Harper concerned about Ontario economy
 
In an interview with The Hill Times, PM Stephen Harper talks about the economy, Danny Williams, and Elizabeth May.

by Angelo Persichilli
THE HILL TIMES

If Canada imposes new taxes and new spending as the Liberals propose, Ontario will go into "deep recession, so will the country, and we will not get out of this for years," Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in an interview with The Hill Times.

In the interview, Harper also shrugged off the recent full-throttle attack from Danny Williams, the premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, but stressed increasing cooperation with the government of Ontario.

As for the change of heart allowing Elizabeth May to participate in the national debates, Harper said that "our position is the same. We don't believe this is fair in principle. Basically they are going to have two Liberal candidates in the debate."

The Prime Minister stressed said that "if the NDP and others were ready to have her in, we were not going to block her single-handedly."

Harper, however, is still convinced that if "someone is running in cooperation with another leader," he or she should not "be in the leaders' debate. But if that's what everybody wants, it would be foolish for us to block it alone."

What about Danny Williams? "What can I say? Our campaign is aimed at the people of Newfoundland. Premier Williams was against the last federal government, he is against this federal government and he will be against the next federal government."

Harper said he believes that "you can't tell the people of Newfoundland and Labrador how they have to vote. They will make up their own minds. For the first time in history, they have an economy that is starting to grow because of the energy sector and the last thing they need is the carbon tax."

But it's a different scenario in Ontario: "The economy in Ontario is the most worrisome in the country. The economical landscape is worrisome everywhere, but the Ontario one is the one being impacted the most by some of the structural changes we have seen. We have taxes down, we're paying down the debt, keeping our budgets with surpluses and making investments that actually grow the economy.

"If the provincial government will work with us in the economic direction we have set, then I think we are going to get through this. I think the Ontario government has been moving more in that direction lately and, certainly, it is my hope. We need the Ontario government doing the things we are doing to get the results we are getting in other parts of the country."

Asked about the difference between the previous election, when he won because people voted against Paul Martin's government, and now, when he is the one under scrutiny, Harper said he doesn't "feel it when I talk to the people. My frank feeling has been that this party will be about two things. It will be about the government, the leader, its record, and I think we are going to be okay on that. Even if many Canadians don't agree with me on everything we have done, I think that virtually all of them have to admit that all the scare tactics of the opposition in the last two elections were not true."

Harper knows that "of course people who are on the far left don't agree with me. That's legitimate and that's what democracy is all about. Not everybody agrees. But we govern this country in a way that I think it has had the confidence of the majority of Canadians and I think we are going to have good results at a very difficult time."

What about the other parties? Harper said they are the alternative, but their policies are "laughable." "The alternative is about a bunch of parties that are all chasing the far left vote, that are making expenditure expenses and promises that are so far above the capacity the country can afford. They are laughable."

Asked for an example, he pointed to the NDP: "They are the same as the Greens, the Liberals and the Bloc. They said that they are going to spend $8-billion just in the auto sector alone. Who can believe this stuff?"

As for the Liberals, he said they "have made other promises and, it's to their credit for saying honestly, they are going to raise taxes." Harper said "that's a legitimate choice to have greater spending, greater taxes. I think that it would be disastrous for the economy. If we think Ontario has trouble now—I believe that it is manageable and we will get out of this—if we start imposing new taxes, as the Dion Liberals are saying, and new spending, Ontario will go into deep recession, so will the country, and we will not get out of this for years."

Harper, who was in Toronto the day after two violent shootings took place in the streets of the city, also addressed the crime issue. "We have been advancing some laws to toughen up the current justice system, including tougher bail for people charged with fire arms and some other things, but, as everybody knows, in the Parliament we just had, it took two years to get those small changes through.

"We have more small changes coming and more changes will be held up in Parliament. And this," said Harper, "is the pitch we make to the voters. Every party will say during this election campaign that they are toughening up on crime, just as they said it before. The reality is that the only party in the last Parliament that tried to do that, it was us."