Ignatieff's views on Harper September 18, 2008

Michael Ignatieff's opening statements - Liberal infrastructure announcement

18 September 2008

Good morning. Bonjour.

We're here to talk about the Liberal plan to invest in infrastructure and rebuild the ties that bind our country together.

We're here to talk about leadership in tough economic times.

Nous sommes ici pour parler du leadership quand le climat économique s'annonce orageux.

We cannot allow Stephen Harper to define what strong leadership is in this country.

Look at his record.

Harper is the man who broke his promise to millions of Canadian investors when he wiped out income trusts.

This isn't leadership – it's vandalism.

Harper is the man who has spent this country to the edge of deficit.

This isn’t leadership – it's irresponsibility.

Harper c'est l'homme qui nous a mené au bord du deficit.

C'est du leadership. C'est l'irresponsable.

Harper runs a government which told the world not to invest in Ontario.

This isn't leadership - it's an assault on Canadian workers.

Harper is the man who watched the auto sector struggling and shrugged his shoulders.

This isn't leadership - this is callousness.

Harper is the man who says everything is fine with the Canadian economy.

This isn't leadership – it's denial.

This is a man who thinks he can run Canada single-handed.

This isn't leadership – it is arrogant self-delusion.

Harper est un homme qui veut vous faire croire qu'il peut diriger le gouvernement du Canada tout seul.

C'est pas du leadership.

C'est la folie de grandeur.

This is a man whose Finance Minister was asked to invest in Canada's roads and bridges, and said: "we don't do potholes".

This isn't leadership – it is incompetence.

At a time when Canadians are getting sick of listeriosis, and food safety is in question, we have a cabinet minister making cheap jokes. That's not leadership.

That's mean-spirited incompetence.

We know that Stephen Harper loves power.

But a real leader would fire Gerry Ritz.

The problem is he doesn't like government.

In tough economic times, Canadians want their government to make sure mortgage markets are safe, our pensions and savings are secure, and our jobs won't disappear.

In tough economic times, Canadians don't need one-man rule. They need a team.

They need experienced men and women ready to practice the economics of partnership, not the politics of divide-and-rule; men and women who want to work with the provinces, not against them, to rebuild our infrastructure and get our economy going again. Le chef de cette équipe est un homme de courage et conviction.

The leader of this team is a man with guts, a man who knows who he is and what he wants, a man with a decade of experience in cabinet, a man who is ready to lead this country.

Le chef du parti liberal du Canada, the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada – Stephane Dion.