CANADA
Jim
Flaherty to be honoured with state funeral next week
By
Bruce Cheadle | Apr 11, 2014 4:23 pm
Jim
Flaherty
Jim
Flaherty, eulogized as an Irish lion after his sudden and unexpected death this
week, is getting a farewell fit for Thomas D’Arcy McGee.
A
state funeral will be held for Flaherty this Wednesday in Toronto, the Prime
Minister’s Office announced Friday, a formal government send-off for the man
who shepherded Canada’s finances for the past eight years.
Flaherty,
who died at age 64 Thursday of a reported heart attack, revelled in his Irish
ancestry and was known for his ever-present green neck ties.
He’ll
become the latest in a tradition of Canadian state funerals that began in 1868
with McGee, an Ireland-born nationalist who became a member of Parliament and
was assassinated on the streets of Ottawa after a late night of debate in the
Commons.
Flaherty
was only a month removed from stepping down as finance minister, a portfolio he
had held since the Conservatives came to power in early 2006.
“Jim
was a great friend and colleague, a dedicated family man, and an extraordinary
minister of Finance who sacrificed an enormous amount in his years of service
to Canada and to Canadians,” Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in a release
Friday after announcing the state funeral.
“He
will be remembered with great affection and respect. Jim and his family remain
in our thoughts and our prayers at this difficult time.”
A book
of condolences was made available Friday to the public in the Hall of Honour on
Parliament Hill, and will be open to public expressions of remembrance until
Monday.
In
Toronto, the CN Tower is to be lit up in green Friday evening and again
Wednesday — a humorously fitting tribute to a man who began most public
speeches with a self-deprecating joke about his five-foot-three height.
Flaherty
raised a family in and represented the city of Whitby, Ont., just 50 kilometres
east of Toronto. His wife Christine Elliott, is a member of the provincial
legislature at Queen’s Park.
The
last federal politician to receive a state funeral was former NDP leader Jack
Layton, who died of cancer in August 2011. His funeral, too, was held in
Toronto.
It is
an honour normally reserved for current and former governors general, prime
ministers and sitting members of cabinet — although a state funeral may be
offered to any eminent Canadian at the discretion of the prime minister.
McGee,
Layton, and now Flaherty, are the only three Canadians accorded a state funeral
since Confederation beyond the prescribed list, according a list provided by
Canadian Heritage.
To
date, 15 prime ministers, eight governors general and 10 cabinet ministers have
been given state funerals since McGee’s in 1868.
--------------
Maclean's Magazine
‘Each
of us should contemplate Jim Flaherty’s example’
Paul
Wells remembers the formidable former finance minister
by
Paul Wells
Canadian
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty speaks to the press as he tries on new shoes as
he shops in Ottawa on March 28, 2012. (Rogerio Barbosa/AFP/Getty)
Canadian
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty speaks to the press as he tries on new shoes as
he shops in Ottawa on March 28, 2012. (Rogerio Barbosa/AFP/Getty)
It
will often be said over the next few days that they don’t make politicians like
Jim Flaherty any more, but come on: when did they ever?
In
2002 Mike Harris stepped down as leader of Ontario’s Progressive Conservative
party and opened his succession to an array of singularly bloodless potential
successors: Ernie Eves, Elizabeth Witmer, Chris Stockwell. Tony Clement for
fun. And Jim Flaherty, a smirky leprechaun like an Irish cop from central
casting. He wanted to jail the homeless. He sent a Queen’s freshman dressed as
a waffle to bedevil Eves on the campaign trail. He read his campaign speeches
from Teleprompters, exotic behaviour in those simple times. Covering him, I
thought Christmas for pundits must have come early.
It was
so easy to see why Mike Harris had promoted him so aggressively in the
departing premier’s last months in office. Winners can spot winners. “I believe
him to be the most formidable new political talent to rise in Canadian public
life in the last decade or so,” I wrote of Flaherty in the National Post on the
morning of the leadership vote, “and I believe his party is about to make a
mistake it will pay for with all its toys.”
Related:
John
Geddes: Flaherty’s toughness was real, but not the whole story
Aaron
Wherry: A death in the family
Former
finance minister Jim Flaherty dead at 64
Jim
Flaherty: A life in photos
How
the financial crisis defined Flaherty’s legacy
“I’ve
never understood,” a Liberal who worked for Dalton McGuinty told me later, “How
it is that a Queen’s Park gallery full of reporters could have thought Eves was
the second coming. And then you wandered in from Ottawa and saw what we saw.
Jim Flaherty terrified us.”
He won
38 per cent of second-ballot votes that year, and 46 per cent in 2004, after
Eves lost and it was John Tory’s turn to be Ontario Conservatism’s great moderate
hope. By 2006 he had given up on Ontario politics and joined Stephen Harper’s
federal Conservative insurgency.
He
would never be entirely comfortable being somebody’s lieutenant, even somebody
as forceful and successful as Harper. Flaherty was uncomfortable taking orders.
During the short period after he stopped being a factor in Toronto and before
he became a big deal in Ottawa, I sat at the table next to his at the back of
the annual Public Policy Forum dinner in Toronto. The PPF dinner is one of the
Canadian elite’s obligatory events, a long testimonial gathering at the Metro
Toronto Convention Centre in which the worthiest of public-service worthies are
flattered in batches of four—Mel Cappe! Phil Fontaine! Bob Rae! Chaviva Hosek!
On this particular occasion, however, the proceedings were leavened, for anyone
sitting within 40 feet of Jim Flaherty, by his wicked, sotto voce and deeply
funny heckling of every single Great Canadian who popped his or her head above
the podium.
