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Monday April 25, 2005 |
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unity and health
care: can we really trust them?
by Angelo Persichilli
THE HILL TIMES
If I understand correctly, Liberals want Canadian people to vote for them,
again, because Stephen Harper cannot be trusted as a leader while the others
can’t even be taken into consideration.
In
particular, Mr. Harper, they say, cannot be trusted on two particular
issues: national unity and health care.
I
believe the federal Liberals should be very careful in challenging other
political organizations on those two issues.
I’ll
start with health care.
It was
the Liberal government of Jean Chrétien, who was then prime minister, and
Paul Martin, then minister of finance, who together cut money for health
care. They did it in 1995 and 1996 and, while reducing the transfer payments
to the provinces, they loosened the strings attached for their spending to
placate the outrage from local governments. In other words, they reduced the
federal money allocated for health care and told the provinces that,
whatever was left, they could spend it however they saw fit. They used the
money to reduce taxes.
And what
did the federal government do with the money taken away from the provinces
and Medicare? Among other things, Ottawa reduced the debt and reduced taxes.
Just like any other Conservative government.
But
after 1996, Mr. Chrétien, first, and now Mr. Martin, today, have increased
the money for Medicare. However, the strings removed 10 years ago aren’t
there today. Moreover, there are no provisions in place to keep
privatization out. So, since the Liberals took over government, there is
still not enough money for Medicare, doors open for privatization, we have
fewer control over the provinces and a weaker federal government in such an
important sector.
And what
are the Liberals telling us now? Don’t vote for Harper. He has a hidden
agenda on health care.
Well,
never mind the talk of hidden agendas. Why not talk about a well-known
Liberal agenda? And this concern leads me over to the unity issue.
Liberals
say: don’t vote for the Conservatives, or, for that matter, for any other
party, because we are the only national party able to keep the country
united. It might be, but the Libs are also the only party that can mess up
the unity issue up like anybody else. Basically, these professional
federalists are like firemen who, in order to stress the importance of their
jobs, become pyromaniacs. The most dramatic and divisive moments in recent
history, in the relationship between Quebec and Ottawa, took place under the
Liberal watch.
Remember
with fondness the 1970s and the War Measures Act, Trudeau’s famous "Watch
me," stuff and, 10 years later, the repatriation of the Constitution without
the consent of Quebec. These are all events that paved the way for
separatist governments in Quebec.
Then,
there was the Conservative initiative of Meech Lake, approved by all
provinces including the one from Quebec, but derailed by the so-called
"Liberal federalists." I confess I was against the Meech Lake accord;
however, I have to admit that it was the collapse of Meech Lake that brought
us to the dramatic events of October 1995 when we risked losing the country
to the separatists.
Again,
after messing up with a plan that was accepted by all provincial
governments, including the Government of Quebec, here come the Liberals to
save us from the separatists with another brilliant idea: the sponsorship
program! Now we have the new government of Paul Martin saying "I had nothing
to do with that. It’s Chrétien fault." The answer from Chrétienites is
simple: "When we left, the separatists were dead meat. If now there are
strong it’s your fault." The fact of the matter is that Bloc Québécois
Leader Gilles Duceppe and his crowds have never been so strong. And what are
the Liberals telling us now? They’re saying, vote for us because "we" are
the only political organization able to save the country.
So who’s
"we" and who are "the Liberals"? Liberals here are leaders and should not to
be confused with the Liberal voters.
A
political organization is not a private business that can declare bankruptcy
and then goes back into action with a new leadership and a different
address. A political organization is an entity with a past to be proud of
when it’s appropriate, but also to be mindful of its moments of weaknesses.
The history of a political party, or a government, is not like a corner
store where you pick and choose what you need and disregard what you don’t
like. Prime Minister Martin cannot go back into the past of this Liberal
government and say he is the guy who eliminated the deficit, but it was Mr.
Chrétien who cut the transfer payments for health care to the provinces.
In the
same vein, the Prime Minister can’t say, "I didn’t know," when he’s faced
with a challenge like the sponsorship program.
After
all, when Canadians had already doubts about the Liberal governments early
in the year 2000, it was he the guy who appeared in the bucolic TV-ad, with
a bushy background, walking hand-in-hand with Jean Chrétien in Quebec during
the 2000 elections preaching to the world about "Liberal values" and the
need to be united. It was a time, if I’m not wrong, right in the middle of
the sponsorship campaign in Quebec.
Now Mr.
Martin is telling us, "I didn’t know then," and I believe him. But, at the
same time, he tells us, "Trust me now," and that’s where I have some
problems. The polls have been clear: without Paul Martin, the popularity of
the Liberal Party is sinking. It was his decision to throw his political
support behind a government which Canadians had already serious doubts
about.
Because
of his support, the Chrétien government won another huge majority.
Prime
Minister Martin might not have legal responsibility in the sponsorship
program, but the political responsibility falls completely on his shoulders.
So, why
should the people trust Liberal governments (whoever the leader is) that
implement policies close to those of Mr. Harper’s, talk like Mr. Layton, and
use Mr. Duceppe to scare us with a fire they keep alive only to blackmail
the country? |
