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TORONTO - Conservative Leader Stephen Harper pledged $400-million for the hard-hit aerospace and auto sectors yesterday as he unveiled a relatively modest campaign platform that tried to dispel the impression he has done little to respond to fresh economic turmoil.
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The package, unveiled with only one week left in the campaign, promises $8.6-billion in new measures spread over four years, three-quarters of which are tax cuts.
By comparison, the Liberals announced $54-billion in spending and tax-cut commitments with $13.3-billion extra in surpluses and rainy-day cushions. The NDP estimate their promises will have a $52-billion impact on the federal budget.
The Tories, who are stalling in the opinion polls, also tried to soften their image by announcing they would jettison Bill C-10, the legislation that would allow them to them deny tax breaks to films they deem offensive.
A defensive sounding Mr. Harper took the stage at a Toronto business luncheon yesterday in the face of accusations that he has done little to respond to the economic gloom.
“If you are making up [policy] in response to the latest news, or the latest changes in the stock market, then it is obvious you really don't have a plan,” he said.
He pointed out the Tories have been warning since 2007 about the gathering storm clouds and have already doled out billions of dollars in tax cuts in last fall's mini-budget to prime the economic pump.
In a comment that risks appearing insensitive to Canadians' stock losses, Mr. Harper said the depressed markets offer bargains for investors as he urged people not to panic.
“I think there are probably some great buying opportunities emerging in the stock market as a consequence of all this panic.”
Mr. Harper even reached for the Bible when defending his record. “As the saying goes, it wasn't raining when Noah built the ark. Which is why, when the rain came, Noah didn't need to panic and he didn't switch boats.”
A report by the International Monetary Fund obtained by Bloomberg News says that Canada will lead Group of Seven countries in economic growth next year – an opinion that contradicts Liberal claims that the country is in fact the G7 laggard.
“The fastest-growing G7 country will be Canada, where GDP is forecast to increase 1.2 per cent, the IMF report said,” according to Bloomberg News.
In the evening, anxious to demonstrate empathy with hurting investors, Mr. Harper told a rally that he was concerned, in part because his mother, a senior citizen, is worrying about her financial security.
As Liberal MP Bob Rae, who was Ontario NDP premier during the 1990s recession, waited to react to Mr. Harper's speech, the Tory Leader joked that if the Conservatives aren't re-elected, “it will make Bob Rae's Ontario look like a boom town.”
Mr. Rae dismissed Mr. Harper's platform as little comfort for a worried country fretting about retirement savings, jobs and homes.
“He doesn't do hope very well; he doesn't do empathy very well; he doesn't do understanding very well and frankly those are all qualities we expect in our leaders, particularly in a time of difficulty,” Mr. Rae said.
Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion described the Tory platform – a 41-page booklet printed in large blue font with 22 colour photos of Mr. Harper – as a “brochure” of small tax cuts.
“Stephen Harper says ‘Don't switch votes in the middle of a storm,' but we have a captain who is asleep at the wheel. For the sake of Canadians, what we need to change is the captain and his crew.”
NDP Leader Jack Layton said last night in Courtenay, B.C., that he was astonished by Mr. Harper's comments about moneymaking opportunities in the current economic turmoil.
“I couldn't believe what I was hearing from the Prime Minister, to make that kind of flippant comment when people are literally wondering whether they can retire, wondering whether they are going to be able to pay their mortgages; they're wondering how they're going to get by,” he said. “It just has me shaking my head and saying the Prime Minister either doesn't get it or doesn't care.”
Also in the platform, the Tories have upped the stakes in their bid to remake the Senate, vowing to abolish the chamber if they are frustrated by senators in their bid to bring in term limits and an election process for the Senate.
The Tories are also pledging more tough-on-crime measures including eliminating the Criminal Code's “faint hope clause,” which allows inmates serving life sentences to apply for parole after 15 years.
Mr. Harper said Canadians should be worried about the more ambitious spending proposals of his opponents, including the Liberals who would enact a carbon tax and propose more than $50-billion in spending over five years. He did not mention that the Liberal carbon tax is to be accompanied by matching income tax cuts.
Mr. Harper defended his record, saying the Tories have already taken significant action and don't see a way to extend a lifeline to those who have lost money in the huge stock market selloff.
“Stock markets do go up and down, and governments can do very little about stock markets,” he said, noting that the real problem around the world is banking system problems – not something plaguing Canada.
With reports from Bill Curry, Ian Bailey and The Canadian Press
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Week 5 of the campaign
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