The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Canada faces significant challenges in this period of international economic turmoil. Navigating these troubled waters will require creative solutions from political leaders who have the courage to implement them. Unfortunately, Stephen Harper is playing the same old song by suggesting that the fundamentals of our economy are strong. It will be difficult for Mr. HarperÕs cabinet ministers to establish themselves as competent economic managers unless they correct the fiscal irresponsibility that has brought the government to the brink of deficit in the first place. The truth is that Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and the Conservatives have led Canada to its worst economic performance since 1991. They took a $12-billion surplus left by the previous Liberal government and squandered it in just two years Ð making them the highest-spending government in CanadaÕs history. This year they will spend roughly $33 billion more than the Liberals did in 2005. As a direct result, Mr. Harper has become the first Prime Minister in more than a decade to talk seriously about deficit financing. By spending the cupboard bare when economic times were good, they left nothing in reserve now that our economy needs significant strategic investment. And unless this government takes swift action, things will get worse. Unfortunately, Mr. Harper has rewarded Mr. Flaherty with a reappointment as Minister of Finance. In doing so, Mr. Harper has signaled that he has not accepted any responsibility for putting CanadaÕs economy in such a vulnerable position. Canadians want a Finance Minister who will outline a clear plan to help them protect their savings, their pensions and jobs. Mr. FlahertyÕs record proves he is not the man that should be managing CanadaÕs finances in a time of economic crisis. This is the same Finance Minister who called Ontario the Òlast place to investÓ; who called city mayors ÒwhinersÓ for sticking up for their constituents; who said the Conservative government was not in the Òpothole businessÓ when asked to address the infrastructure deficit facing municipalities. This is the same Finance Minister who told Ontario auto workers who lost their jobs that he wouldnÕt help them because he does not pick Òwinners and losers.Ó We can no longer afford to sit idly by and watch as our competitor countries do everything in their power to protect jobs at home. The ConservativesÕ hands-off approach is not how to run a country. It is not how to manage an economy. And it is not how to respond to a crisis. As the Official Opposition, the Liberal Party will continue to push the Conservative government to realign its priorities with those of Canadians.
