Finally — we got our country back

Thank goodness we got our country back. Because apparently, Prime Minister Stephen Harper stole it from us and he was refusing to give it back.

I'm not sure how he managed to swipe it exactly, whether it was through lowering the tax burden on Canadians or transferring record levels of funding to the provinces for health care and social services.

Maybe he stole it when he created tax-free savings accounts for Canadians who wanted something other than restrictive RRSPs to save for the future. Perhaps it was when he allowed families and seniors to split their incomes for tax purposes to save money.

It could be that Stephen Harper stole Canada from us when he brought in tougher penalties for criminals who commit serious offences like child sexual abuse or who use firearms when committing a crime. That could be it.

Or maybe it happened when he issued a formal apology to victims of residential schools, brought in new programs to address violence against aboriginal women and ensured First Nations people have the same legal right to review their local government's finances that other levels of government do.

I never really thought that when Stephen Harper reduced the GST to 5% from 7% -- which has saved me hundreds of dollars over the years -- that he was actually stealing my country by allowing me to keep more of my own money. But his political opponents insist he was. So it must be true...