Editor,
So here's the scenario: you're just getting back to work from the holidays. You probably wouldn't have minded a few more days off; you've been working hard this year, probably harder than you ever have.
But you've been told from the boss that this may be the worst recession the company's experienced, everybody's got to sacrifice a little bit to get the company back in the black. You've done your bit and finally there are some signs that things just might be turning around.
Now there's this senior manager over in another department. He and his team are paid quite handsomely - almost three times what the average guy in the company makes.
All last year he and his team have been trumpeting how many projects they've got going. They've been announcing successes with numbers that no one can really confirm.
In fact the one guy this manager hired to keep tabs on the books has been bullied and shut out of any real conversation about the finances for quite some time.
You've had your suspicions about this manager and his team but you've probably figured hey, if they stay out of my way and don't drive the company into bankruptcy, I'll keep my head down too. It's hard enough to keep a job in this economy, why put anybody out of work?
So imagine this guy comes into the boardroom on your first day back and announces he and his team won't be showing up to work today. Or this week. Actually they won't be showing up to work until March.
And a lot of the work they were doing, the work they kept announcing would make the company better, safer, more prosperous, more fair for everyone well, they're going to have to cancel all of those projects actually.
In fact they're going to have to go right back to square one.
You would probably turn to the person beside you and ask is this guy for real?
But wait - it gets better. A guy on his team says that one of the big reasons they're taking an extended vacation is the need to celebrate the Olympics properly.
This would be the moment you turn to the boss and expect him to say what everybody in the room is thinking: something along the lines of "Get back to work!" or "You and your team are fired!"
Well that scenario is not fiction. That senior manager and his team are Stephen Harper and his government. But the boss here is all of us. We're paying their salaries.
The work of parliament and its committees, imperfect as they are, are there for a reason: To pass measures to improve the lives of Canadians, to keep an eye on the people's business, and to hold the government accountable.
The very health of our system demands that we expect more - much more - from the government we elect to serve the national interest.
Dan Veniez
Federal Liberal candidate for West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country.
