There is an irony on parlia-ment Hill as the country counts down to this year’s budget, which will probably be tabled on March 20. Other than the backlash against the government’s action against income trusts this past Halloween, there isn’t much discussion of fiscal and economic policy these days.

Yet, there should be. It has been more than 14 years since Canada’s last recession; and just as there is a law of gravity, recessions are an inevitable part of the laws of economics. Although it would be premature to predict an imminent recession, there are signs of economic slowdown outside Alberta.

Ottawa is expecting another whopping surplus for its current fiscal year. By simple logic, a government that is consistently hauling in great sums of cash in surplus to its needs is overtaxing its constituents. But while the early predecessor of the current party in power may have been founded on the principle of tax cuts, tax cuts are nowhere on the public radar.

As well, economic power in world markets is shifting eastward; there are shortages of skilled employees; Canada remains overly dependent on one export market; and so on.

During the Jean Chrétien years, plenty of attention was devoted to economic and fiscal policy as Canada pulled itself free of its chronic federal deficit. Today, however, economic issues have very little traction.

And it’s not as if there have been no attempts. In late November, when federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty went before the House of Commons finance committee for his annual economic update, he tabled a document on long-term policy entitled Advantage Canada.

Like all government documents on economics, Advantage Canada accentuates the positive and makes generous use of optimistic rhetoric. Yet, the policy paper contains some very laudable goals, such as having the lowest taxes in the G-7 and elimination of the net federal debt. Both are entirely doable without inflicting hardship on the public or the economy, the report states.

Indeed, Advantage Canada addresses all the key issues facing the Canadian economy in the decade ahead. But not only has this policy white paper been ignored by the media, it has also been ignored by its own government — more specifically, by the Prime Minister’s Office.

Sure, Parliament has been locked into perpetual pre-election mode because of the minority government. And because of a serious strategic misreading of the global warming issue, the Harper government must wrap itself in green rhetoric and environmental spending for the duration of this Parliament.

And, yes, the New Democrats must be appeased for the government to stay in office.

But taxation policy ought to go beyond the one percentage point cut in the GST. And discussion of China ought to extend to how Canada can take advantage of the world’s fastest-growing economy. This is, after all, a Conservative government.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has succeeded in centralizing control of the government agenda in the PMO. And because of that, the media, the Opposition and the public probably see the cabinet as little more than a focus group. Whether it was intentional or not, Canadians have been conditioned not to look beyond the PMO for any policy or national priority.

Ironically, this government may best be remembered for the number of remarkably strong ministers it has developed after such a short time in office. In addition to Flaherty, the list includes Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development Jim Prentice, new Environment Minister John Baird, Minister of Foreign Affairs Peter MacKay (on his better days), Minister of Public Works and Government Services Michael Fortier (who’s been as strong as an unelected minister can be) and even Minister of Public Safety Stockwell Day, the last of whom was a bust as leader of one of the Tories’ predecessor parties, the Canadian Alliance.

In the year since the 2006 election, the Conservative government really hasn’t shown much difference in fiscal policy than the Liberals. Maybe an abundance of cash in the federal treasury simply breaks down all party lines. Or, perhaps, politicians can’t afford to care about an issue until the general public does. Perhaps economic and fiscal policy are casualties of prolonged good times.

The environment did not return to the PMO priority list until the public rediscovered it as an issue. Perhaps a dramatic sign of a downturn will awaken voters and politicians alike to the economy.

@page_break@Let’s hope it is not too late to prevent a return to federal deficits, a weakened currency and stagnant growth.

In the meantime, one will have to look long and hard on government Web sites for clues to government policy on economic issues. Good ideas about policy are there, but until there is sufficient political and public attention, that is what they will remain — good ideas.

As in any budget, next month’s budget will have discussion papers and policy ideas about the economy in its back pages. But without political will, that is where they will stay.

Good politics may not always equal good policy. But this government would do well to remember some advice from Eddie Goldenberg, the policy guru behind Chrétien: “In the long run, good policy is good politics.” IE