He was
on better behaviour when he got to Ottawa, but really not much. He simply had
no interest in obeying others’ ideas of proper decorum. In a capital full of
trimmers and dissemblers, the little vortex of anarchy around the Finance
Minister remained consistently satisfying. He kept an eye on Ontario politics,
where his wife Christine Elliott remains active, and when an occasion arose to
decry the McGuinty Liberals’ performance he rarely let it pass. He viewed every
second question from reporters as a chance to crack wise, and he made a great
show of taking his time while he did it.
He was
brilliant at telegraphing disagreement with Harper, without letting it
degenerate into open revolt. When he had been finance minister for a year I
interviewed him in the penthouse Toronto Finance District office reserved for
Ontario ministers when they’re not in Ottawa. The government was preparing to
“solve the fiscal imbalance” by transferring billions to the provinces. It was
Flaherty’s job to make sure the books balanced after that bit of Kabuki theatre
was done, and he made it clear to me that he didn’t want to give away the
store. This government was ”the first federal government in Canadian history to
acknowledge” the existence of a fiscal imbalance, he said. He paused a beat.
Then: “There’s a good deal of debate about how large it is, you know.” Then he
roared with laughter at that subtle bit of editorializing.
But no
minister gets the reputation Flaherty enjoyed merely by being an expert heckler
and telegrapher of distance from the boss. When Harper wrote an ambush on
political party financing into the 2008 fall economic update, it was Flaherty
who stoically took the criticism for the uproar that followed, uproar he had
done nothing to provoke. And after Harper survived the coalition crisis his own
tactical blunder had provoked, it fell to Flaherty to deliver the economic
stimulus the moment required. Later even auditor-general Sheila Fraser
complimented the government on the care with which it disbursed billions of
dollars in quick spending. Flaherty’s stock in international finance circles
rose commensurately. He became the surest guarantor of the Harper government’s
key electoral asset, its relative credibility as a steward of the economy.
We
spend endless hours in Ottawa debating the strange phenomenon of MPs sinking
ever further into anonymity, pusillanimity and risk aversion. Optimistic
colleagues while away the hours imagining some structural reform that would
transform MPs into men and women of ideas and innovations. And there may be
room for such reforms, but in the end, it all comes down to the same question
each of us faces in our lives: Are you going to live in fear, or are you going
to live? Jim Flaherty was more alive than the next half-dozen politicians and
assorted Hill denizens put together. That’s why his death leaves such a
shocking emptiness behind. Each of us should contemplate his example.
--------------
April
11, 2014, 5:49 p.m. ET
.
Canada
Plans State Funeral for Former Finance Minister Jim Flaherty
By Nirmala Menon
OTTAWA--Canada's
former finance minister Jim Flaherty, who died suddenly on Thursday, will be
given a state funeral next week, a spokesman for Prime Minister Stephen Harper
said.
The
state funeral will be in Toronto on Wednesday, Jason MacDonald confirmed in an
email Friday. Details will be provided later, he said.
Mr.
Flaherty had been the only finance minister to serve under Mr. Harper until he
resigned less than a month ago. Joe Oliver, the country's former resources
minister, succeeded Mr. Flaherty.
Write
to Nirmala Menon at nirmala.menon@wsj.com
-------------
Halifax
Chronicle - Herald
READER’S
CORNER
Flaher
ty was right on the money
On
Oct. 31, 2006, then Finance Minister Jim Flaherty really played a bad Halloween
trick on many unsusp ecting Canadians, wiping out almost $6 billion in wealth
when he announced the end o f income trusts.
Like
many, I was furious becaus e I was one o f the income trust investors, and as
an investment adviser, I had many clients that owned them. Over time, however,
I grew to appreciate the value of that decision and how much better Canada was
off without them.
That
was the measure of Jim Flaherty and the great wisdom he had, esp ecially when
it came to difficu lt situations. During his tenure as finance minister, it
seems there was no shortage of difficult situations and yet he rose to the
occasion every time.
On
another occasion, I wrote Mr. Flaherty about the financial crisis in the fall
of 2008. I was concerned central banks weren’t doing enough to supp or t the
capital markets and that they had to buy s ecurities in order to bring
confidence back and reflate asset valu es.
Little
did I know how right Jim Flaherty would be in this regard as he led the way in
what we now know as “quantative easing." He saved Canada’s financial
system from total collapse and, in turn, led the way for all the G8 nations in
fighting what was the worst financial calamity since the Great Depression. His
detailed response by letter won me over and since then I’ve had nothing but
admiration for the man . Mr. Flaherty was a giant of man, far exceeding his
five-footthree physical stature, especially when it came to fighting for others’
rights or for awareness of disabilities and illness es.
He had
a rare skin condition himself, which would have been fatal had it not been for
the medication he took. During the past 18 months since his diagnosis, we’ll
never know the pain and suffering Mr. Flaherty endured, as he never was one to
acknowledge his own burdens.
The
effects o f medication alone, apparently, were horrific; it could result in
many side-effects such as depression, a compromised immune system, loss of
train o f thought , not to mention a moon face which was very noticeable.
In his
very high-profile and public role as finance minister, he never wavered as he
carried out his duties as if nothing were wrong. That took great perseverance
and courage which would have wilted ordinary folk like myself.
He
will be sadly missed, but will certainly be remembered as a great humanitarian
and statesman and one of the best-loved politicians. In my opinion , he was
the greatest finance minister Canada has ever had, if not the b est in the
world.
