On The Passing Of Jim Flaherty

Make no bones about it, the late Jim Flaherty was, from all accounts, a very nice guy, who loved his family and his country. He was mischievous with a great sense of humor.

While he could be very partisan, he was willing to listen to those from other parties. It’s something we should all do. From the outpouring of grief from all sides (The leader of NDP, Thomas Mulcair, was moved almost to tears in his comments on the death of Flaherty.) and ordinary people in his riding, Jim Flaherty was well-liked and well-respected. Any politician that can bring out such deep emotion from all sides to me deserves the state funeral that he got.

He and his wife, Christine Elliott, MPP, for Whitby-Oshawa, had a mentally disabled child which made them very supportive of the disabled, whom he always tried to make feel welcomed. They helped get the Abilities Centre in Whitby. Flaherty and Elliott were tireless advocates for the disabled. As finance minister he got the registered disability savings plan. Both of them are to be applauded for their work.

I admired the courage in which he handled his health problems. It’s very unfortunate that his job as finance minister ultimately took its toll with his premature death and a shame that he hadn’t lived to enjoy the holiday he so richly deserved.

Flaherty apparently was a strong supporter of passenger rail. He made the largest investment ever in VIA Rail Canada, although unfortunately none of the funds went to new equipment or new routes. Could he have done more? Certainly, but politics is a team sport and there is only so much one person, no matter how powerful, can do.

His financial legacy I would argue is not quite as great as is generally made out to be. He did well to be concerned about the growing housing bubble in Canada and the increasing debt levels of Canadians, which I fully believe are a ticking time bomb. And I have taken full advantage of the tax-free savings account, which I’m thankful for. His belief in a balanced budget is to be applauded. (Too bad our neighbors to the south also don’t share this.)

However, the claim that he saved Canada during the so-called Great Recession is debatable. He certainly didn’t make it worse. On one hand he showed great courage in going against his instinct to keep the books balanced and spent during a downturn. He then successfully tried to balance the books as quickly as possible afterwards. On the other hand he created the largest deficit in Canadian history. The deficit destroyed 11 straight years of surpluses, which saw the debt being paid down. Did the extra spending help? Well it occurred just as the economy was starting to improve on its own. That Canadian banks didn’t fail was simply a matter of luck. We may not be so fortunate again. My biggest concern is that the next time we get into a major financial crisis, which I believe is nearly upon us, we won’t have the resources that we did the last time.

And like most finance ministers, politicians and economists around the globe, he failed to understand the connection between the economy and the environment and energy, that the key to a healthy economy is a healthy environment. Just like financially we need to live below our means in order to be in good shape, so to  do we need to live below our ecological and energy means to be in good shape there too. The disbelief of a lot of Conservatives in human caused climate change, which I don’t know if Flaherty shared, speaks volumes.

At any rate Jim Flaherty will be sorely missed. May his soul truly rest in peace. I salute him.