Globe readers ask Euromoney:

Comment from WildWilly53: Yeah.....[Jim Flaherty] is the clown who wanted to de-regulate the Banking industry and follow the U.S. model !! Are the Europeans on drugs.....??

Comment from Untitled: What was that sound? The sound of Flaherty going from arrogant to insufferable.

Comment from Not the Alliance: Euromoney used to be a great publication - back in the 80's and early 90's. It's declined since. But I never thought it would decline to a point where it would name idiot Flaherty as top Finance Minister. And if you read the accomplishments which Euromoney lists, it's pretty clear that they don't really understand Flaherty's role in these "accomplishments".
"There will be NO deficit under MY watch" pretty much sums up our Finance Minister's cluelessness.

Comment from the guru of Port Ryerse: Euromoney must be crazy! Flaherty is a wind bag Bay Street lawyer/politician playing at being a financial wizard. He is like man running in front of a giant snow ball rolling down hill. He has convinced some that he is not running from it but is in fact leading it.
What a joke!

Comment from Chris in Ottawa: It just shows you that Bullsh*t baffles brains. The CPC government have pretended that all those nice banking regulations were put in place by them and that it was they who saw the need to spend stimulus money.
Euromoney needs to be shown a copy of Flaherty's November fiscal update - how he was going to sell taxpayer assets and cut spending, nary a word about stimulus! What fiscal strength Canada has was as a result of sound fiscal management by the Liberals; whatever stimulus funds are actually getting out the door are as a result of the threat of defeat of the government by the Coalition.
This is an extremely poor reflection on the level of investigation that Euromoney performs before giving out awards.

Comment from: mr_toronto: Having him as our Finance Minister is like having bin Laden in charge of our operations in Afghanistan.

Comment from Curly Maple: LOL! LOL!!
This is the *idiot* who allowed a Canadian version of high-risk mortgages into Canada. The markets then melted down, and now the banks are being bailed out for some $275 billion dollars. All the sheep who hail this news have fun paying higher taxes for the man's ideological zeal and ineptness.
What a freakin' *disgrace*!!
All Hail Flaherty: the master of financial disaster!!
Special investigation: How high-risk mortgages crept north
The untold story of how elements of the first Conservative budget in 2006 encouraged big U.S. players such as AIG to make a push into Canada, creating our version of subprime mortgages
"The mushrooming of a Canadian version of subprime mortgages has gone largely unnoticed. The Conservative government finally banned the practice last summer, after repeated warnings from frustrated senior officials and bankers that the country's financial system was being exposed to far too much risk as the housing market weakened.
Just yesterday, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty repeated the mantra that the government acted early to get rid of risky mortgages. What he and Prime Minister Stephen Harper do not explain, however, is that the expansion of zero-down, 40-year mortgages began with measures contained in the first Conservative budget in May of 2006.
At the time, Mr. Flaherty announced that the government was opening up the market to more private insurers."
Boo yeeeeeah!!
You da man, Jimmy!!!!
"The Extraordinary Financing Framework will mostly be used to buy bad mortgages from the banks and to guarantee their debts. Amazingly, none of this appears anywhere in the bottom line projections broadcast earlier today. The government has blithely asserted that it's "expected to generate a positive return for the Government overall and therefore has no expected fiscal cost." I beg your pardon? A whopping $65 billion will be borrowed this year to finance Extraordinary Financing. If, as the the budget documents state, it will be offset by interest-bearing financial assets and so cost nothing, then why buy the assets from the banks? Surely there'll be a cost in the short term, notwithstanding repayment many years later."
--Senator Elaine McCoy, Jan 27 2009.

Comment from Compos Mentis: Our economic fundamentals are solid in spite of Flaherty, not because of him.
This is the guy who was all for letting AIG push their zero down mortagages in this country, until the Finance Department bureaucrats made too much noise, and he backed down and closed that loophole (40 yr mortgages).
Flaherty is a hyopcrite for receiving accolades from the international finance community for policies that we have Paul Martin to be thankful for.
But, what else can we expect? That is the Conservative way - to reach for the stars on the backs (efforts) of others.
A true leader would have been gracious enough (not to mention honest and ethical) to actually acknowledge those who had helped position Canada in the enviable spot it is today.
Instead we have Flaherty.

