Canada

I’m not sure what you mean by “just public servants”. I mean…that’s not true…but, yes, austerity governments tend to salivate when they look at salaries as a line-item, and cut labour…because it’s the biggest and bluntest instrument you can show cuts with. But less people means less services - as well as less citizens making a decent wage means a lower bar for the industry. Just take housing…promises promises on units…but actual cuts to the ministry of housing…and his plan, by all appearance, is to infuse the private sector with tax dollars, offload services to the private sector, and provide bubble protection to its investors: when these government jobs are transferred to the private sector, they will come with wage reductions, reduced labour protections, much less transparency and accountability, less customer service, and more AI & automation. With additional cuts to veterans affairs and the CRA (all seeing the same effect as staff cuts do Canadian labour health)…this budget would be indistinguishable from a conservative budget…if it weren't for the deep 10-15% cuts (I predict those will expand as they get drunk on how it makes their budgets look), which sets it “above” (below!) conservative budgets.

When I said you were speaking like a liberal it was in response to “tricking” Alberta into increasing the carbon tax. The only time I’ve seen the lead buried that deeply is in LPC press material and from its surrogates. Because, as we’ve seen in conservative projects, the perversely named “Build Canada Act” is an “abundance” act that removes environmental/indigenous consultation and regional sovereignty….all while privatizing the project. Yes, there’s lip service and no concrete plan to share royalties with the indigenous lands they pillage - an excellent way to drive a wedge between the IA councils and hereditary councils. There’s always been a form of taxation on tar sands exports..so describing the deal that they worked out (what amounts to an updated royalties deal - it’s dubious the math will math into an increase for Canada) as “tricking” Alberta is just incorrect. Canada is paying for a gift to Alberta and the private sector, for very little return…is the accurate headline.

Trudeau, for as much of a neoliberal as he was, traded boutique service expansions off with his private-public partnerships. Trudeau wanted to increase the capital gains tax and nationalize a pipeline. Trudeau had pet projects like equity and safe drinking water. Trudeau was still nudging Canada right, at large - but at least it wasn’t a disaster. Describing Carney as moving Canada toward the centre is absurd, considering what he’s actually doing. All of Trudeaus trade-offs and pet projects are gone…and it’s all austerity and cynicism now. If these are our supposed liberals…wait til we see how the party in waiting has to reposition themselves to the right of them: yea, what Pollievre is currently virtue signalling to his Rebel News subscribers is absolutely terrifying…but it’s only possible because Carney made many of his previous election promises come true.