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Why wait for leaders to tell you what is going to happen? Today you can lead by example and become a member of both the Progressive Conservative Party and the Canadian Alliance. Joint membership is the first step in local riding cooperation and you can have a direct say in the unification of like minded people at the local level. The process is easy. Simply fill out the form below and your request will be processed for either a PC Party, Canadian Alliance or both memberships.
We can build a broader, more inclusive PC Big Tent that includes the West, Quebec and Ontario through cooperation or coalition amongst Canadian Conservatives in the next election against Liberal Paul Martin because it is time to nail down the tent stakes on core conservative values and principles we share with the Alliance like free trade, tax reform, cutting government waste, fostering economic growth and democratic reform. Plus we will go a step further with such ideas as the instituting the death penalty, scrapping the gun registry and stop the legalization of child pornography and its possession. We must share a common set of conservative values and principles to offer Canadians a clear choice in the next election.
Peter MacKay will reach out to all those who share our conservative values and principles. Peter will bring together conservatives from across this country to defeat the Chrétien - Martin Liberals. You can have a direct say in whom will be the next PC Party Leader. You can cast your vote for Peter and elect MacKay delegates from your riding to represent you at the June 1st convention in Toronto. We need your help right now! It’s very simple to join and have a vote. It will take one day in your life to help put Canada back on the right track for the next decade and beyond.
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Thank you for your introduction. I am delighted to be here with you this afternoon to talk about the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. Three weeks ago today, the PC Party began its Leadership Convention in Toronto. Five months from now, the Liberals will choose a new leader. Within a year, we will be standing before the public in a general election.
We must lay the groundwork now to maximize the number of Progressive Conservative candidates elected. And as a first step, we must move quickly to heal the natural divisions of the leadership race. Unity begins within the existing family further efforts to unify the larger community will follow.
We came out of the Toronto convention with momentum. The nation is watching. And it has become very clear that our Party has the breadth and depth of talent to put together a winning team. We will take on a tired and arrogant Liberal government, and bring a new generation of leadership to Canada, leadership based on idealism, ideas and action.
Our leadership race showed that we have strength on the ground, the strength of thousands of members of the PC Party who worked tirelessly on behalf of their candidates. Now, at the end of a gruelling campaign, I'm asking everyone to keep up the pace.
To those who supported me during the leadership, I want you to reach out to those in your ridings and networks who supported others.
And to those who supported another candidate, my message is equally simple: I need your help.
Some of you were attracted by Scott Brison's bold and innovative policy agenda. Others believed in Jim Prentice's plan to recreate that broad coalition that took us to 24 Sussex. Some joined the party because of David Orchard's concern for our sovereignty and environment in changing times. Some supported André Bachand as a man who could bridge the country's linguistic divide by articulating a compelling vision with charm and eloquence in both official languages.
All of you who supported any of the candidates worked hard to rebuild this Party. And we need to work together to keep building.
Peu importe le candidat que vous avez appuyé durant la course au leadership, nous devons dès aujourd'hui former une grande équipe. J'ai besoin de l'aide de chacun d'entre vous.
ver the months of campaigning, in debates across this country, I learned a lot from my fellow candidates. I also took to heart lessons that Sir John A. Macdonald taught Canada a long time ago. Sir John A. was a nation builder because he was a coalition builder. He built partnerships that seemed impossible to earlier generations, between English and French; between Protestant and Catholic. Partnerships, as well, with political foes to create Confederation. We forget today just how astonishing these collaborations were in their time.
That is why we, as Progressive Conservatives revere Sir John for what he was able to achieve as a result.
That lesson must be learned by any leader of any political Party that aspires to govern this country. We have built a nation renowned around the world for its pluralism and decency. Any Party that aspires to govern this country must bring together different elements and forge coalitions to drive change.
That is what we have done in the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. What we have always done, and what we will continue to do. It is why we will again earn the trust of Canadians to govern this great nation.
Our efforts to reach out must naturally include the Canadian Alliance. I have initiated several conversations with Steven Harper since being chosen Leader, and will do so again. I am prepared to sit down and discuss policy, and how to work more cooperatively in Parliament, and how to advance the interests of all Canadians.
Mr. Harper has put forward his proposed solution to the challenge of vote splitting in certain ridings. Neither I, nor anyone else, have seen the details of what he proposes.
