On October 14th, vote Peggy Nash!
Dear friends and neighbours,
A Statement on the Economy
The 2008 election is coming to an exciting conclusion on both the local and national levels.
The dominant issue is now the economy. The volatility of financial markets in Canada, the United States, Europe and Asia have caused many to worry about what might happen to their savings, investments, jobs, homes and their short and long term financial security.
I understand why people are nervous.
On the campaign trail, I have heard from many of you who are anxious about their economic well being. I am frequently asked why the federal government did not respond to the early warning signs.
These signs were visible as early as the fall of 2007. The loss of 400,000 well paying manufacturing jobs, the impact of deregulation and the foreclosure crisis in the U.S. have been and continue to be serious indicators of structural flaws in our economy that must be addressed.
In the House of Commons, with Jack Layton and my caucus colleagues, I have repeatedly spoken out about the crisis in manufacturing and the need to develop comprehensive sector-by-sector strategies. Our voices, unfortunately, fell on deaf ears as Prime Minister Harper said that lost jobs in Ontario were offset by job increases in the West; while Stéphane Dion and his MPs continued to rubber stamp the Conservative’s do-nothing strategy.
The fact that the Canadian and global economies are heading towards a challenging and uncertain period is a disturbing reality—a reality that must be dealt with today.
Canada is not immune from this global economic situation and it is important that we act in concert with the other G7 countries. The Stephen Harper government failed to insist that bank rate cuts be passed on to the consumer entirely, nor have they ensured that our financial sector is adequately regulated.
Stephen Harper has repeatedly demonstrated that he does not understand the anxiety Canadians feel about their savings, pensions, jobs and mortgages. Instead, Harper suggested the financial crisis presented a “buying opportunity”. Meanwhile, Stéphane Dion wants to hold meetings to see what he should do about the economy but has no plan for action. Both plan to spend over $40 billion in new corporate tax cuts with no strings attached; and Mr. Dion has committed to even deeper corporate tax cuts than Stephen Harper. It makes no sense to further subsidize large oil and gas interests, and anyone who has ever balanced a budget knows that you can’t massively cut revenue and increase spending. Something’s got to give.
