They’re already out campaigning

The election is on, the finish line somewhere straight ahead this fall.

Stephen Harper has spent the summer travelling across Canada tossing out taxpayers’ money left and right (in his case, mostly right.)

Harper calls it “stimulating the economy.” Pierre Trudeau used to call it “passing out the candies.” Same thing.

Campaigning is what Harper knows best. Critics say it’s all he knows. Not nice.

Since the Commons went on holidays in mid-June it seems that every government announcement requires the presence of Harper or a cabinet minister plus the local Conservative MP. Sometimes all of them.

Harper hopes that for all the money he’s spending – about $23 billion in 63 days -- voters will see something on the ground before election day.

The $90 million Pitt Meadows Bridge in B.C. was first announced in 2005 as part of the Liberal government’s Pacific Gateway Strategy.

Harper went there this month to re-announce it. He jumped up on the bridge to announce the construction over again. That takes gall. At least there was water under the bridge.

In Lac Saint-Jean the Conservatives handed out $100,000 to encourage a butcher to sell more lamb. Probably the nicer cuts.

Another million went towards drying blueberries in Mistassini. Won’t hurt getting Denis Lebel and Jean-Pierre Blackburn re-electd.

The perfect campaign – a nice combination of taxpayers’ money to create jobs, and a grateful voting populace attending the photo-ops.

Meanwhile back in Ottawa the Great Count Michael Ignatieff was awaking from a long summer of slumber. Actually he had been “thinking thoughts,” he told columnist Jane Taber.

Finally two weeks ago he took off on a whirlwind tour of our Great Land visiting three Maritimes provinces in six days. Then it was on to Quebec to probe Conservative soft spots in the Québec City area, and a perceived Bloquiste weakness in the Gaspé peninsula. He too, like Harper, denied he was campaigning.

On Aug. 2 he told reporters in Gaspé: “We must not talk about elections, but rather about regional development.” That went over big in the peninsula where they’ve heard more election talk than they’ve seen actual development in recent years.

But Aug. 11 his Quebec lieutenant, Denis Coderre declared in Victoriaville: “We need elections this fall. We Liberals will be ready.”

Coderre must have realized he went too far. He added: “But of course, my leader Michael Ignatieff will decide.” The little lieutenant took himself for a general.

Soon afterwards Harper’s deputy director of communications, Dimitri Soudas, took the time and effort to send me a clipping from the Sherbrooke Record newspaper citing Coderre contradicting his leader. Surely it was so that I could inform my readers correctly.

Politics is great and journalism is a lot easier when we have Mr. Soudas sending us clippings. “Mission Accomplished, Mr. Soudas.”