Given the histories, standings and prospects of our two parties, I believe we must first find common cause and common goals and establish trust before setting out a common electoral strategy. I also believe that we must do this beyond the glare of camera lights, apologies to our friends in the press gallery. If we are to move the issue of future cooperation forward, it cannot be done through the media, we have to first build relationships and then determine next steps.
The first steps are important. Let's take the time to make sure they are the right ones, in the right direction, and in the spirit of true cooperation.
As I have consistently stated throughout our recent leadership campaign, I respect the Partys constitutional aim to run 301 candidates in general elections. And I respect the membership of the Canadian Alliance Party. For these reasons, I look forward to a discussion with Stephen Harper on the views of his party at large on how we can move forward.
The underlying objective of any such discussion is to find a way to offer a better more viable option to the mediocre Chretien Martin agenda.
This afternoon, let me outline three of the policy areas that will loom large in the coming election: economic growth; health care; and a more active presence in the world.
First, economic growth. Im part of the generation that has grown up in the new, global, knowledge-based economy. Ive seen Canada ride its waves and swoop down the troughs.
Even with slowdowns in the United States and Europe, the Canadian economy was performing well. Our success is rooted in the fiscal and trade decisions of the 1980s.
As the Canadian economy slows, it is time to build on the success of past decisions, decisions made by the PC Party of Canada, and prepare for the future.
First, we must build on the very real benefits of free trade to the economic well being of all Canadians.
Let me make myself completely clear on this point. I completely and unequivocally support NAFTA and the Canada U.S. Free Trade Agreement. We created these agreements. It will remain our policy bedrock. the crown jewel.
As I address the Confederation Club, let us remind ourselves the greatest contribution the PC Party has ever made to Canadians was Confederation the national vision that became a reality the 20th Century contribution was free trade.
No other policy initiative in the history of this country has brought about such prosperity and confidence to our economy.
Canadians seized the opportunity presented by liberalized trade with the United States and formed north south trade relations which will benefit our country for generations into the future.
While trade between Canadians and Americans in large and small companies across the continent flourished, the relationship between Jean Chretiens Liberals and the U.S. administration faltered terribly. A directionless and at times outright anti-American Canadian cabinet has reduced the relationship with the American administration to a bitter ideological stand-off. Neither administration trusting each other and neither administration willing to take the political risks necessary to fight domestic protectionist policies.
The difference between us and the Liberals, is that we can make Free Trade better without making our relations with our biggest trading partner worse.
It has been fifteen years since the first Free Trade Agreement was signed. Now is the time to look at our trade policy again. We need to broaden and deepen the application of free trade. We need to expand it beyond this continent to the rest of the Americas and around the globe. This is the ideal time as we head toward the Free Trade of the Americas.
Remember back in 1989? When the FTA was first implemented, some said the Canadian wine industry was doomed. Superior and less expensive U.S. wines would flood the Canadian market, they said. It would lead to wholesale closure of their vineyards.
But look what happened instead. The wine industry in Canada has become a source of pride. The industry looked at the challenges and met them head on. In doing so it created a product that has received international recognition.
There is no question that free trade has been good for Canada. There is no question that better free trade will be better for Canada. Let there be no question that the Progressive Conservative Party will stand solidly behind free trade in the next general election and thereafter.
Tax policy will be a major part of our election platform. Lowering tax rates is simply not enough. Tax policy must be used to encourage productivity and growth.
We must take a candid look at our tax structure. Canada must become a more capital-friendly country. We must work hard to attract more foreign investment. We must encourage Canadian businesses to invest more in productive capacity. The capital tax should be eliminated not in five years, but immediately. It kills jobs. It drains the resources of companies striving to compete. It must go.
Government spending and regulation must face the same scrutiny. Every public dollar spent must go to those essential services Canadians need.
Finally, we must legislate a debt repayment schedule to ease the burden of our excesses on future generations.
The second key policy area is the future of our health care system.
It's time to put an end to the Liberal method of "health care reform by opinion poll." Let's start with the basic belief held by Canadians from coast to coast: universal access to quality health care based on need and not ability to pay. That's the goal. It is not up for negotiation. Period.
The goal is clear. How we achieve it is not. Let us look at the instruments that can make a difference. Let us protect public insurance, and let us be clear about the role private providers can play within that system.
We can protect those provisions of the Canada Health Act that still speak to the core values of the system. We need to modernize the Canada Health Act. We need to account for the rising costs of drugs and homecare, as just one example of what has been changing.