Thank
you, Jim, for all you did for us. Peace be with you as you move on to your next
assignment.
John
Moore, HRM
-------------
BLOGGED:
CANADA
MILITARY NEWS: Oct 2013-POPE FRANCIS-cover of Rolling Stone-Time-The Advocate
winning the hearts of billions Jan 2014- Our Catholic-Christian Faith in
Canada/Pope Francis and Canada's love of our CANADA GAY MILITARY CHAPLAIN
GENERAL and our military/love of our Jewish and Muslim brothers and sisters and
our Canadian history/Dr.Lockeridge 1976/Latin/Rosary - we are Canadian -God is
Angry- WATER MORE PRECIOUS THAN GOLD- Pope Francis
--------------
It was
the steroids that killed him isn't it.... remember had 2 go on steroids back in
mid-70s 2 save my eye.... and went from 98 pounds 2 high blood pressure, peeing
blood and gaining 48 pounds of fluid.... went back 2 my doctor (was a huge
athlete) and said I'd rather lose my eye... period... never regained musles or
much healing from my eye... but at least I owned my body... am so horrified
over a kind and good Canadian son... Jim Flaherty u will be missed.... OH LORD
CAN YA SEE STOMPIN TOM AND RITA, AND WAYLON AND KEITH WHITLEY, AND JANIS, AND
JIMI, AND JOHNNY CASH AND ALL THE GANG?? seriously... oh God we love ya soooooo
much and we know u think Canadians are way 2 saucy... but we know u have a soft
spot 4 the Irish... hugs and love from an old tarnished and tattered angel...
love u Jim Flaherty... love u and hugs and love and prayers 2 your family...
we'll take right proper good care of them 2... of that ya can be sure...
Jim
Flaherty’s finest moment was steering Canada through financial crisis
Theresa
Tedesco | April 10, 2014 | Last Updated: Apr 11 8:51 AM ET
--------------
Peace
of Christ Canada's everyday man- Jim Flarethy- Canada's Minister of Finance who
saved all our arses when UNITED STATES GREED CRASHED THE WORLD'S $$$$. Happy Sunday all... hugs and love from old
momma Nova... our troops honoured us... and 2da like every day... we honour
them... then, now and always.... that's
my story and I'm stickin 2 it.
Elvis
Presley - Why Me Lord (Live in Memphis 1974)- written by Kris Kristofferson
comment:
Just
absolutely INCREDIBLE. What a combination. Elvis and JD, how in the world it
took me this long to run into this? Thanks to Foxholemusic76 for uploading
this!! :-)
As
Kayonits2 said "Just epic"......it doesn't get better than
"Epic" in my dictionary.?
comment:
You
can hear the angels join Elvis in this song at 2;00
---------------
Ave Maria
----------------
Kris
Kristofferson - Lord Help Me Jesus
-------------
Kris
Kristofferson - Sunday morning coming down (1970)
------------
Vince Gill- Go Rest High on That Mountain
---------------
Flaherty
Mixed Fiscal Restraint With Streak of Mischief
By
Theophilos Argitis Apr 11, 2014 9:54 AM
AT 2 Comments Email
Print
Stored
somewhere in Jim Flaherty’s garage at his home near Toronto is a waffle costume
his campaign used as a prop during its losing bid for the leadership of the
Ontario Progressive Conservatives in 2002.
Canada’s
former finance minister, who died suddenly yesterday at age 64, would dress
campaign workers in the outfit to illustrate how his main opponent in that
race, Ernie Eves, wasn’t decisive, a “serial waffler.”
The
antics displayed the humor that Flaherty, one of the country’s longest-serving
finance ministers, became well-known for in Ottawa.
“In
the House as the news spread of Mr. Flaherty’s passing, there was just an
incredible sense of common humanity and respect for an individual who gave his
all in the service of his country,” Ralph Goodale, a member of the federal
Liberal Party and former finance minister, told reporters in Ottawa. “There was
an outpouring I think, of genuine affection and common unity. He always had
that impish, almost leprechaun style of his Irish heritage.”
Beneath
the Irish humor, was a devout fiscal conservative who wasn’t afraid to bring in
one of the most far-reaching episodes of government activism since World War II
to spare Canadians the brunt of the global economic crisis. That pragmatism
helped earn Canada a reputation as a financial stability bastion -- and kept
his government in power.
“I’m
not a philosopher,” Flaherty said in a 2012 interview to discuss his record.
“I’m an advocate of being pragmatic.”
Law
Degree
Flaherty
was born Dec. 30, 1949, in the Montreal suburb of Lachine. He studied at
Princeton University on a hockey scholarship, and earned a law degree from York
University’s Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto. He would stay in the greater
Toronto region the rest of his life, raising his family in Whitby, Ontario just
east of Canada’s largest city.
“My
partner and my friend Jim Flaherty has passed away,” Prime Minister Stephen
Harper told reporters in Ottawa yesterday. “This comes as an unexpected and a
terrible shock.”
Flaherty
died “peacefully,” his wife Christine Elliott and triplet sons John, Galen and
Quinn said in a statement. “We appreciate that he was so well supported in his
public life by Canadians from coast to coast to coast and by his international
colleagues.”
While
the statement didn’t give a cause of death, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.
reported Flaherty suffered a heart attack, citing people it didn’t name.
Emergency crews responded to a 911 call from Flaherty’s apartment at 12:27
p.m., and paramedics pronounced Flaherty dead on the scene, said Glenn Wasson
of the Ottawa Police.