Comment from yupp: shouldn't the award go to paul martin and the liberals? Btw the conservatives weren't even going to provide stimulus money if it wasn't for liberal pressure

Comment from K_V : Thank you for the laugh this article gave me.

Comment from hylarides: Ironic considering most of the regulations that he's giving 'advice' for he wailed against as member of the opposition and started to deconstruct before the financial crisis hit. They should be seeking out Paul Martin, though even he only instituted the regulations against our banks (mostly against mergers) in a populist twist as the average Canadian feels they get poor service and didn't want fewer, bigger banks. So that's doubly ironic. What a world, eh?

Comment from WildWilly53: Yeah.....this is the clown who wanted to de-regulate the Banking industry and follow the U.S. model !! Are the Europeans on drugs.....??

Comment from Soon2beGrey:Is it April 1 ?

Comment from f23efwfwe: Canada's relative strength through '09 has little to do with Flaherty... He's a hack.

Comment from Robert Lepage
Flaherty should write a three-part autobiography:
1) How I hid a 4 billion dollar debt in Ontario.
2) How I ran Canada's largest deficit in its entire history without any clear indication of how I plan to get out of it.
and finally,
3) How I bankrupted the world.

Comment from CONBORGking-steve:
Slim pickin's on the short list. I hope Jim 'I didn't see it coming' Flaherty sends a polite thank-you note to Paul Martin.

Comment from Auroran Bear: Euromoney also credited Mr. Flaherty for acting quickly and spending big when it became clear Canada was headed for recession.
I guess they missed last November's economic update.

Comment from sussman: Excuse me while I puke.

Comment from Skokie: What a hoot! If "Slim Surplus" Flaherty is the top finance chief in the world, we're in much more serious trouble than I thought

Comment from barbace: Euromoney may have missed that Mr.. Flaherty's Cons, while in opposition, pushed strongly for deregulation of Canada's banking system and now pat themselves on the bank for Canada's regulated bank system that has kept us afloat during this recession. Perhaps they held him up as a fiscal poster boy because of his record actuarial skills showcased during his run for Mr. Harris' seat in 2002: he proposed homelessness be made a crime, set in place 'special constables' to round up the homeless and incarcerate them, jail time must cost less. Euromoney, do your homework to include the history of your star and his party.

Comment from Babbleon: The icing on the cake!

Comment from Nick Wright: This won't help Euromoney's reputation in Canada.
I think Euromoney is playing in Canadian politics.
I seem to remember that the people who lost around $25 billion in the income trust debacle were mostly mad because they voted the Harper gang into government on the promise that income trusts wouldn't be taxed--especially when Flaherty said later that he had been "concerned about their impact for a long time."
Flaherty spending big, after being one of the last to acknowledge the recession, was mostly a panic reaction. As late as November 27 2008, he was still predicting a surplus in each of the next five years. His response to collapsing markets and commodity prices? "Flaherty did not announce any sweeping new spending measures to protect or create jobs nor did he implement drastic spending cuts... He did propose to eliminate taxpayer subsidies for political parties and politicians on April 1 and would encourage bureaucrats and politicians to limit spending on hospitality, travel, and conference.
"Canadians pay their own bills and for some Canadians that is getting harder to do," Flaherty said. "Political parties should pay their own bills, too, and not with excessive tax dollars."
As to Canada's financial institutions, Flaherty et al had nothing to do with making them healthy.
I wonder also what Euromoney thinks about Flaherty et al squandering an inherited $10 billion surplus on political bribery just ahead of the worldwide financial collapse. Picky, picky, I know.

