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Prime Minister Jean Chrétien sings O Canada Sunday with a girls choir at the end of the Liberal convention in Montreal. Photo: Andre Forgét/CP
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Canadian Press
Montreal — The federal government is ready to pump more money into better health care for Canadians, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien said Sunday. It was one of a number of vows Mr. Chrétien made in a sometimes wistful speech as he lays the groundwork for his legacy after he leaves office in 2004. He also insisted that the Kyoto accord on the environment would be ratified in the next few weeks and that the government would aggressively pursue an agenda giving special attention to education, health care, the environment and opportunities for youth.
Mr. Chrétien told the roughly 1,200 participants at the weekend biennial meeting of the Liberal party's Quebec wing that the government had heard Canadians' concerns about their ailing health care system and promised the report of the Romanow commission would not languish on a shelf. Some premiers have grumbled that the report would give the federal government more control over how health care money is spent. "We will focus our energies with the provinces in the next few weeks to establish a federal-provincial approach," Mr. Chrétien said Sunday. "Quebeckers want the two levels of government to work together with a common objective — quality health care — and they are not interested in jurisdictional quarrels or partisan rhetoric." The Quebec legislature last week condemned the report and Premier Bernard Landry said Sunday at a Parti Québécois meeting the report was a good example of why Quebec should separate from Canada. But Ottawa is ready to crack open its wallet when the reforms are finalized, Mr. Chrétien said. "Everybody knows a concrete plan of action to modify health care will take money," he said. "If we have a plan to make major changes over the long term and if all the other governments agree to it, I can promise you the federal dollars will be available," Mr. Chrétien reiterated to reporters afterward. He did not promise in his speech that everyone would be happy with the plan to implement the Kyoto accord to reduce pollutants. "The plan may not answer every single question but no plan ever does," he said in his speech. "It will be adjusted as necessary as we learn and work together. We will meet our targets responsibly in the best interests of the economy, the environment, and most importantly for future generations." Mr. Chrétien lauded his government's record extensively in his speech, saying his government will leave the country better and more united than it was when the Liberals took power in 1993. He did not comment in his speech or afterward on plans announced during the weekend by the PQ to kickstart the Quebec independence debate. Flanked by members of his Quebec caucus, the Prime Minister's gravelly voice softened slightly when he said this would likely be the last time he addressed such a convention of the Quebec wing before he retires. While he said he felt some sadness at this, Mr. Chrétien noted, "we must all pass the torch one day." There was little chance that the perceived front-runner in the race for Mr. Chrétien's job would be singed by that torch on Sunday. Former finance minister Paul Martin was barely visible on the stage as he peeked from the back row behind a towering fellow MP. Mr. Martin, who represents a Montreal-area riding, was among a number of leadership hopefuls attending the meeting. At a morning workshop, Mr. Martin said the federal government shouldn't delay ratifying the Kyoto accord but at the same time, he came out against provisions that would allow Canada to buy clean-air credits from other nations in order to comply with the treaty. Mr. Martin said instead, Canada should develop technologies to help meet the targets for cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. He argued that going that route would help Canada remain an economic leader when other nations such as India and China achieve western living standards.
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