Provincial
Start
Flaherty
had been the only finance minister to serve in Harper’s cabinet since the
Conservative government came to power in 2006. He stepped down from the post
March 18 and was replaced by Joe Oliver.
His
ascendancy from an insurance defense attorney to dean of Group of Seven finance
ministers began with a failed run for the Ontario legislature in 1990.
Flaherty
would run again and win election provincially in 1995 when Ontario voters
returned the Progressive Conservatives to power under Mike Harris and held
various cabinet positions, including provincial finance minister, but would
fail twice to win the party leadership.
Sensing
opportunity, he entered federal politics during the January 2006 elections that
brought the Conservatives back to power for the first time in 13 years. One of
the few Conservative lawmakers with any government experience at the time,
Flaherty was appointed finance minister.
Squeegee
Kids
He
brought with him a reputation as a right-wing politician who, as Ontario
attorney general, tried to stop youths washing car windshields at intersections
for spare change. His 2002 leadership run included a pledge to put homeless
people in jail.
It was
a reputation he often seemed to encourage.
In
parliamentary debates, he relished distinguishing himself as a deficit hawk,
claiming the opposition parties were free-spenders who would lead the country
to fiscal ruin.
“My
wife, Christine, and I are blessed with triplet sons and I am not prepared to
mortgage their future or any child’s future,” Flaherty told lawmakers in April
2006.
Accused
of behaving even worse than a “raving socialist finance minister” during one
exchange in Parliament in his first year on the job, Flaherty quipped: “I
insist that the member opposite apologize. I have family; I have children. This
cuts to the bone.”
Pragmatism,
Populism
One of
Flaherty’s sons has a mental disability and in 2007, Flaherty introduced the
Registered Disability Savings Plan, designed to help parents put away money for
their disabled children to have long-term financial security.
“I
greatly admired his passion for improving the lives of Canadians, especially
his advocacy on behalf of the disabled,” Ed Clark, chief executive officer of
Toronto-Dominon Bank said yesterday in a statement.
For
most of his tenure, keeping his government in power had been Flaherty’s main
preoccupation, and pragmatism and populism the two recurring themes. When the
Conservatives returned to power in 2006 they lacked a majority in Parliament to
pass legislation.
Flaherty’s
immediate tasks included fulfilling campaign pledges, winning opposition
backing for legislation, avoiding conflicts with provincial leaders, and
growing his party’s popular support.
Chrysler
Stake
He
doled out tiny credits and deductions that complicated the tax code, chose to
reduce the country’s unpopular sales taxes instead of lowering more costly
personal income taxes thereby discouraging savings and investment and fanning
consumer spending, and increased regulations to bolster consumer protection
that boosted costs for business.
To
fend off the global recession in 2009, he abandoned conservative dogma
altogether for Keynesian spending that he had criticized in his first years as
finance minister, as opposition parties threatened to take power.
His
government acquired a stake in Chrysler Group LLC, ran record deficits, bought
mortgages, and deepened business access to subsidies -- using whatever tools
available to keep the economy afloat and his party in power.
Flaherty
had no regrets for the ideological about-face.
“If we
have to do it again we’d do it again,” he said in the 2012 interview. “I guess
that’s Keynesian.”
It
worked for Flaherty, both economically and politically.
Canada’s
economy grew 56 percent in U.S. dollar terms between 2005 and 2012, equal to
$655 billion in additional annual production, compared with an average 28
percent among 35 advanced economies tracked by the International Monetary Fund,
and 23 percent for the other six G-7 countries.
Restoring
Credibility
In
inflation-adjusted terms, Canada’s economy has outperformed the G-7 average in
all but one year under Flaherty.
In
2011, the Conservatives were rewarded with a majority, ending five years of
minority government for Harper.
Flaherty
spent his last years in office seeking to restore his credibility as a fiscal
conservative in part to finance an ambitious tax cut agenda that, along with
staving off the global economic crisis, may be his most significant
achievement. Flaherty cites cuts that have reduced the federal government’s tax
take to its lowest in more than 50 years as evidence of his conservative
credentials.
“Smaller
government is better I still believe that,” Flaherty said. The tax cuts “will
limit revenue growth for government which in my view is a good thing because it
causes discipline in government.”
Surplus
Ahead
The
government is also on its way to returning to surplus. Flaherty’s budget plan
released in February forecasts almost C$45 billion ($41 billion) in surpluses
over four years starting in 2015.
“He
stuck to his guns after the financial crisis to whittle down the deficit,”
James Dutkiewicz, head of fixed-income at Sentry Investments Inc. which
oversees C$14 billion, said by phone from Toronto.
Flaherty
also took pride in Canada’s growing influence in institutions such as the Group
of 20. Officials attending a meeting of the group in Washington this week paid
tribute to Flaherty yesterday, including Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey,
Oliver and Bank of England Governor Mark Carney.
“Jim
Flaherty played a central role when the G20 came of age in Washington in 2008,
and when it forged its greatest contributions in London 2009 and Toronto 2010,”
Mark Carney, a former Bank of Canada Governor, said. “He was a true believer in
multilateralism, leading, urging, cajoling the members around the table to
pursue policies that would promote strong, sustainable and balanced growth for
all.”
Survival
Matters
Flaherty’s
relationship with Harper was forged during two minority administrations, from
2006 through the 2011 election. His tenure ended last month amid clashes with
his own government on tax policy and as he struggled to overcome a debilitating
skin disease. He died 23 days after stepping down.
