Income Trusts: A teachable moment

Worse than Harper's broken promise, was his false premise for breaking that promise. Tax leakage is a complete hoax.

It’s time for the Liberals to demonstrate to all Canadians the incompetence and moral emptiness of Stephen Harper by exposing the falsehood of tax leakage. A falsehood employed to advance the interests of groups like Manulife at the expense of Canadian seniors and all Canadian taxpayers.

Harper’s handling of the income trust matter is a teachable moment for all Canadians.....that definitively teaches us all about Harper’s deceit, disdain and dishonesty that Canadians need to know to turf him from office.

The only alternative explanations are that Harper is utterly incompetent or merely an instrument of Bay Street. All bad.

See Ignatieff comment on income trusts bolded in the speech below:

Liberal Caucus: We can do better
Michael Ignatieff speech Delivered on 01 September 2009

Sudbury, Ontario

Hier soir, nous étions 600. Vous sentez l’énergie qu’il y a ici. Cette énergie, c’est celle du retour du Parti libéral du Canada à Sudbury!

Everywhere I’ve been this summer, I’ve seen the same enthusiasm—all while apparently remaining completely invisible.

Hundreds of people didn’t notice me out in Victoria back in June. Or in West Vancouver. Or in Cape Breton.

I was perfectly invisible in front of nearly a thousand people at the Calgary Stampede. Ralph (Goodale) is still wondering how I pulled that off.

Same story at National Aboriginal Day at Crawford Lake.

Et pendant que nous y sommes, je ne suis jamais allé non plus fêter la Saint-Jean-Baptiste à Québec, je n’étais pas au Grand Tintamarre à Miramichi ni à Caraquet; et ne parlons pas d’Edmonton, de la Beauce ou de la Gaspésie.

Everywhere I went, across 8 provinces and the Northwest Territories, I found Liberals energized and set to work hard to put Stephen Harper out of a job.

We should be proud of the work we’ve done this year.

Nous avons fait grandir notre parti : avec de nouveaux membres, avec de nouvelles idées... et avec la meilleure campagne de financement des dernières années.

Nous sommes plus unis que nous l’avons été depuis une génération.

Nous sommes prêts à livrer bataille dans chaque comté du pays.

Et nous sommes prêts à ramener à Ottawa un gouvernement compétent, un gouvernement de compassion, un gouvernement de prospérité pour le bien de tout le Canada.

I know it can be frustrating at times.

We’re working against opponents who make politics personal—who distort and deny the truth and put partisan gain ahead of the national interest.

We’re working against a government that’s ready to sacrifice national unity to stay in power.

But we have a secret weapon on our side: Stephen Harper’s record.

The worst unemployment record in two decades

The worst deficit in our history

And last quarter, the worst performing economy in the G7.

Stephen Harper didn’t see a recession coming last fall.

Now he’s missing something bigger: what we’re going through is more than a recession—it’s a fundamental restructuring of the global economy.

Stephen Harper doesn’t get that.

He doesn’t get that Canada’s in a race—that we’ve got to position our country to compete in the twenty-first century. We’ve got to make Canada a world leader again, and we’ve got to do it now.

Il ne comprend pas ce que les travailleurs de la forêt du nord de l’Ontario, du Québec et de la Colombie-Britannique ont compris. C’est pourtant simple : on ne peut pas rester les bras croisés et attendre que la construction reprenne aux États-Unis. Il faut agir. Atteindre de nouveaux marchés et développer de nouveaux produits pour prendre notre place dans un monde nouveau.

He doesn’t get what autoworkers in Windsor and Oshawa know—that we’re not just going to have to win back customers; we’re going to have to re-invent the car, with brand new technologies and brand new environmental standards.

He doesn’t get what the people of Sudbury know—that when our workers and our industries are under threat—when the choice is between defending Canadian jobs and Canadian technology—we need a government that will defend our interests.

Stephen Harper doesn’t get it. We do.

For more than a century, we’ve built our prosperity on our natural resources. But if we’re to prosper in the next century, we have to turn our resources into products and technologies the whole world wants to buy.

We can’t get there unless we have the vision and ambition to build a competitive, compassionate future for Canada.

We can’t get there unless we open up new markets for Canadian exports in countries like China and India.

We can’t get there with Stephen Harper.

Stephen Harper has been prime minister for four years, and he’s never visited China. We’ll be there next week. After that, we’ll plan a trip to India.