And let's not waste any more time or resources bickering among levels of government. We must work together to solve complex problems. And that means putting an end to the Liberal "Ottawa knows best" approach to federal-provincial relations. It means deciding together on the standards of excellence that shall become hallmark of Canada's health care.
If we want to avoid the federal-provincial standoffs, we need objective evaluative data. There are some excellent ideas up for discussion. In Quebec, for example, Jean Charest's government has proposed a consultative body called the Council of the Federation. One of its roles would be to consider harmonized standards and policies in specific subject areas. At the very least, let us get back to regular federal-provincial meetings and find a more comprehensive way to include the municipal voice.
The bottom line is this: it's time to get over the federal-provincial bickering. And these vehicles could be used to provide independent and objective data on the effectiveness of health care reforms. The result: more informed and effective decisions.
The third policy area I want to talk about briefly is Canada's foreign and defence policy needs.
After ten years of Liberal neglect, increased funding for our military is crucial and it is obvious, painfully obvious that our military needs increased funding. We must rethink the role of our military. What do we want our armed forces to do, both here in Canada and around the world?
How can we balance our two major commitments? On the one hand, a commitment to a strong multilateral system of peace and security through the United Nations. And on the other, our commitment to ensuring stability and security of the continent we share with our closest friend and ally, the United States of America?
I believe we must pursue a triple strategy. First, provide our military with the necessary rapid response and strategic lift capabilities they need if Canada is to remain a UN peacekeeper and peacemaker.
Second, we must pursue negotiations on a North American security perimeter with our American allies. Today, defence is linked with other issues in ways we have not seen before. Our trade with the United States is connected to the security of our borders.
And third, Canada must become more active in promoting the benefits of trade and democracy around the world. We must therefore revamp our system of foreign aid so that it works in conjunction with and not separate from our foreign policy goals.
On these subjects and the issue of policy and party building, I will be announcing in the coming weeks a series of blue ribbon panels that will examine issues related to trade, post-secondary education and the environment. Later in the summer, additional panels will also be announced.
Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends, chers amis, with a government record like this. with nearly a decade of cynicism, arrogance and corruption, it is no wonder that many Canadians now feel jaded about politics and tuning out.
The 2000 election turnout was the lowest ever. I can understand why Canadians feel that way. You can too.
When a Cabinet Minister gets caught with his hands in the kitty, and he is rewarded with an ambassadorship, Canadians get cynical.
When the Prime Minister buys Challengers for his personal comfort, our armed forces are left with helicopters that won't go up and submarines that won't go down, Canadians get cynical.
When the Liberals force through Parliament a bill that changes the rules on Party fund-raising giving themselves $8 million and significant less to the other parties, not bringing about more openness or fairness but simply promoting the incumbent government, Canadians get cynical.
When the Liberals shut down Parliament so the Prime Minister can get off to the golf links early, shut down Parliament in the midst of crises like SARS, and BSE cow, softwood lumber and the insolvency of the national airline, Canadians get cynical.
If we want Canadians to stop being cynical, if we want them to get involved again in the democratic process again, we must prove we can do things differently and provide positive solutions.
And one thing was very clear to anyone who attended the Leadership Convention in Toronto. Our Party is a national institution that brings together Canadians from all regions, from all age groups, and from diverse elements of the policy spectrum.
We now must build on the momentum of the convention. We must translate the enthusiasm of the leadership campaign into a solid election platform. We have a Progressive-Conservative agenda for the next decade: a stronger economy, better health care, and a more active presence in the world. All this will help in the biggest agenda of all, and that's to create a healthier democracy and a prosperous Canada.
Alors, chers amis, voilà le programme progressiste-conservateur pour la prochaine décennie: une économie plus performante, un système de santé revitalisé, une présence plus marquée sur la scène internationale ancrée dans des objectifs plus concrets, et une démocratie renforcée.
Over the next few months, I need each of you to contribute your ideas. How can we turn this agenda into a winning platform? How can we build the party infrastructure that will put these ideas to work for Canadians? How can we unleash the power and the potential we saw at the convention, and use it to drive change for Canada?
We have work to do. So rest up a little this summer. Enjoy the cottage. Enjoy the riding barbecues. And gather your strength and energy. Because we're going to need it. We're in the summer respite of what will surely be one of the most dramatic years in Canadas political history. We'll have an election within a year. We'll face a recycled Liberal leader with a tired old agenda. And we must be good and ready.
Democracy demands it, Canadians deserve it.
I look forward to seeing you out in your communities that make up this glorious country.
Merci. |