“He
literally worked up to his dying day for the people of Canada,” Tom Caldwell,
CEO of Caldwell Securities Ltd., said in an interview. “His legacy is that
Canada worked its way through the greatest crisis period, stood tall and was a
star performer in the world. He helped establish Canada as the Switzerland of
the north.”
In a
2012 interview to discuss his record, Flaherty said that longevity is a
necessary condition if a government wants to be influential.
“Survival
matters,” Flaherty said. “We’ve made it. We’re still there. We’re still the
government.”
To
contact the reporter on this story: Theophilos Argitis in Ottawa at
targitis@bloomberg.net
To
contact the editors responsible for this story: David Scanlan at
dscanlan@bloomberg.net Jacqueline Thorpe
--------------
shanghai daily
Former
Canadian finance minister dies suddenly
Apr
11,2014
OTTAWA,
April 10 (Xinhua) -- Jim Flaherty, who stepped down as one of Canada's
longest-serving finance ministers in March and who served during one of the
country's most challenging economic times, died suddenly on Thursday at the age
of 64.
"Today
is a very sad day for me," Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper told his
federal caucus Thursday afternoon about the death of Flaherty, who served as
his only finance minister from 2006 until March 18.
The
Peace Tower flag here on Parliament Hill was lowered to half-mast in tribute to
Flaherty, and in what is believed to be an unprecedented move, the sitting of
the House of Commons was suspended until Friday morning.
A
former finance minister in Canada's largest province, Ontario, Flaherty became
the first federal finance minister to attempt to create, though not
accomplished under his watch, a national securities regulator, whose absence
has left Canada alone among member countries in the Organization for Economic
Co-operation and Development without such a national regulator.
An
immensely likeable politician, Flaherty was also not shy to express his opinion
even if it meant appearing at odds with his boss, the prime minister, over the
federal Conservatives' 2011 election promise to introduce income splitting for
couples with children under the age of 18.
The
plan was seen to benefit families where one parent has a high income and the
other parent may have little or no income.
The
day after delivering this year's -- and his 10th -- federal budget in February,
Flaherty acknowledged the promise needed to be thought through more carefully.
Flaherty's
health became an issue over the past year after he revealed in early 2013 that
he had suffered from a rare and painful autoimmune skin disorder, bullous
pemphigoid, though he said last month it was "not related in any way"
to his decision to leave his post as finance minister.
--------------
JIM
FLAHERTY'S LAST TWEET-
Jim
Flaherty @JimFlaherty
Follow
It has
been an honour to serve Canada. Thank you for the opportunity.
4:28
PM - 18 Mar 2014
-----------------
OBITUARY-Canada
Finance Minister Flaherty ruffled feathers, tackled crisis
Thu
Apr 10, 2014 3:33pm EDT
*
Flaherty was named Conservative finance minister in 2006
* Saw
Canadian economy through global financial crisis
*
Outspoken critic of euro zone debt crisis, deficits
*
Suffered from rare skin disease that limited activity
By
Louise Egan and Cameron French
OTTAWA/TORONTO,
April 10 (Reuters) - Jim Flaherty, who died on Thursday less than a month after
stepping down from his post as Canada's finance minister, was a straight talker
who shepherded the country's economy through a global financial crisis, and
quit shortly after laying out a plan to reach his goal of balancing the
government's budget.
Flaherty,
64, died peacefully in Ottawa, his family said in a statement.
He had
been suffering from a rare skin disease when he resigned on March 18, but he
denied at the time his decision had anything to do with his health.
The
third longest serving finance minister in Canadian history, Flaherty assumed
the job when Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative Party took power in
February 2006 after more than 12 years of Liberal rule.
Flaherty
had said publicly he wanted to stay in his job until he eliminated the
government's budget deficit, and in his budget in February he laid out a path
to accomplish that goal by next year, ahead of an election scheduled for
October 2015.
"In
my time as finance minister, I am proud of the work I have done to help manage
the deepest economic challenge to face Canada since the depression of the 1930s
and ensure Canada emerged stronger and as a recognized economic leader on the
international stage," Flaherty said in a written statement announcing his
resignation.
Married
and the father of grown-up triplet sons, Flaherty hailed from an
Irish-Canadian, Catholic middle class family. He always wore a green tie for
big announcements.
He was
known for his quick wit and combative style in parliamentary debates, and he
said he earned his toughness as a young hockey player.
As
finance minister, he introduced broad tax cuts early in his term, priming the
economic pump just before the start of the global credit crisis.
As the
crisis deepened, he shrugged off his conservative instincts and introduced
massive government stimulus measures to soften the blow on the economy, pushing
the federal budget into deficit for the first time in 11 years and winning
praise for helping the country bounce back from recession quickly.
On the
world stage, Flaherty was a harsh critic of euro zone countries for their
handling of the debt crisis and he persistently needled his Group of Seven
counterparts to rein in their budgets.
His
blunt criticism earned him a reputation among his European counterparts.
European Union Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn joked at
one point that he had a "Flaherty Index" on the EU's prospects, based
on how much grief he was getting from Flaherty at international meetings.
During
his tenure, Flaherty also had to grapple with an overheated housing market and
record-high personal debt levels. He tightened mortgage lending rules four
times, and both problems have shown signs of easing.
He was
not shy to take an unpopular stance, and in 2006 he roiled markets and received
death threats after breaking an election campaign promise with a surprise
decision to tax income trusts, an attractive type of investment vehicle.