Comment from Lord Gurr: Kudos to this think-tank for selecting such a credible candidate who obviously knows all there is to know about global economics and how it effects his geography....sarcasm......
It's nonsense like this award that empowers a guy like Flaherty to think he actually is a smart guy....unreal....
"By: CTV.ca News Staff
Date: Fri. May. 30 2008 9:11 PM ET
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty says although Canada's real gross domestic product edged down in the first quarter of 2008, he doesn't think the economy will slip into a recession.
Data released by Statistics Canada on Friday showed real GDP dropped 0.1 per cent in the first quarter -- the first decline in nearly five years.
"We are well positioned to weather this period of global economic uncertainly," Flaherty told reporters Friday.
"Canada's economic fundamentals are solid."

Comment from AnnieS: It was the Liberals who were responsible for our solid banking institutions. Nothing like taking credit for something you didn't do.

Comment from bobskis: When the direction of the relay race was reversed, the plodder at the rear was suddenly in the lead. Paul Martin's discipline in the 1990s dealing with debt, Canada's fortuitous oil wealth, and the inertia of the Canadian political system (still trying to climb onto the deregulation and supply-side bandwagons when they did their bloated SUV-like rollovers) -- these are the things that deserved awards, not this bumbler.

Comment from PANIC! At The Ice Floe
Wow...I can honestly say I never knew there was a finance minister of the year award...And I sure never would have though Flaherty would ever win something like that!
WE must be doing something right...

Comment from Auroran Bear: When the economy of our major trading partner as well as the rest of the globe goes south, how can we not expect a large impact upon our economy?
Last October "If we were going to have a recession, we would have had it by now" PM & Economist Stephen Harper.
GITP, save your revisionist BS for your family reunions.

Comment from JS3:
Comment from Honesty is the best Policy...You can fool some of the people some of the time...
In keeping with Conservative tradition, I'll blame our good fortune on the previous Liberal party for some excellent fiscal prudence.
Flaherty didn't even know there was a financial crisis happening AS IT WAS HAPPENING. Flaherty didn't know Canada was going into a recession. He has now built the largest deficit in Canadian history. One of the largest kudos Canada has received is for our banking regulation - something Flaherty would like to de-regulate.
Again, thank you previous Liberal government, for preparing us for the inevitable. Now, if we can just get the Conservatives to come up with a plan that's in the best interest of Canadians, rather than flying by the seat of their pants for their own political gain...

Comment from Hansel: Eurofunny magazine.

Comment from StefanF: What a joke. A gentleman would give credit where credit was due. Riding on the accomplishments of Paul Martin.

Comment from Fictionary: If Flaherty is advising the world, goodbye economic recovery. This is the man who created a structural deficit before the recession even hit after years of budget surpluses. Wonderful.

Comment from Anthony S: "Mr. Flaherty said one of the reasons for the debt payments (after he took over the job in 2006)was to be ready for the downturn that he said he knew would eventually come."
So the Conservatives lied to us during last year's election campaign when they said, "If there was going to be a recession it would have happened already."
Interesting that the Con Hacks, who usually bash all things European, are now embracing "Euromoney" as the authority on financial statesmanship.

Comment from Interested _Observer: Proof you can fool some of the people all of the time. He is a lagging indicator.He should kiss the ground Paul Martin walks on!

Comment from taxpayer: One of the most obvious aspect of this financial crisis is how out of touch economists, business leaders (especially financial) and government are with the real world. This just further illustrates that.
Can anyone really tell me what Jim has accomplished here?
He didn't regulate the banks - that was already in place (in fact he wanted to deregulate them).
In fact he didn't even see the recession coming (or was that the big lie, enabling the Cons to call an unnecessary election back last year before it arrived?-any conspiracy theorists out there)
Recession spending would never have happened if he wasn't forced into it by the evil coalition. And now he is accepting praise for doing it???
In fairness he has done his part to make sure the money spent does not go to the most affected individuals needing EI.
He has put Canada into a debt position - not because of spending (all parties would have done that) - but by eliminating any surplus (tax reductions) so that he can in the future make government smaller and remove government services.
He has transferred the tax burden even more so onto the individual from corporations - pay more get less.
And so on.
Give me a break!

