Mississauga – In a speech to the Mississauga Board of Trade today, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff attacked the Harper government’s economic policies while presenting the Liberal alternative of easing the pressure on Canadian families and positioning Canada for economic success.
“In the next election, you will have a clear choice,” said Mr. Ignatieff. “On the one hand, a Conservative government that offers $6 billion in annual corporate tax cuts we can’t afford. On the other hand, a Liberal alternative that freezes corporate taxes, fights the deficit and makes targeted investments in our future – in learning, care, and leadership.”
Speaking in a city where factory closures and job cuts have put the unemployment rate above the national average and the Ontario average, Mr. Ignatieff said Stephen Harper’s Conservatives are out of touch with the needs of Canadian families: paying for their children’s education, caring for aging parents, and finding employment in the clean energy economy of tomorrow.
“While they’re declaring victory and the end of the recession, millions of families are still fighting the downturn,” he said. “Meanwhile, when Stephen Harper goes around the world boasting about Canada’s economy – what he’s really boasting about is the Liberal record.”
Mr. Ignatieff reminded those in the audience that in opposition, Stephen Harper opposed the Liberal economic policies – including bank regulations – that protected Canadian families and businesses during the recession. In government, Mr. Harper has run up the biggest deficit in Canadian history, raised payroll taxes by $13 billion, increased federal spending by 25 percent and burned through the rainy day reserve that was the hallmark of Liberal fiscal management.
“Now, his number one economic policy is $6 billion in additional tax cuts for profitable corporations – every single year,” said Mr. Ignatieff. “As we’ve seen with the European debt crisis, the world economy remains fragile. It would be reckless to pursue further corporate tax cuts when we have a $54 billion deficit and an uncertain fiscal future.”
Instead, a future Liberal government will help families face the challenges of today, while we prepare for the pressures of tomorrow by:
• Investing in our people, to build the best-educated, most highly-skilled workforce in the world;
• Helping Canadian families shoulder the burden of care for loved ones at home and respond to the crisis in our pensions; and
• Restoring Canadian leadership to create a new generation of clean energy jobs.
“In the weeks and months ahead, we will make the case for a Canada where every child gets an equal shot, and every family a helping hand – a Canada that leads by example,” Mr. Ignatieff concluded.
Click here to view Mr. Ignatieff’s speech to the Mississauga Board of Trade
On learning, a future Liberal government will build the best-educated, most highly-skilled workforce in the world. We will:
• Invest in the creation of affordable early learning and childcare spaces in every part of Canada;
• Reduce financial support gaps for Aboriginal students;
• Help families save for their children’s education, and make it possible for all young people with good grades to get a post-secondary education;
• Reward businesses that invest in skills training for their employees; and
• Immediately reverse Stephen Harpers’ cuts to literacy programs.
On care, a future Liberal government will help Canadian families shoulder the burden of care, at a time when more and more families are getting squeezed between caring for young children and caring for ageing relatives. We will:
• Provide financial support for family caregivers, which will help reduce costs in our health care system; and
• Respond to the crisis in our pensions with a Supplementary Canada Pension Plan, a new Stranded Pensions Agency, and changes to the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, to protect pensioners on long-term disability.
On Canadian leadership, a future Liberal government will reverse the Conservative trend of diminishing Canada’s role on the international stage by becoming the most open, international society in the world. We will:
• Work with schools, colleges and universities to make international training a part of every young Canadian’s learning experience;
• Build a strategic partnership with the United States with a coherent Canadian approach that garners the right to public and private investments in clean energy, renewable energy and energy efficiency;
• Create a new generation of clean energy jobs, with landmark investments in clean energy that the world can emulate and that will also provide incentives that help Canadian families cut their energy bills; and
• Develop a cap-and-trade system with absolute targets, to reduce pollution and restore Canadian leadership in the fight against climate change.