He
again defied market expectations last May when he named Stephen Poloz as the
new Bank of Canada governor rather than giving the job to the man most thought
would get it, the bank's second-in-command, Tiff Macklem. And in 2010, he
hosted the G7 finance ministers in the Arctic town of Iqaluit, brushing off
naysayers who fretted about severe weather and travel problems.
Flaherty
had kept a lower profile since January 2013, when he revealed he was suffering
from a rare autoimmune disease called bullous pemphigoid, which causes itching
and painful blisters mostly on the abdomen, back, arms and legs. The medication
he took to combat the disease had side effects such as weight gain and mood
swings. (Editing by Jeffrey Hodgson; and Peter Galloway)
--------------
Business
leaders laud Jim Flaherty’s ‘leading voice’ on the economy
By
Postmedia News , Postmedia News April 10, 2014
Finance
Minister Jim Flaherty waits to appear before the House of Commons finance
committee in this file shot. Photograph: Adrian Wyld, The Canadian Press
Photograph
by: Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press , Postmedia News
The
Canadian Press
TORONTO
— Former federal finance minister Jim Flaherty was remembered by the business
community on Thursday for his steady hand and determined leadership in Canada
and on the world stage through the 2008-09 financial crisis.
“He
was a source of strength and financial leadership for the country during what
was probably the most challenging economic period since the Great Depression,”
said Gord Nixon, the head of Royal Bank of Canada.
“(Flaherty)
provided great global leadership. I think he would be recognized by his peers
as being not just a source of strength to Canada but a leading voice in terms
of dealing with what was a global crisis.”
“My
thoughts go to his wife, to the boys,” International Monetary Fund managing
director Christine Lagarde said in Washington, where Flaherty was a fixture at
G20 and IMF meetings.
“We
had a chat in Sydney, and a laugh. I would never have imagined he wouldn’t be
with us. He was a friend.”
As
finance minister for eight years, Flaherty opened the spending taps during the
economic crisis, running a $56-billion deficit, bailing out the auto sector and
spending freely to boost the ailing economy. He also became a leading voice
during the crisis globally and earned international recognition for his
efforts.
In
recent years, he returned to his fiscal conservative roots and moved to tighten
spending to put the federal budget back on track to return to surplus.
Nixon
said Flaherty “didn’t always see eye-to-eye” with Canadian banks, but the
sector knew that he was fair.
Flaherty
rankled the Canadian investment community when he backed away from a campaign
pledge by taxing income trusts like corporations. He has also took heat when he
publicly chided BMO last year for lowering the its key five-year mortgage rate,
warning the super-low rate could help overheat the housing market.
The
Investment Industry Association of Canada called it a “very sad day.”
“There
is little doubt he will go down in history as one of Canada’s most effective
finance ministers,” said IIAC president and CEO Ian Russell in a statement.
-------------
Flaherty
a calm guide through economic turbulence
By Lorne Gunter ,QMI Agency
First
posted: Thursday, April 10, 2014 07:57
PM MDT
jimbo
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty at a recent Question Period in Ottawa.
(REUTERS/File)
No
matter what one thought of Jim Flaherty, the former finance minister who died
suddenly on Thursday at the age of 64, Canada’s federal finances would almost
certainly have been worse under any other FinMin.
That
may sound like faint praise. It’s not meant to.
Flaherty
oversaw Canada’s national finances through eight lean years of financial
collapse and slow economic growth both at home and abroad. And yet, when he
left office in March, the national treasury was in good shape – not great, but
sound nonetheless.
Canada’s
national ledgers are the envy of the other six G7 countries.
Could
Flaherty have been more small-c conservative? For sure.
In his
first four years as Finance minister, Flaherty and the Harper government raised
Ottawa’s operational spending by 40%.
Since
then, spending has plateaued. Flaherty and Prime Minister Stephen Harper have
managed to stem the rise in federal spending over the past four years.
But
the upward spending spike in the first four years has driven the national debt
up $120 billion during the time the Tories have been in office.
Flaherty’s
$90-billion borrowing requirement in 2008-09 is far and away the largest such
liability in Canadian history, even after accounting for inflation and
population growth.
Those
aren’t very conservative achievements for a Conservative Finance minister.
But
recall Flaherty’s obscene spending increases were less than the ultra-obscene
increases by the national governments in nearly every other industrialized
country. On a per capita basis, Canada’s increases were less than half of the
stimulus increases of the U.S. federal government.
And
Flaherty’s increases came while the Tories were in back-to-back minority
governments. They came while the big-spending opposition parties – the NDP, the
Liberals and for a time the Bloc Quebecois – were holding a gun to the Tories’
head.
It
should be recalled, for instance, that the pact the Liberals and NDP signed in
late 2008 to topple the Harper government with the help of the separatist Bloc
was conceived because the three left-of-centre opposition parties didn’t think
the extra tens of billions the Tories were spending were enough. Had they
managed to replace the Tories, the spending would have been worse.
Without
Flaherty’s steady hand at Finance, Canada no doubt would be in a much, much
deeper hole than it’s in now.
Yes,
Ottawa helped bailout car companies and needlessly threw away more billions
trying to prime the economic pump. But the fact Ottawa did not overreact even
more to political pressure for more stimulus if a testament to Flaherty’s cool,
steady hand.
Admittedly,
when there was a choice between a safe, establishment decision and a bolder,
more conservative one, Flaherty almost always chose the establishment option.
His recent opposition to income splitting is a good example, as is his
so-called “Halloween massacre.”
On
Oct. 31, 2006, Flaherty announced that taxes on income trusts would be raised
to the same level as other corporations out of fairness. Of course, it would
have been just as “fair” (and far more conservative) to lower the taxes on
corporations to the level of income trusts.
