Could We Have Been Had?

Tom Walkom gives the Trudeau government some credit for reversing the direction of the previous government:

The new Liberal government negotiated a deal with the provinces to expand the Canada Pension Plan, something the Harper Conservatives were dead-set against. It also replaced Harper’s universal baby bonus with one targeted to income.

It established the inquiry into murdered and missing indigenous women that Harper refused to set up. It reduced the eligibility age for full old-age security back down to 65.

But in many ways, the new government is very much like the one it replaced:

The country got a taste of that last week when Ottawa approved a liquefied natural gas plant on British Columbia’s Pacific coast, as well as a pipeline to that plant.

It was the same decision Harper would have made. And it angered the same critics.

Environmentalists pointed to the massive increase in carbon emissions that will result from the decision. Some First Nations said it will destroy the local fish habitat.

It was a reminder that Trudeau, like Harper, sees energy exports as crucial for the Canadian economy.

And like Harper, the new prime minister is willing to sacrifice environmental and aboriginal concerns in order to get things done.

 On terrorism and national security, it's more of the same:

The Liberals promised to roll back elements of Bill C-51, Harper’s addition to anti-terror laws. But so far they have done no such thing.

In fact, as Canada’s privacy commissioner has noted, under the Liberals, police and the security services are using some of these new powers apace.

Militarily, the Trudeau government kept its promise to remove Canada’s fighter planes from the war in Iraq. But it compensated by tripling the number of Canadian military advisers who are on the ground in that war.

The means may differ from those employed by Harper. But the aim — to militarily support the U.S. in the war against Islamic radicals — is unchanged.

 And, on healthcare, it also appears to be more of the same:

Health spending? The Harper government had unilaterally decided to cut the annual increase in health care transfers to the provinces by roughly 50 per cent next year. The Liberals seem prepared to go ahead with this, although they say they do have some additional money on hand for home care.

Could we have been had?

Image:  globalnews.ca