Yes, they are engaging because Canadians are speaking out. They are baring their hearts and souls. This is important to them. One of the things we can encapsulate in all the comments is the hope that Canadians have. They understand this to be a dismal decade, one that, tragically, will probably continue until October 19, 2015.
Canadians believe that we will do better. They have hope for October 20, 2015, when this current government, with its broken promises, its mean-spirited budgets and ideological agenda, will be replaced by a government that Canadians can actually believe in. I find exceptional that hope continues right through this dismal, dark, divisive decade from 2006 to 2015.
My colleague from Darmouth--Cole Harbour did ask for just one final tweet. Mr. Johnstone, from New Westminster, my hometown and former capital city of British Columbia, as well as the oldest city in western Canada, had this to say. I cannot quote it because some of the language expresses his frustration. He basically says the Conservatives just stole two years of his pension. We can imagine how Mr. Johnstone feels about that.
I am going to move on to some of the Facebook commentaries. I encourage Canadians who are concerned about the budget cuts, the job cuts and the forced additional two years of work for future seniors, to continue to post, to tweet, to write in and to phone our offices. If they have an NDP MP they should contact him or her directly. If they do not have an NDP MP, we are working on it, but they should make sure they contact the NDP member closest to them.
From Toronto, Anna, on Facebook, says:
This budget so clearly leaves my generation behind. I understand that the Conservatives are aware of the fact that youth voter turnout is low--so why would they care? One of my concerns with the budget has to do with the section on post-secondary education, and how there is absolutely nothing being done to address and alleviate the high costs of attending a post-secondary institution.
From Vancouver, another Canadian says he is disgusted with the cuts to the Chief Electoral Officer, who is supposed to be maintaining free and fair elections in this country.
The cuts are to statistical agencies so that the facts are kept out of the public mind. The cuts are also to the organizations that oversee the government and provide impartial advice. The Chief Electoral Officer and the Auditor General of Canada are the kinds of organizations that have been attacked by the budget.