The Budget Guard-Dog who Bit Harper

Instead he got a budget guard-dog who knows how to bark, and even bite back when he has to.

There were no problems as long as the economy was rolling along smoothly last summer. Harper and Page agreed on everything.

And then the big American bank crisis hit and Harper began making things up as he went along.

Page kept insisting on telling people the truth about the economy. Harper kept saying it was better to be “positive.”

The job of a parliamentary budget officer (such as the one they have in the U.S.) is to tell the truth to the public and the politicians so they can be a position to make the right decisions about the economy.

It has nothing to do with trying to make people feel better even as the sky is falling on the stock market and unemployment is hitting 30-year highs.

Last September, Harper said there would be no recession in Canada. No. there will be a recession, Page corrected him. He was right. It was soon obvious. There is a recession.

Harper predicted Canada would have a surplus. Page said it would be a deficit. Then Harper added, okay then, it will be a small deficit.

No, replied Page, it will be a huge deficit. Actually it turned out to be a huge deficit. It’s headed towards the $38 billion this year and $35 billion next year, even worse than in the Brian Mulroney years.

Harper kept making his rosy predictions and kept being wrong. It became a joke. Every time Harper opened his mouth, and made another prediction, the financial world ran to Page to find out the truth.

A prime minister doesn’t like to be contradicted time and again like that, especially Harper, and especially not by a guy he appointed.

Page’s outspoken utterances soon had other financial experts on his side, such as David Dodge, former governor of the Bank of Canada who appeared on television and was heard to say: “I’m afraid Harper’s wrong on that, and Page is right.” Ouch.

Don Drummond, TD Bank chief economist and tv star financial expert found himself also agreeing with Page on some issues.

The Page disease was spreading through the financial community.

What? Didn’t anyone tell this guy Page that nobody stands up to Harper . . . and lives to tell about it. Harper’s credibility on economic issues was going down the tube.

How is Harper going to win an election this summer if Page keeps telling us that 535,000 jobs will be lost by July, and jobs will disappear faster than Harper can create them?

The Conservatives finally decided Page had to be brought into line. They had enough. So Page was hauled up before a parliamentary committee.

Conservative MPs attacked him for always contradicting their boss. ”Why are you always so negative” asked Conservative MP Mike Wallace. “Don’t you have anything positive to say about the economy?”

Page thought and then replied: “Yes, in fact, retail sales were up a little this month.”

But then he added that: “in general, things look quite bleak.”

He could have added the old W. C. Fields’ line: “On the whole, I’d rather be in Philadelphia.”

The only thing that remains is for Harper to fire Page, but to do that, Harper needs a majority in the Commons, which he doesn’t have.

Until then, Page will keep on barking, and Harper had just better watch out for the teeth.