That’s where we need to be as a country—if we want to secure markets for the next generation of our exports—if we want to compete with the best in the world—if we want to get out of the trade deficit the Conservatives have created, the first in thirty years.

We can do better.

Nous pouvons faire mieux.

L’été prochain, le Canada accueillera le Sommet du G8 à Huntsville.

Ce sera une occasion de démontrer le leadership canadien et de contribuer à définir les priorités mondiales. Paul Martin et Jean Chrétien représentaient ce leadership canadien capable d’influencer le monde.

Stephen Harper n’a même pas encore de liste d’invités.

A Liberal government would invite new members to that meeting.

We’d use Canada’s G8 Summit to begin the process of evolving the G8 to a G20, as the world’s steering committee.

We cannot make progress on global challenges without China or India at the table.

Le G8 a bien fait ce qu’il avait à faire. Mais le monde change.

Plutôt que de résister au changement, le Canada devrait inspirer le changement.

Nous pouvons convaincre nos partenaires d’avoir une gouvernance mondiale plus efficace, avec un forum plus représentatif du monde d’aujourd’hui. Nous devons reprendre ce leadership mondial qui a fait la réputation du Canada depuis Lester B. Pearson.

Nous devons être prêts à renforcer le G20 en finançant et en accueillant chez nous le Secrétariat permanent du G20.

A Huntsville, le Canada pourrait proposer des mesures concrètes pour créer un nouvel encadrement de la réglementation financière. Comme ça, le Canada pourrait assurer que l’effondrement de l’an passé ne se reproduise pas.

Canada can lead in a changing world, but only if we dare to act. Stephen Harper wants to keep us on the sidelines.

We can do better.

Stephen Harper hasn’t just failed to stand up for Canada—he’s also failed to stand up for Canadians.

Suaad Mohamud. Omar Khadr. Makhtal. Bahari. Mohamed. Abdelrazik.

Being a Canadian must mean the Canadian government will stand up for you—no matter where, no matter when. This is at the heart of what every Liberal believes: a Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian.

A Liberal government would stand by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

We would stand by our citizens.

And we would bring forward legislation to protect Canadians abroad—to make it illegal for the government to pick and choose which citizens it protects—to make sure these abuses never happen again.

Stephen Harper leads a government that doesn’t care. A government that doesn’t believe in government. A government that refuses to govern—even in a crisis.

Let’s remember how we got here.

A year ago this month, Stephen Harper told Canadians there wouldn’t be a recession in this country. He said a slumping stock market meant “good buying opportunities,” but no cause for alarm.

Last November, he presented a partisan economic statement that triggered a political crisis.

And Stephen Harper escaped defeat only by shutting down Parliament.

In January, we put Stephen Harper on probation – and we’ve kept him on life support ever since.

We forced his government to accept the toughest accountability standards in the G8—with full budget reports to Parliament each quarter.

After a disappointing June report, we set out four simple benchmarks Stephen Harper would have to meet.

Premièrement, nous avons dit que nous étions prêts à travailler avec Stephen Harper pour rendre l’assurance-emploi équitable pour tous les Canadiens, où qu’ils vivent, et aussi longtemps que durerait la crise.

Pas une proposition n’est venue. Rien que des manigances politiques.

Second, we demanded straight answers about job creation and infrastructure stimulus.

Plutôt que de répondre, Stephen Harper a passé l’été à tenter de cacher son incompétence ; il a annoncé, annoncé et annoncé encore des projets qui auraient dû être en chantier depuis des mois.

In fact, only two hundred of the twelve hundred infrastructure projects that the Conservatives announced in Ontario have actually received the funding they were promised. Only Stephen Harper could count that as 80% underway.

Third, we demanded a credible plan to get Canada out of deficit.

Stephen Harper’s response has been: “Don’t worry, give it a few years, and the books will balance themselves.”

You can put that next to his promise not to run deficits in the first place.

Or his promise not to tax income trusts.

Or his promise not to appoint Senators.

Pendant une décennie, sous des gouvernements libéraux, le Canada menait le monde dans la réduction de sa dette nationale. Nous avions le meilleur bilan financier du G8.

Les Conservateurs nous ont fait replonger dans le rouge... avant même que la récession commence.

Maintenant, ils ne peuvent même pas nous dire la profondeur du trou dans lequel ils nous ont mis. Et encore moins comment ils vont nous en sortir.