Comment from Lord Gurr: And there folks you have the tragedy, people actually think that a 30 billion surplus is good fiscal management. This says a lot about our school system."
And a $56B deficit is any better? Either way, Lib or Con, makes no difference to me. But really...naming a guy who had no..I repeat no idea that we were heading for a severe downturn and only came to his senses when we were actually in it deserves no such award.
On the basis of that ostrich impression alone, Flaherty does not deserve recognition......
It's too bad a person with real credentials and real smarts didn't get this award...whatever political leanings. But as some have pointed out, if Flaherty got this, how bad must other top finance heads be elsewhere.....it's a sobering thought.

Comment from tweakyd: Too funny. I guess they forgot what he did to Ontario (perhaps thats the 'populist' thingy the authors are referring to and conveniently disregard).

Comment from Innocent Bystander: LOL, if Jim is the best the world got it's no wonder this sh!tstorm floored us all haha :o)

Comment from Can't believe it: Who said he was tops??? Who are they??? You can ALWAYS put on paper that some entity is "tops" but the proof of the pudding is in the eating, to coin a phrase......Until this nation returns to a 30 billion surplus, he's just another in the many "experts"...

Comment from Toronto Boy: Things must be reallllly bad in the world if Flaherty is seen by anyone, even if it's one magazine, as being the best Finance Minister out there.

Comment from Nes Lessman: In the immortal words of Mr. Ed Grimley ...."We're doomed as doomed can be."

Comment from Jellofuel: “It's a good lesson for all of us to be prepared for the next time,” Mr. Flaherty said.
Now there's confidence for ya! ;)

Comment from D.G.: I didn't realize it was April 1st

Comment from Ahkenaten: As a CPC voter I have to echo most of the "anti-CPC" opinions here. Mr. Flaherty isn't all that impressive.

Comment from Politicians= Eco-Terrorists: Truly the greatest joke ever!
Mcfartley is one of a kind.
Hahahahahaha

Comment from Mayhem: Canada has strong economic fundamentals for the following reasons:
1. For the past decade, significant progress was made in reducing the deficit. As some of you like to point out, at one point it was 60% of GDP, now it is approx 35.5% of GDP.
2. Our financial institutions were largely unaffected by the credit crunch. Much of this was due to the strong regulatory environment in Canada.
think most agree, that those two points are major contributers to our current success. Now, rationally looking at them, how many of those were the result of Flaherty?
Love him or hate him, the truth is that Flaherty was not the finance minister when the deficit was being reduced. The fact is that much of this work was done by the Liberals. Hate the Liberals for sponsorship scandal, but give them the proper credit here. To Flaherty's credit he continued to run surpluses, and the recent deficits we are now facing is more due to the economy than policy. However, Flaherty's big mistake here was not understanding the magnitude of the deficit until recently.
On the next point, banks weathered the storm remarkably well in Canada. Again, credit the Liberals for the strong regulatory environment. Flaherty in fact attempted to deregulate in order to bring us more inline with America. And prior to the credit crisis, many people in the financial services sector were clamouring for deregulation. Thankfully, we were saved in spite of ourselves.
Does Flaherty deserve credit for Canada's current state. The answer is no. He does many things well, he does many thing not so well. He deserves credit when credit is due. But in this case, credit is not due. Love him or hate him, examine the facts rationally and you should conclude that we're where we are now in spite of him and because of him.

Comment from macdaddy: I think it is wrongly reported. I believe they meant to say top Economic Chef ...

Comment from girlfreddy: Read the article, then passed on the news to my partner. I asked him if he was happy about it, to which he replied (in an uncharacteristically tongue-in-cheek manner I might add), that "yes" he was and that "he (Flaherty) should get a bonus for all his hard work."
Made me laugh for a moment.

Comment from Jimmy Kingcan: I'm waiting to hear what Kanye West has to say about this award.

Comment from some1fixourgovt: This is almost laughable.

