David Bond's column "We all pay for polarized U.S. politics," Jan 8, outlined a few of the problems south of the border.
Unfortunately, much of what has been said also applies to Canada.
Stephen Harper's role through his membership first in the Progressive Conservatives, then Reform Party, next the Alliance Party, then the final destruction of the Progressive Conservatives, to his ultimate role as leader of a Republican-style Conservative Party of Canada, shows how he has moved our country further to the right.
This quote from the column describes Harper and his goal quite accurately: "One major factor has been the takeover of the Republican party by conservatives who believe in a smaller government. To achieve their goal, their preferred option is to starve government by preventing any increase in taxation while at the same time drastically reducing expenditures, primarily on social programs."
Also, Harper's political manoeuvring to remove the former leaders in his many political transformations as well as his propaganda and slander campaigns against opposition leaders has polarized Canadian politics to a degree never seen in this country.
With his reckless spending of taxpayer dollars on aggrandizing himself, Harper is ensuring the debt is permanent in order to justify cuts in social programs and privatization of Canada.
Don Aitken,
Kelowna