Michael Ignatieff “isn’t the solution,” NDP leader Jack Layton warned London, Ont., where the NDP suffered a blow last week when its candidate defected to the Liberals.
Less than a week after Elgin-Middlesex-London candidate Ryan Dolby withdrew his candidacy and traded orange for red citing fears that vote-splitting on the left might lead to a Conservative majority, Layton descended on the community to lend his support to Fred Sinclair, a Canadian Auto Worker’s union member who took up the NDP banner.
He began his speech with a usual refrain, that Stephen Harper has failed to “fix” what’ wrong in Ottawa, but ended it on a less familiar note.
He argued Ignatieff is “part of the problem” and attacked him for flip-flopping on corporate tax cuts and keeping troops in Afghanistan. Layton argued that while Ignatieff now wants to make life more affordable for Canadians, he ultimately supported the HST.
He described the Liberal leader as indecisive and slammed him for promising to grant a $35 million loan to London’s Diamond Aircraft which was forced to layoff 213 of its 280 employees and cancel a plan to build new jets because it couldn’t count on the federal money it had applied for.
Ignatieff made the announcement during a visit to the riding days ago, but Layton suggested it was little more than a desperate plea for votes from a man who had previously refused to take a position on the matter.
“When it comes to fighting for jobs here in London, Michael Ignatieff doesn’t know where he stands,” Layton said. “He’s a bit of a Johnny-come-lately.”