Comment from Richard V:
Cu Jo said: "I do not look at this award from Euromoney as an achievement of just one individual it is a reflection of Canadian values and conservative foresightedness."
Taking credit for the accomplishments of other Canadians is probably the worst Canadian trait.
The award lauds Flaherty's stewardship--it isn't a "Canadians are great" award. When you want to pat yourself on the back, you should go out and win your own award, not give yourself kudos for voting Conservative.

Comment from cupa java:
Surely this is a joke! Was he the only nominee? A Finance Minister who can't count or keep timely and reasonably accurate records of the nation's finances would normally be dismissed for 'cause'. Guess he represents the new normal in finance ministries around the world. Does anyone remeber when Flaherty said early on is his mandate: "banking issues are not a priority for this government" Later on his biggest issue, which caused him to call the bank CEOs to a meeting, was ATM fees. Only in Canada you say. Pity.

Comment from Robert Lepage:
Whatever lies you need to tell yourself to sleep at night, that's fine by me, but pretending that he actually kept the books balanced is just naive. http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/mini/CTVNews/20030922/ontario_deficit_030922?s_name=election2004&no_ads=

Comment from George Nikitin:
Judas.

Comment from CU JO Freshly Sqeezed:
Oh my God, lol, what's next....signing Harper to a a new album deal????

Comment from ChrisG in Waterloo:
I'm not a liberal bundit, but taking credit for oldfashion and slow to change banking regulations is what Flaherty is doing. He's basically getting top marks for being the dumb luck survivor in a big train wreck.

Comment from Stan L: Wow, Flaherty can live with this? I mean a person with some modicum of ethics or integrity might be a little humble or even bashful at taking credit for another governments work regarding regulations...particularly when your own accomplishments include record job losses, a structural deficit, myriads of examples of misuse of money, partisan chicanery.....amazing, I guess being a Conservative never means having to say you are sorry.
Interesting is the back patting from the Globe....especially in light of some of the real accomplishment that has gone on in the past week.

Comment from belleboy4: HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! ROTFLMAO!!! Too funny! Our incompetent finance minister who destroyed the Ontario economy and is running up huge deficits is sanctified! The world becomes more bizaare every day it seems.

Comment from garlicktoast: Two moves of Flaherty’s which economists deplore; the GST cut and the proposed E.I. premium bump up.One depletes the treasury and the other kills jobs.

Comment from Trader Rick: So he is the best of a terrible lot?
BTW what is Euromoney and why should we care?

Comment from Stan L: Globe...it's stories like this that eventually got CanWest into trouble...check yourself a bit here.
You have stories of record debt, record bankruptcies, record unemployment...a finance minister who is looking to raise payroll taxes at the worst possible time. Add to that a structural deficit that said Finance Minister hasn't got a clue how he is going to pay down and possible corruption with the spending of stimulus funds.... the cheeleading is a bit much in light of the reality.

Comment from Gillian Moody: I'm still confused. How could a $50 billion deficit possibly be a good thing?

Comment from Compos Mentis: I find it curious that peoples expectations of this government become so low that the mere sight of Harper playing the piano and crooning a Beatles tune at a fundraising event translates into a major accomplishment?
Talk about your low expectations!
What's next? Flaherty taking credit for Paul Martin's shrewd fiscal policy planning and foresight?

Comment from Siebr: This magazine must be crazy. Flaherty has no idea what he is doing. His policies are based on false or incomplete data. He is the worst finance minister in the worst government that Canada has ever had.

Comment from Black Swan: Oh, gawd, now a Euro think tank 'vindicates' Flaherty! I hope he doesn't start thinking his policies were appropriate, and take this award as encouragement to become a more active finance minister. The only reason we have survived the storm as well as we have is because we have a minority government held in check by the opposition.
If we had a majority, there would have been no stopping Flaherty and Harper, and we would be in real trouble. Too much squandering and waste for my liking, too much targeted spending in Conservative ridings, and overall too much vote-buying to be of benefit to Canadians in general.

Comment from macdaddy:
Well Jimbo you've peaked bud. Maybe it's time to consider retirement ...