However,
overall most Canadians now keep a greater percentage of their incomes than they
did before Flaherty thanks to his lowering of the GST and his implementation of
tax credits for things such as child care, kids’ sports and apprentices’ tools.
And by
next year, the federal government will consume a smaller percent of Canada’s
GDP than at any time in the past 50 years.
I am
sad for Flaherty’s family and friends. And sad for him, too. He stepped down
last month to spend more time with his family and pursue private interests. He
won’t have a chance to do either.
lorne.gunter@sunmedia.ca
------------------
AFGHANISTAN...
Afghan
National Army soldiers graduate Regional Corps Battle School
« on:
Today at 10:00:04 AM »
Afghan
National Army soldiers graduate Regional Corps Battle School
photo
ImageCAMP
SHORABAK, Afghanistan (March 23, 2014)
More than 1,000 Afghan soldiers graduated from the Regional Corps Battle
School aboard Camp Shorabak, Helmand province, Afghanistan, during a ceremony
March 20.
Source:
Afghan National Army soldiers graduate Regional Corps Battle School
COMMENT:
What a
beautiful share.... our Afghan brothers and sisters make our nations troops so
proud... so incredible.... rather die standing 4 freedom than live on our
knees..... heroes one and all
COMMENT:
Pat
Stogran They look sharp on parade but can they fight? We will find out soon,
and so will they! P@
COMMENT:
Well
so many die every day... it's 2 bad NATO and UN didn't do more- but u know
what... our troops on the ground sure as hell did... they never gave in and
never gave up believing that the man and women - now Comrades in Arms could be
trained and educated and believe in themselves.... our troops did that along
with Afghans spirit. The last Afghan
poll by Afghans stated 77% of everyday Afghans trusted and totally respected
our troops on the ground and Afghan forces.
After the election everyday Afghans handed out flowers 2 the Afghan cops
and army.... in the thousands.... it's just doesn't get better than that...
they deserve their pride, dignity, self-respect and knowledge that so many of
us believe in them... truly believe.
Because if we were walking in their shoes... would we even vote let
alone sign up 2 serve our nation. Uncle
Harold said in this day we would be on our knees and speaking german and we'd
better be white, blond and blue eyed.... so I'll take this thank. and admire u
Pat Stogran... thank u 4 all u do 4 our troops.
-----------------
Jim
Flaherty: a tough-talking politician with a heart
BILL
CURRY and JOSH WINGROVE
OTTAWA
— The Globe and Mail
Last
updated Friday, Apr. 11 2014, 3:10 PM EDT
Jim
Flaherty changed fiscal conservatism in Canada by delivering one of the largest
deficits in modern history. When he quit as finance minister after eight years,
he left the country on the road to balance.
That
tough decision, taken during the Great Recession of 2008, symbolizes how Mr.
Flaherty will be remembered – as a smart, fiscal conservative who proved to be
a flexible finance minister during hard economic times.
--------------
Disability
community ‘has lost a true champion’ in Jim Flaherty
ANDRÉ
PICARD - PUBLIC HEALTH REPORTER
The
Globe and Mail
Last
updated Friday, Apr. 11 2014, 5:59 AM EDT
Outside
of financial circles, Jim Flaherty is best remembered as a relentless champion
of Canadians with disabilities.
The
former finance minister, who died Thursday at age 64, created, most notably,
the registered disability savings plan, a program designed to meet the needs of
people with physical, developmental and psychiatric disabilities, that is
unique in the world.
He was
also an active supporter of Special Olympics. But, above all, Mr. Flaherty will
be remembered as someone who used his political clout and considerable charm to
promote the inclusion of people with disabilities in the workplace and in other
aspects of everyday life.
“The
disability community in Canada has lost a true champion,” said Laurie Beachell,
co-ordinator of the Council of Canadians With Disabilities. “What we
appreciated most was that people with disabilities were a central part of his
message and his actions. It was not an add-on or tokenism.”
There
are 3.8 million Canadians living with a disability, including one of Mr.
Flaherty’s triplet sons. John has a severe developmental disability, having
suffered brain damage when he contracted encephalitis as a baby.
Mr.
Flaherty’s close relationship with his son informed and inspired his policies
and “changed my perception of what really matters in life,” he wrote in a 2010
article published by the Canadian Association for Community Living entitled
“What Heaven Looks Like.” The title quotes John’s comment while admiring the
Great Barrier Reef from a submersible during a family vacation.
The
Flaherty family often spent their holidays in Jamaica, where they worked with
children with disabilities, and travelling to Special Olympics events.
Terri
Milburn, whose son has autism and went to school with John, was in a Whitby
hair salon when she found out about Mr. Flaherty’s death.
“I
just felt sick,” she said. “Gobsmacked.”
“I
can’t even begin to say how important it is to my son and everyone with
disabilities,” Ms. Milburn said.
Sharon
Bollenbach, CEO of Special Olympics Canada, said Mr. Flaherty was one of the
group’s biggest supporters, both in his role as a politician and as a parent.
His son John is a baseball player in the Special Olympics program and his other
two sons, Galen and Quinn, are coaches.
In his
last budget, Mr. Flaherty included a $10.8-million grant to Special Olympics
Canada. Mr. Bollenbach said the initiative was not a gift but an investment
that reflected his beliefs.
“Mr.
Flaherty believed that sport is for everyone, even those with intellectual
disabilities. Special Olympics is a catalyst for social change and promotes a
more inclusive society and he believed passionately in that,” she said.
