Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday October 31, 2007
Grits won’t topple government over GST cut
The federal Liberals won’t topple the minority Conservative government even if it cuts the GST to five per cent in the fall economic update, Stephane Dion said Wednesday.
The Liberal leader was responding to growing speculation that Finance Minister Jim Flaherty will include the poison pill of an early GST cut in his economic update, expected in the next two weeks.
Dion has said he wouldn’t roll back the first percentage point cut to the GST, included in Flaherty’s first budget. But he has been vehemently opposed to shaving another point off the tax, contending it would be bad for the economy.
The sales tax reduction pledge proved popular in the last federal campaign. And following through on the second cut is seen in Tory circles as politically advantageous: It will either trigger an immediate election, if Liberals and other opposition parties oppose it, or serve as a very public way of humiliating the Grits and driving down their poll numbers.
“If Canadians didn’t want an election last week, I don’t think they will want one next week,” said Dion when asked how he would react to a GST cut.
“It means we say when the time will come we’ll offer a package of tax cuts that will be much better than what the Conservative government has shown until now. Especially, we will decrease the income tax that has been increased by this Conservative government.’’ (Source: CTV News) http://www.ctvnews.ca/grits-won-t-topple-government-over-gst-cut-dion-1.261603
Commentary
Arguably, editorial cartoonists exploit Halloween more than any other holiday period of the year. (With a close second place going to Christmas — whose ho ho ho themes will be showing up in cartoons as soon as the flames of Jack ‘O Lanterns burn out.
The problem is the limitations imposed on cartoons with holiday themes like Halloween. Daryl Cagle’s cartoon site has a refreshing gallery of Halloween themed cartoon which does not have even one example the overplayed. line of costume kids lined up with the oddball at the end.
