MONTREAL — Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff believes he still has time to convince Canadians that his approach to politics and his family friendly platform will bring “stability” to Canada.
Heading into the last week of the 2011 election campaign as the underdog, Ignatieff highlighted that the numbers in his party’s promises add up, while his opponents either have nothing new to propose or cannot pay for what they have pledged.
“I really think the (Liberal) platform speaks to Canadian families at this time,” Ignatieff said in an interview with Postmedia News on his campaign bus.
“I think it’s nothing short of a scandal, in fact, that Mr. Harper basically doesn’t have a platform. Mr. Harper says: ‘Give me a majority. The other guys are scary. Give me a majority.’ “
Ignatieff said a key part of his approach to governing would be holding regular monthly meetings with all of the opposition leaders to consider their proposals, in the same way that he has built the Liberal platform after 2 1/2 years of discussion and town hall meetings, speaking directly to Canadians.
“I’ve said we’re going to present a Liberal budget and Liberal platform, but there’s some water that can be put in the wine here . . . provided that it doesn’t damage the fiscal framework,” said Ignatieff. “That kind of give and take and compromise is what I’m talking about, and I think that contributes to stability. We forget that some of the most productive periods in our history have been minority governments.”
The Liberals estimate that, if elected, they would spend about $2.7 billion in the current fiscal year followed by about $5.4 billion in the following year on their promises, such as new grants going directly to students for college and university tuition fees, improvements to federal pensions and guaranteed income plans as well as investments to help provinces create new daycare spaces for children.
“This is what Canadians need to hear from us so that (they know) we’ve got their priorities in mind and not the priorities of the Harper government,” Ignatieff said. “We think that sustaining the middle-class family like we’ve done is the key thing we can do for the Canadian economy. It’s an economic statement, it’s a social statement, it’s a moral statement. But it’s one statement. You put the Canadian family first and everything else will take care of itself.”
The Liberals also estimate $11 billion in new revenues over that period from measures such as their pledges to roll back anticipated corporate tax cuts and cancel tax incentives for oilsands companies.
The Conservatives have accused Ignatieff of not factoring in billions of dollars in spending promises in subsequent years, while Ignatieff has accused the Tories of having a multibillion-dollar hole that did not appear in last month’s federal budget.
The Liberals have also questioned the NDP numbers, calculating $30 billion in new NDP revenue and spending promises. Those include an anticipated $3.6 billion in revenues from large polluting companies within the first few months of forming a government through a market-based trading system to crack down on industrial pollution.
The Liberals also pledged to introduce this type of system as part of their climate change policies, but anticipate it would take at least two years to ensure it is fair for all regions, following negotiations with the provinces.
“Mr. Layton’s got a platform, but the numbers don’t add up,” said Ignatieff. “We have a platform where the costing table adds up. That seems to be the first qualification for getting into government.”
An NDP spokesman said that, if elected to form a government, it would delay some green spending initiatives until it was able to set up the trading system.
But he was unable to immediately identify which initiatives could be delayed, saying that the NDP expected to launch the system right away by making climate change a priority and relying on existing knowledge from within the government and outside stakeholders.
Ignatieff was planning to celebrate Easter Sunday with the Coptic community to recognize his father’s roots from the Russian Orthodox church and show solidarity to a community that found itself under attack during the Christmas season before an uprising that toppled the Egyptian regime of former president Hosni Mubarak, and is still anxious about religious freedom in the post-revolution period.
“I spent my childhood going into the little churches with my Dad on Sunday, and they spoke Russian, so I didn’t understand that, but I knew that this was a big deal for my Dad,” he said.
While he attempts to promote his policies, Ignatieff said he would also be trying to drive home a message to voters that they cannot trust Stephen Harper’s approach to democracy, health care or the economy. He argued that the New Democrats are not the best solution because they wouldn’t be able to pay for their promises.
“I’ve made it clear that I would try to treat NDP voters with respect,” said Ignatieff. “I’m just saying: ‘Guys, it’s choosing time here. . . . We’ve got to make up our minds here. We’re not choosing between opposition parties. We’re not choosing who’s going to be in opposition. We’re choosing, fundamentally, who’s going to run the country. So let’s get serious.’”
mdesouza@postmedia.com
twitter.com/mikedesouza
