Canada’s Economic Inaction Plan continues

Layoffs and longer hours are on the horizon for the employees of the private but formerly public Canadian National Railway Co. since Harper and Ignatieff think the government ought to stick their hands in a company that was privatized in the early 1990s by the Chretien Liberals.

Naturally the railway is vital to our economy, vital enough that the government can crush union demands for fair treatment from their employer, but is not so vital that it ought to be a crown corporation.

The strike began Saturday, and Minister Ambrose was hopeful that something would get hashed within a few hours before she decided that legislation was needed.

So remind me again why…

1. The “hands-off business” Conservatives feel the need to stick their hand in business affairs
2. Something that can lead to layoffs and longer hours (meaning less time to spend consuming) is good for the economy
3. We even privatized CN Rail in the first place
4. People consider Michael Ignatieff and the Liberals to be a progressive party if they privatized CN Rail in the first place and now can’t wait to legislate the strikers back to work.