NDP Propaganda at its finest

Even though it's exam time, I couldn't help but notice two nuggets of NDP propaganda, released by Hamilton Mountain's MP Chris Charlton, that prove exactly why that party will never form a national government. The first will be addressed here and the other will be in a later post. It's bad enough this riding is saddled with an NDP MP as is, here's hoping that changes when voters choose the 'right' candidate in Conservative Terry Anderson in the upcoming election.

Exhibit A for the jury is a media release that came out late Tuesday night and was picked up by some of Hamilton's radio stations Wednesday morning. Charlton's simplistic argument was that gas prices are too high and there should be an "oil and gas ombudsman" (but not an ombudswoman? Hmmm.) responsible for investigating consumer complaints about the industry and its players. To that I say poppycock. At first glance, this position assumes that it is permissible for a government agent to be involved in the free market, a view that only left-leaning people can properly have. Consumers are not stupid, they know that the price of gas is high and it is impossible to do anything about it. As is the case with every other consumer good, the price has risen over the years yet people still buy gas in increasing volumes. If you really want to send a message to oil and gas companies, start riding a bike or taking mass transit. It's not that hard to figure out.

On top of this, Charlton does not offer any sort of costing for this position. An effective ombuds would likely require a budget of hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not into the one million-plus level. So, let's get this straight, not only does Charlton think gas prices are too high, but she also proposes hosing taxpayers some more by having them pay for an ombuds office! Frivolous waste of money. It's also the height of hypocrisy for the NDP to gripe about how high gas prices are when they actively support carbon taxing, a practice that would easily raise prices some more. You think $1.20 a litre is high? Just imagine when prices go north of $1.75 a litre if we implemented a carbon tax plan. That ombuds office sure would be busy!

Another obvious problem with this ombuds proposal is that that person would be absolutely powerless to make any change in the price of oil and gas. How effective is an oversight body when they cannot implement their own recommendations? Issuing an annual report would be an act of futility. Here's a sample of the contents, "The price of oil and gas has gone up 25% in the last fiscal year. This office has received 10 million complaints and delivered zero solutions. Oh, and our budget has increased at a faster rate than the price of oil so we hope you all pay your taxes this year. Sincerely, The Oil and Gas Ombuds Office." Such a patently absurd waste of taxpayer dollars.

The NDP and Ms. Charlton can propose things such as an oil and gas ombuds is only because of the simple fact that they are the fourth party, with ever-decreasing popularity, and will never form a national government. Their pet projects such as this demonstrate the short-sighted nature of NDP policies and the general disregard for hard-working Canadians and their money.