Jack
Styan, vice-president of strategic initiatives at Community Living B.C., said
Mr. Flaherty’s most important legacy is the registered disability savings plan,
which uses the tax system to create more independence.
He was
presented with the idea in 2006 by the Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network, a
group of parents who have adult children with severe disabilities, and
immediately embraced it.
Mr.
Flaherty also initiated a number of other tax changes that benefited people
with disabilities, including the Enabling Accessibility Fund, which provided
grants to make facilities and technology more accessible, and the working
income tax benefit, to bolster the income of working Canadians living in
poverty. (Many people with disabilities work part-time or in low-wage jobs.)
Under
the RDSP program, money can be set aside for a person with a disability (by
family or the person) and investments accrue tax-free; the RDSP is much like an
RRSP, except withdrawals can begin at age 45. The parent of a 15-year-old who
puts $200 a month into the plan would provide her with an additional $2,500 a
month by age 65. Additionally, the rules are such that her other income, such
as disability benefits, are not to be clawed back and the result is that a
person will not live in poverty.
To
date more than 81,000 Canadians have registered for an RDSP, and Ottawa had
contributed close to $1-billion.
“There
is nothing remotely like this anywhere else in the world,” Mr. Styan said.
“It’s Mr. Flaherty’s legacy.”
Mr.
Flaherty was also immensely proud of the program. Once, when speaking about the
RDSP and how it would create financial independence and stability for children
after their parents had passed away, Mr. Flaherty wept openly.
--------------
Jim
Flaherty: Cheerful Tory warrior with a heart: Editorial
People
are measured by more than their partisan politics and on that score Jim
Flaherty will be remembered as a “strong, tough character” with a huge
personality and a zest for life.
The
tributes for Jim Flaherty that flowed on Parliament Hill at the news of his
sudden death were generous and genuine. He was a cheerful Conservative warrior
with a big laugh, a bigger heart, the ability to rise above blinkered
partisanship and a rare ability to connect with people.
Even
his political rivals felt a pang at the sad news that he had succumbed Thursday
to a heart attack just weeks after bowing out as Canada’s finance minister
after eight gruelling years on the job.
As
Prime Minister Stephen Harper put it in his own brief but heartfelt tribute to
a “colleague, partner and friend,” Flaherty commanded “great respect and
affection” across the political divides from the days he served as a minister
in former Ontario premier Mike Harris’s right-wing government. In a fitting
show of that respect, Parliament suspended its work on news of his passing.
During
his time in Ottawa as Harper’s right-hand man and the MP for Whitby-Oshawa,
Flaherty steered the Canadian economy through the Great Recession of 2008-2009
with a steady hand.
Slow
as he was to acknowledge the growing storm clouds and ideologically averse as
he was to deficit spending, Flaherty proved to be a consummate pragmatist,
eventually pouring $47 billion into stimulus to avert another Great Depression.
As the Star noted when he stepped down, that will be remembered as his biggest
and best legacy. It preserved the core economic strength that Liberals Jean
Chrétien and Paul Martin had worked hard to generate. On his watch Canada
weathered the storm better than most countries. And he will be remembered as
well for introducing a savings plan to help people with disabilities and their
families.
Canadians
recognized and respected him for the workhorse he was, stubbornly battling a
debilitating disease even as he hacked away at the federal deficit to generate
the surplus that may allow Harper and the party to dole out tax breaks in the
next federal election. His tenacity and loyalty kept him going longer than
others might have.
True
to the Harper government’s ideological instinct to cut Ottawa down to size by
“starving the beast,” Flaherty implemented a range of policies that hobbled the
government’s influence. He cut the goods and services tax, slashed corporate
taxes to record levels and boasted of cutting other taxes 160 times. For a man
who abolished the penny, he seemed to count every last one. Today federal
revenues are at the lowest level in a half-century.
While
Conservatives see that as reason to cheer, the burden of tax- and
deficit-cutting fell heavily on a nation struggling with less than optimal
growth, painfully slow job creation, anemic business investment and unmet
social needs. Canadians deserve a government that aims higher.
Still,
people are measured by more than their partisan politics and on that score Jim
Flaherty will be remembered as a “strong, tough character,” in New Democrat
Leader Tom Mulcair’s words, with a huge personality, few pretensions, a
self-deprecating sense of humour and a zest for life. Liberal Leader Justin
Trudeau paid tribute to his “strong social conscience” and sense of public
service. His family knows his devotion. His friends will never forget his
loyalty. His adversaries value the respect he gave them.
Parliament
is diminished by his passing.
Canadians
have lost a decent, gifted politician who brought talent, tenacity and energy
to the service of his country and his convictions
----------
CHILD OF THE UNIVERSE- DESERIDATA
desiderata - by max ehrmann
Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant, they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass.
Take kindly to the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.
Max Ehrmann c.1920
AND.... WE LOVE U CLARA... LET'S GET THIS DONE 4 JIM AND ALL OF US IN OUR CANADA...
BLOGGED:
“We
have a long way to go for people with disabilities to be
respected
as persons—not as persons with an asterisk, but simply as
people
who belong in the community.”~ Michael Stein
BLOG: O Canada- CLARA'S BIG RIDE 2014-CANADIAN
OLYMPIC HERO- Clara's biking across Canada bringing Mental Health in2 the
light- Clara and Bell Canada's - Let's Talk- check the dates Canada come out
and support our Olympic Champion Clara Hughes -Updates Daily- April 11
-----------------
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