THE AMERICANIZATION OF CANADA:

Shades of the Harris era: Conservative cuts signal shift in style `More on tax side, less new spending' (LES WHITTINGTON, May 2, 2006, Toronto Star)

Today's budget will signal a major shift in Ottawa as the Conservatives begin to focus on tax cuts — rather than increased government spending — as a key tool in pursuing their national goals.

This Mike Harris-like approach will be unveiled in Parliament this afternoon by one of the most fervent proponents of Ontario's 1990s Common Sense Revolution, newly minted federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty.

A prominent Progressive Conservative cabinet minister under Harris who switched to the federal political scene last winter, Flaherty will deliver a budget package that echoes the themes — cutting taxes while holding down government spending — that marked his years at Queen's Park.

While the Liberals relied to a great extent on grants to industry, cultural groups, social organizations, environmentalists and others to promote Ottawa's policies and goals, the Harper government will take a leaf from Harris's book and begin the transformation toward incentives based around tax breaks, with cutbacks in spending for some programs. The military and the RCMP will be exceptions to the rule.