Comment from Skokie: Should it make a difference that none of us have ever heard of this magazine? How prestigious does that make their award? Who are these people, and who do they represent? The G&M owes us at least that before they foist this "news" on us. Otherwise this is faint praise indeed!

Comment from Compos Mentis: After 13 years of prudent fiscal belt tightening, Flaherty had a large surplus available to him to squander - which he did in record time!
But Flaherty taking credit for Canada's financial position is like Paris Hilton bragging about how her financial savvy allowed her to live her extravagant lifestyle today!
Both ignore the reality of how they got to where they are today.

Comment from Skokie: Just checked the magazine's website. The past three years' winners were Xie Xuran, Mladjan Dinkic, and Sri Mulyani Indrawati --- all household names here. Looks like Flatulant Flaherty fits right in!

Comment from MICHAEL_T: Not in my book. He is a hack.

Comemt from joe bloagh: So, a magazine dedicated to international money markets gave him this honour.
that's enough of an endorsement by more money manager types to brand him as what he is, the Bankers friend.
No thanks, I'll hold my praise for a finance minister whos friends are normal Canadians, perhaps even a couple of his constituents.

Comment from Durward: Gotta agree with the lefties on this one, Jim Flaherty is not a good finance minister at all, Love the Cons, hate Jim the leftist finance minister and I agree he was going to deregulate the banks.
The man follows a Keynesian form of economics not Friedman economics Better suited to the Libs or dippers.

Comment from enjaybee: This has to be a joke, right. I must have fallen asleep till April 1?
Flaherty came back from the G20 meeting and totally ignored what he had agreed to. Instead of implementing the agreement, his November update did nothing, except nearly bring down his party's minority govt.
Then he implemented policies under pressure from the opposition parties, and totally contrary to his own & his party's principles.
Add to this his desire to de-regulate, his inability to see the recession coming (which he now claims he saw) and his untimely cut to the GST, and it is no surprise that even Conservative in the comments above are laughing at this.
The saddest thing for me is re-writing of history as a result of lack of media investigation, and because of focused party propaganda. We are really living in 1984 - April 1 1984.
Comment from BlueReformer:
Ok, Flaherty did nothing to deserve the award...he should thank Paul Martin for doing the work. Flaherty's legacy is the huge deficit he left behind for Ontarians to clean up. Imagine, if Flaherty had been the Federal Finance minister earlier on, we could be in the same situation like the US. CONs are never keen on any regulations - free market is the ideology.

Comment form Interested _Observer: Remember last year when the pufffed up divorce lawyer paid his buddy for a lecture on fiscal responsibility.
You know the $122,500. he billed Canadians.
Right before dear leader said "what financial crisis" and before hiding behind the Queen's skirt.

Comment from EdwardR:
Mr. Flaherty said the smartest thing he had done as finance minister was to make substantial debt payments after he took over the job in 2006. That's making the more than $50-billion deficit he'll run this fiscal year easier to stomach. Mr. Flaherty said one of the reasons for the debt payments was to be ready for the downturn that he said he knew would eventually come.
=============
Now is that the downturn that he and harper both denied was happening? Guess he thinks we all have bad memories.

Comment from Rob_K: Most of the credit for the elimination of the deficit and reduction of the federal debt lies with Cretien and Martin in 93/94-97/98.
The Conservatives deserve some credit for committing most of the surpluses in 2006/07 and 2007/08 (around $24B) to debt repayment -- as opposed to the 1/3-1/3-1/3 model that was previously followed.
However, several things diminish what credit they might've otherwise earned. The reduction of the GST (-12B in revenues) vs personal tax reductions that might've been more tax efficient; the upping of the equalization payments to Quebec to alter the "fiscal imbaalance" (aka the payoff); and the increases in spending above growth in population and inflation.
The fiscal update last year was absolutely pathetic. The posturing on the reduction of the funding of political parties (regardless of the appropriateness of the policy change) was absolutely incendiary - inflamed the opposition and prompted the January budget with all its "goodies". The stimulus in the January budget was poorly designed and of dubious merit.

