation in which he fails to admit that he has had no hand in implementing. Our PM takes pride in being a trained economist. What most people don't take into account is that he is firmly in the camp of Milton Friedman, and the Chicago School of Economics, and if he had ever achieved sufficient power, would have deregulated our financial industry in order to follow the models of the US, British, and Icelandic systems.

On that same morning show, the newscast another of the lead stories was the closure of yet another manufacturing plant in the Niagara area. This one was a non-unionized auto parts supplier. As a result 180 people have lost incomes and will because they were not organized not be getting any sort of severance package to help them survive.

The job losses and subsequent suffering in this area are severe yet, because they are happening on an almost daily basis, and in such numbers, people, unless they are personally impacted are not taking notice of what is happening around them. On Sunday I stopped to talk to my neighbour down the street. I knew of the closure of the Stelco plant here, but was not aware of his story. He had 29 years of seniority and is 50 years old. His wife also worked for Stelco by has been off work for some months and was getting only the odd shift of relief when they were short-handed. Between them they had over 50 years of service with Stelco. They are not going to get a pension for their service. They have two children about to finish grade school. He drives a 1992 Oldsmobile. What are they going to do?

Stephen Harper and Tony Clement, and Jim Flaherty aren't going to be there to provide any assistance to people like my neighbours, or the poor fellow who was wondering if the food bank was going to be open today. In times like these, people look to the federal government for leadership and help. From where I sit here in Hamilton, there is little in the way of leadership, or help from either of the senior levels of government. Who, if anybody is going to step up and offer the people of this country a lifeline? The government of the day is clearly not up to the task.