Harper, during his shutting down of Parliament, was not in a sweaty room with Flaherty, painstakingly hammering out a budget, but instead attending all the Olympic games in Vancouver, fawning over people like Gretzky and Donald Sutherland, and getting his photo ops  with them.  It’s embarrassing that the Canadian PM is a sports groupie and has nothing better to do with his time than to spend 2 full weeks at the Olympics!  The end of the Olympics conveniently coincided with the beginning of the new Parliamentary session...coincidence?
So what has this momentous new Tory budget got to offer?  Safe from political threat (the Liberals backed down again), they have put forward a traditional, Conservative agenda, very much akin to the American Republicans:  Cut incentives for “green energy” and weaken eco-regulations; cut general spending (always a Conservative staple); cut business and corporate taxes (even though major corporations were responsible for the present economic collapse); ignore the Arts;  increase “defence” spending, even within a recession.
The Tories’ long term aim is to weaken and reduce the Federal government. Stockwell Day, a well-known government downsizer, has been put in charge of the Treasury Board, which controls the government purse strings. Chantal Hebert noted in The Star, “Earlier this month, former federal minister Maxime Bernier provided a rare insight into the Conservative pre-budget mindset. In a speech in Calgary, Bernier described how the battle on the deficit could be turned into an opportunity to advance the Conservative vision of a substantially scaled down federal government. He argued for a zero-growth approach to future federal spending”.
In terms of its immediate, political challenges, specifically why it ignored torture allegations concerning prisoners Canadian troops handed over to the Afghanistan authorities, The Harper government is still refusing to divulge information.  They have now further (in addition to proroguement) delayed the process by asking retired Supreme Court justice, Frank Iacobucci, to make a ruling on what should be revealed.  If you have nothing to hide, why don’t you reveal information which Parliament has a right to demand and has demanded?   Is the fact that individuals have been tortured in Afghanistan really a Canadian security issue? ...Probably not in any practical sense, but it’s certainly a political embarrassment for Harper. If you torture in the name of the Good, are you that much different from those who torture in the name of Evil?  Who decides what is “good” or “evil” anyway? It changes as time passes.
In conclusion, would be Tory “golden girl”, Helena Guergis, is taking yet another media hit.  Following the 2009 arrest of her husband, Rahim Jaffer (a former Tory MP), for drunk driving and possession of cocaine, she is now caught cussing out officials at Charlottetown Airport because their security screening was delaying her. Poor Helena, life is so stressful!

PS. March 10th. The Star reports that Rahim Jaffer has been let off with a $500 fine! Crown Attorney Marie Balogh withdrew the charges because of "significant legal reason". Those Tories are sure bare-faced, especially since they position themselves as tough law-and-order people!