Ça ne suffit pas.

We’ve had four years of this—four years of a government that mismanages our public finances, and a prime minister who divides the country to score political points.

You can’t count on a government that can’t count—and a prime minister who’s only good at division.

Finally, we demanded a plan to deal with the health care crisis.

Twice on Stephen Harper’s watch there’s been a breakdown in the supply of medical isotopes.

Instead of acting, what did Stephen Harper do? He fired the whistle-blower on isotopes. Then he cancelled the MAPLE reactors that would have guaranteed Canadian leadership in isotope supply.

Two years later, he finally revealed his plan: To get out of nuclear medicine and let the provinces pick up the difference.

That’s not good enough for the tens of thousands of Canadian families waiting for cardiac and cancer care for their loved ones.

And that’s not good enough for the millions around the world, who have relied on Canadian leadership for half a century.

It’s simply unacceptable to have the world ask: “Where’s Canada?”

We can do better and we will do better.

A Liberal government will restore Canadian leadership. We’ll stand up for Canadian research and Canadian families. We’ll stand up for Canadian know-how and ensure the world never asks again “Where’s Canada?”

À l’heure où les Américains veulent un système de soins de santé public, Stephen Harper ne lève pas le petit doigt pour protéger le nôtre.

Les libéraux sont fiers du système canadien de soins de santé et, contrairement aux conservateurs, nous allons le défendre et le protéger.

Liberals proudly support public health care in this country—and, unlike the Conservatives, we’re not afraid to defend it.

In June, we set out four tests for Stephen Harper.

Mr. Harper, you have failed all four.

You’ve failed to protect the most vulnerable. You’ve failed to create jobs. Failed to defend our health care. Failed to restore our public finances.

After four years of drift, four years of denial, four years of division and discord—

Mr. Harper, your time is up. Vous avez raté votre chance.

The Liberal Party cannot support this government any further.

We will hold it to account. We will oppose it in Parliament.

En juin, nous avons fixé quatre conditions pour que Stephen Harper conserve notre confiance.

Il n’en a respecté aucune. Son échec est complet.

Il n’a pas réussi à protéger les plus vulnérables. Il n’a pas réussi à créer des emplois. Il n’a pas réussi à défendre notre système de santé. Il n’a pas réussi à rétablir nos finances publiques.

Après quatre ans de dérapage, de déni, de division et de discorde... le temps de Stephen Harper est terminé.

Le Parti libéral du Canada ne peut plus soutenir ce gouvernement incompétent.

Stephen Harper doit rendre des comptes. Désormais, nous nous opposerons à lui.

Et si des élections ont lieu, nous serons prêts à offrir à notre pays un avenir meilleur.

Canadians deserve better.

Over the past days and weeks, I’ve heard from our caucus, and we’ve all heard from Canadians: Our job as Liberals is to give them a choice.

A choice between two parties. Two sets of values. Two visions for Canada.

Un choix entre deux partis. Entre deux ensembles de valeurs. Deux visions du Canada.

We can choose a small Canada—a diminished, mean, and petty country. A Canada that lets down its citizens at home and fails them abroad. A Canada that’s absent on the world stage.

That’s Stephen Harper’s Canada.

Or we can choose a big Canada. A Canada that is generous and open. A Canada that inspires. That leads the world by example. That makes us all proud.

2017 will be our 150th birthday. We can be the smartest, healthiest, greenest, most open-minded country there is—but only if we choose to be.

We can build a Knowledge Society, from pre-school to post-secondary, with quality early learning and childcare for every Canadian child.

We can ensure that every Aboriginal Canadian gets a world-class, not a second-class education—with the opportunities to match.

Nous pouvons créer les emplois de demain en investissant plus, pas moins, dans la science et l’innovation.

Nous pouvons investir dans l’environnement et inventer les technologies vertes qui vont changer le monde.

We can invest in our environment—and invent the clean energy technologies that will have the world beat a path to our door.

That’s our Canada. A liberal Canada.

Le Canada dans lequel nous croyons. Le Canada qui nous attend. Mais seulement si nous osons. Seulement si nous faisons les bons choix.

Avec l’intelligence, la compassion et le leadership du Parti libéral du Canada, nous pouvons y arriver.

So let’s get started.

Allons-y. Notre pays nous attend.