Deficit Jim's Legacy

The Con government has finally been forced to admit what's been glaringly clear to anybody paying attention, as Jim Flaherty's financial mismanagement has led to a balance sheet that only a red ink manufacturer could love:

According to papers released by the Finance Department, Ottawa foresees annual deficits of $5 billion, $5.5 billion, $4 billion and $1 billion in the next four fiscal years.

...

The deficits are forecast to occur even if the government proceeds with billions of dollars in asset sales and cost cutting it proposed in the doomed Nov. 27 economic update.

The documents also suggest Ottawa may slip into the red in the current fiscal year -- instead of posting the $2.3-billion surplus predicted in last February's budget.

If anything, the second paragraph above may be the most significant: even accepting the Cons' spin about slashing and selling anything they can get their hands on in a desperate attempt to hide the damage Flaherty has done to Canada's budget, they can no longer maintain the claim that they haven't driven Canada into a deficit. And of course, that trip into the red is a foregone conclusion even before a dime gets put into the stimulus package which Flaherty at last notice recognized to be a necessity. Which should provide ample reason to want to see Flaherty and his party removed from any position to keep up the destruction.