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VICTORIA — Anxious to dispel charges that he's blasé about stock market turmoil, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper today invoked his worried mother as an example of how close to home investment losses have hit.
He said his mother, a senior citizen, is tremendously worried and watching the situation anxiously.
"Believe me I get quicker updates from her on the stock market than I do from the Department of Finance," Mr. Harper told a Conservative candidates' rally of about 150 in Victoria, B.C.
His efforts to inject more empathy into his campaign come amid accusations from political rivals that the Tories have done little to address the economic storm battering Canada.
Conservative Party Leader Stephen Harper walks up the steps to his campaign plane to the cheers of supporters in Sidney, B.C., on Wednesday. (Tom Hanson/Canadian Press)
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The Conservative leader has taken a lot of flak for telling Canadians Tuesday that as a result of dramatic selloffs in the markets there are tremendous "buying opportunities" out there. The Tories' campaign lead in the polls has shrunk in recent days as fears have grown over the economy and retirement savings.
Today he defended his relatively meagre platform of $8.6-billion in spending promises and tax measures over four years, and said that not panicking and not introducing a big new stimulus package is what "ordinary Canadians" would do.
Mr. Harper said the people panicking about investment losses are not typically ordinary Canadians but instead high-risk gamblers.
"Where ordinary people may be different than some in the market is ordinary people don't play these high stakes games," the Conservative leader said.
"Ordinary people often think more carefully about their investments. They think longer term. They don't rush out and pretend they win the lottery if the market goes up and they don't panic and rid themselves of everything if the market goes down. Those are the kinds of values we have because I think we think more like ordinary people."
The Conservative leader is trying to regain control of the campaign narrative today as he spoke to the Victoria crowd, insisting that the Tories took sufficient action before the current crisis hit and that they offer the only prudent choice in the face of economic worry.
He saluted the Bank of Canada's emergency interest rate cut today – taken in concert with other central banks – as a sign that action is being taken for Canadians.
"These are good things that in troubled times will help keep mortgages down for ordinary people," Mr. Harper said of the rate cut.
The cut came one day after hetook the unusual step of telegraphing future actions by the Bank, although he didn't specifically say what it would do.
Today, in Victoria, he again noted Canada isn't plagued by a serious banking system meltdown like the United States, and took credit for that, noting his government has already put a halt to risky practices such as zero-down payment mortgages; set a maximum amortization period of 35 years for new government-backed mortgages; and enacted new disclosure rules for disclosure of risk by banks.
“Canada took actions that weatherproofed our banks before the storm,” Mr. Harper said.
“It's one reason why our banks are safe and some other countries' banks are not.”
Asked why he discussed future actions by the Bank of Canada yesterday on CBC TV, the Conservative leader insisted he wasn't giving market players advance knowledge when he said "there will likely be some things that the government will do in the marketplace in the next few days to deal with the credit crunch that we are seeing in some of our financial institutions."
He said his comments were vague in nature and suggested he had nevertheless known the rate cut was coming. "I can tell you that all agencies of the government of Canada communicate regularly with each other, with important players in the private sector and with their equivalent organizations across the world. And we are on top of that."
Mr. Harper also said the Bank isn't finished with moves to ease credit conditions. "I can assure you there will be more actions."
The Conservative leader criticized the Liberals and New Democrats, saying they profess concern for investors but are proposing policies that would further hurt markets.
"Tell me how imposing a carbon tax on our economy right now – that would drive up the cost of everything Canadians buy – tell me how that shows you care or understand the situation?" Mr. Harper said, referring to the Liberal proposal for a carbon tax on many fuels.
"Tell me how advocating new taxes on investments that would hurt the savings of ordinary people. Tell me how that shows anybody cares?"
He also lashed out at his opponents saying a prime minister shouldn't sow panic as he charged that they are doing. "The prime minister doesn't join in a wave of stock market panic around the world."
Separately, the Tories fleshed out more details from their platform of campaign promises, pledging $65-million over several years to help provinces recruit and retain more doctors and nurses.
He portrayed the move as helping solve a problem caused by former federal Liberal governments which in the mid-1990s cut transfers to provinces.
Mr. Harper pledged a Tory government would:
- Allocate $10-million annually for four years for provinces to allow them to fund 50 new medical residencies per year in major teaching hospitals, a move the Tories said would increase the supply and retention of physicians in areas of priority need.
- Establish a fund of $5-million annually for four years to help Canadian doctors living abroad who want to come back home. The Conservatives estimate this could bring back as many as 300 Canadian physicians over four years.
- Launch a series of pilot projects with nursing organizations and interested provinces and territories to look at better ways to recruit and retain nurses. This would cost more than $5-million over three years.
