BADDECK, NS – After a 110-day absence, Stephen Harper has finally returned to Quebec to show that just how hopelessly disconnected he is from the priorities of Quebec voters, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff said today.
“Stephen Harper avoided Quebec completely for more than three months,” said Mr. Ignatieff. “That’s 110 days without making a public appearance in La Belle Province and 110 days during which he governed against Quebec’s values and interests. Today, he is returning to make an announcement, yet he continues to ignore all of the issues that are priorities in the eyes of Quebecers.”
Yesterday, anonymous Conservative sources affirmed that today’s announcement will be enough for Quebecers to pardon the government for being disconnected from Quebec’s values over the past months.
“They don’t know Quebecers at all if they think they will renounce their values in exchange for a maintenance contract,” said Mr. Ignatieff.
“Quebec wants loan guarantees for the forestry industry, but Stephen Harper has said no. The consensus in Quebec is in favour of keeping the firearms registry, but Harper has chosen to ignore what the police have to say about the registry and is instead preparing to scrap it. Quebecers understand how important the census is for the survival of Francophone communities outside of Quebec, but Stephen Harper doesn’t care about bilingualism.”
“It’s the height of arrogance to think that Quebecers will forget all of the Conservatives’ retrograde policies for the price of a maintenance contract,” said Marc Garneau, Mr. Ignatieff’s Quebec representative and Liberal Industry Critic.
“Our aerospace industry is about to fall to sixth place in the world, when we were fourth just a few years ago. What’s more, this is the last 100% Canadian maintenance contract handed out by this government, given that for the F-35, there will be no intellectual property transferred to Canada, which will limit the maintenance and upgrade role that can be played by Canadian companies. Quebec will lose out in the end.
“If the Conservatives think that this is the way they are going to win back Quebecers, they are mistaken. This shows just how disconnected they are from everyday Quebec reality,” concluded Mr. Garneau.
