In Opposition, Conservative lawmakers regularly lampooned the old Liberal government for running massive surpluses while spending recklessly and refusing to lower taxes. Today, the Tories manage the treasury and yet fat surpluses continue to pile up, spending is growing and meaningful broad-based tax relief has taken a backseat to boutique tax cuts. If the Harper government will not reduce taxes now - when the economy is strong and Ottawa has an embarrassment of riches - will it ever

A year ago when Finance Minister Jim Flaherty revealed the 2005-06 surplus was $13.2-billion, he told Canadians, "We're going to budget much closer to the line - No more so-called surprise surpluses at the end of the fiscal year." The Liberals had routinely low-balled government revenues and the result was always the same at year end - another "surprise" surplus. Taxpayers really clued into the accounting game when Ottawa reported a $9.1-billion surplus in fiscal 2003 after predicting it would be a measly $1.9-billion. Maybe it was simply a case of dyslexia, but the Conservative Partly correctly panned the error and promised to fix the problem. Taxpayers are still waiting.

The 2006 Conservative budget pegged the surplus in fiscal '06 at $3.6-billion, but the figure was later increased to $9.2-billion. Yet, the final tally was a whopping $14.2-billion. In other words, Mr. Flaherty missed the original target by almost 400 per cent and its second estimate by more than 50 per cent.

The 2007 budget offered more of the same, a surplus estimate of $3.3-billion this year. The reality It will exceed last year's number. The Tories are no better at budgeting "closer to the line" than the Liberals.

The government also committed to hold the line on spending, but that hasn't gone as planned either. In the 2007 budget - the second budget delivered by Mr. Flaherty - spending is projected to rise 5.7 per cent this year. That is in addition to a 7.5 per cent increase in the first year. Between April 1, 2006 and March 31, 2008 - the two-year period in which the Conservative's controlled the purse strings - Ottawa's program spending will increase by an eye-popping $24-billion. This represents a 14 per cent increase in the size of the federal government.

What does all this mean for tax relief Aside from the one percentage point reduction in the GST, tax relief has been anything but broad-based. The menu of tax cuts has mostly been boutique relief, which benefits some but not all overtaxed Canadians. Minister Flaherty has stated from day one that he believes Canadians are over-taxed, but has so far failed to tackle that problem.

Prime Minister Harper recently told the opposition parties they must "fish or cut bait." He meant they must either pass government legislation or prepare for a general election. As the surpluses pile up in Ottawa and spending levels grow, taxpayers are increasingly worried about the federal government's commitment to meaningful tax relief. Will the Prime Minister be the leader of big-government conservatism or will he differentiate his party from the opposition and emerge as a friend of taxpayers Forget about the Opposition, it's time for the Conservatives to fish or cut bait.