Nice try, no. Fiscally conservative meaning I believe in balanced budgets and priority setting. I don't go in for lavish vacations on the taxpayer dime for certain Prime Ministers, for example. Conservative doesn't mean Republican or Conservative Party. it means allocating resources the way I would allocate them in business or my home. I believe in cutting waste and trimming the fat.

Funding education, heath care and equity initiatives are not fat. They are necessary and not funding them is shortsighted. It's what my mother would call, "Cutting off your nose to spite your face." Without a healthy, educated next generation, we're well, frankly, fucked. Seems like a no- brainer to me.

There's enough to go around to ensure our population is fed, housed, educated, cared for and treated with dignity and respect. That's where the social and the fiscal meet. It's the will to do it that's the problem.