Over the coming weeks, Liberals will be working on Parliament Hill by focussing on the issues that matter to Canadians, while the Conservatives stay home to avoid being held accountable.

“We are not going to let Stephen Harper halt the nation’s business and stop us from doing the job we were elected to do,” said Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff at the conclusion of the National Liberal Winter Caucus meeting in Ottawa today.

“While his government runs and hides from Canadians, Liberals will be hard at work listening to Canadians in a collective effort to tackle some of the most pressing issues of the day.”

The Liberal caucus has invited some of the country’s most notable advocates on a wide range of issues to participate in a series of policy panels and roundtables led by Liberal critics in the coming weeks.  Starting next week on January 25 – the day Parliament was supposed to return – Liberals will focus on:

• Jobs, with sessions on manufacturing, natural resources, youth employment, high-tech and clean energy, led by Finance Critic John McCallum and Labour Critic Maria Minna;

• Governance, with Peter Tinsley, Paul Kennedy and Linda Keen addressing partisan political interference at independent agencies and commissions, led by Democratic Reform Critic Marlene Jennings;

• Women, recognizing the 40th anniversary of the Royal Commission on the Status of Women and addressing women’s economic security, led by Status of Women Critic Anita Neville;

• Veterans, with a keynote address by Senator Romeo Dallaire and sessions on post-traumatic stress disorder, the New Veteran’s Charter, and the condition of soldiers returning from Afghanistan, led by Veterans Affairs Critic Rob Oliphant;

• Alzheimer’s and Dementia, to further discussions on research into the cause, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of dementia and neurodegenerative diseases, and to address strategies to ease the burden on caregivers and families of patients with these illnesses, led by Public Health Critic Dr. Kirsty Duncan; and,

• Health Goals for Canada in 2017, a virtual forum featuring the Hon. Monique Bégin, Dr. Kumanan Wilson and Dr. Paulette Tremblay, led by Health Critic Dr. Carolyn Bennett.

“We’re going to keep asking questions, even if Stephen Harper doesn’t want them answered,” said Mr. Ignatieff.  “By shutting down Parliament, Mr. Harper has shown Canadians that he is more interested in partisan manipulation than in governing for their benefit.”

“Liberals refuse to play his game.  We’re going to keep doing the job Canadians elected us to do, the job Canadians expect us to do.”