Flaherty is not deserving of praise -- especially when his forecasts have changed so dramatically in the 12 months since his "don't worry be happy" update.
ZorroIsGod
I think he’s leper-con… financing done the Amway style… King and Queens and their expandable peasants…. Life is simple…. Food in your belly freedom to move around to be creative and exchange services…. It all depends on the direction… so what direction are we heading in….
when our leaders tell us we need to compete in order to have well being its an illusion… theirs only so mush to go around… so when the top can produce mass inventory people run out of things to do… and the bank work to protect this puff cream…and they know it… go try and place a bid on a project…LOL…. Its all locked up paid for by your tax dollars…

Comment from Mr. Yellin:
The man is an ass who with his Harris cronies, gutted services in Ontario. What a wonderful place it has become. In case you forgot, they left a lovely deficit after hiding it before the election. There is no party that doesn't do its utmost to hide the bad and crow about the good. Chris Schott

Comment from Mike from Canmore: Since when did the G&M start publishing fiction articles?

Comment from Bill_Smith:
How can anyone seriously believe that a finance Minister or any other government Minister for that matter is responsible for policy? This applies to any party that is in power in Canada. It's the bureaucrats that tell a Minister what to do. In Canada we shuffle Ministers around from pillar to post trying to find a position that they do the least damage in. Governments and Minister's are quick to take credit for any success and just as quick to blame the previous government or world forces when things go bad. Bank regulations are what kept Canada relatively in good shape compared with other countries. These regulations were not put in place by Flaherty, in fact if Harper's government had been given a majority these regulations would be looking a lot different than they are. They would have allowed bank mergers as well. Flaherty can thank his good luck not his great skills that these things didn't happen.

Comment from snowgoose: Something a bit whacko here! If Mr. Flaherty is the best in the world, our world is in terrible trouble. Now we are being told to believe a glossy trade mag over our own experience. I would be happier with a minister who does his best to do an honest job for all Canadians leaving the photo ops to the entertainment crowd.

Comment from 24601:
Flaherty is a misguided minister...anyone who doesn't recognize that the GST tax cut was a poor economic policy that was politically based should not be in that role. Every economist in the world would tell you that an income tax cut was the more efficient cut, but this party makes decisions on how to score electorate hitpoints...not what is right. Had he not cut the GST, the size of the deficit would be about $12-$20BN smaller. Good job Jim.

Comment from The voice of reason:
A few things come to mind as I read this article and consider the events of recent years.
1. The Conservatives did push to have some of the regulations surrounding our banks relaxed in the past decade, so I'm not sure that they deserve to take credit for the state of our financial institutions. (Sadly, Jean Chretien gets most of the credit, for doing what he did best as PM: nothing.)

2. For Malone: I hope you didn't actually buy stocks because Stephen Harper said it was a good time to invest. He is a politician, after all. He likes to claim to be an economist, but from what I can tell he has practically no experience outside of being a government dependent of one form or another. My four year-old can probably counsel you in financial management as well as a politician.

3. Jim Flaherty is the guy who, along with his staff, kept repeating the mantra: "no one, absolutely no one, saw this financial crisis looming". Right. I did, and began shorting the market (US DOW and SP500) in late 2007. Warren Buffet raised a massive cautionary flag on the state of various debt schemes in his annual letter to shareholders way back in March of 2003. Peter Schiff repeatedly went on international television and called the real-estate bust to the letter. Even my next door neighbour liquidated nearly 80% of his equity holdings in summer of 2007. The sub-prime mortgage levels in the U.S. were astronomical. And finally, every decent restaurant owner and even waiter knows that we get a recession every 7 to 10 years, so a lot of them saw this one coming. So Jim, just because you were too short-sighter and your staff too incompetent to see the recession looming, don't lump me in with your idiocy.

4. The Conservatives have managed us back into a debt that my grandchildred will be paying for. I'm not saying the Liberals would have done any better, but please don't try to tell me we're lucky to have the Conservatives right now.