Harper government putting ideology over economy: Rae
OTTAWA — Liberal interim leader Bob Rae has accused the Conservative government of using this past session of Parliament to pursue an ideological agenda instead of addressing the needs of Canadians, notably the economy.
"They've been focusing on issues that are, frankly, of secondary importance to Canadians," Rae told reporters at an end-of-year news conference. "The top-of-mind issue for Canadians is jobs and work. It's the economy and health care."
Parliament is preparing to rise after what has been a raucous four months. The Conservative government has accomplished the vast majority of its agenda by ramming through its massive crime bill, dismantling the Canadian Wheat Board's monopoly and abolishing the long-gun registry.
Much of those changes were done with haste as the government limited discussion and debate at all levels of Parliament, a tactic that earned as much recrimination from Liberals as the topics themselves.
The government fast-tracked five of the 21 bills put forward during this 66-day parliamentary session, Liberal House leader Marc Garneau said.
That works out to about a quarter of all legislation passed, including those controversial bills dealing with the wheat board, long-gun registry and crime bill.
In contrast, the last majority government under Jean Chretien and Paul Martin used restrictions eight times on 153 bills over 419 sitting days, or 5.2 per cent of all legislation.
The Conservative government has also limited discussion on bills at committee meetings and in the Senate, Garneau said, while refusing to entertain any amendments from opposition parties.
"His is a government that absolutely doesn't want to get involved in debate," he said. "(Prime Minister) Stephen Harper simply doesn't listen."
The Conservatives argue that Canadians gave them a clear mandate in the May federal election, and that they are simply fulfilling promises made during that campaign. This includes passing key legislation within 100 sitting days.
But Rae said the Conservatives' election victory doesn't give it the right to abuse its power, and he described the government's refusal to work with the other parties an "affront" to the values of the country and a threat to all Canadians.
"Canadians deserve to know the kind of government they have," Rae said, "and a government that treats Parliament this way is a government that will ultimately treat its citizens this way."
The Liberal leader's criticism also extended outside of Parliament, focusing on the government's telephone campaign in Irwin Cotler's Montreal riding in which constituents have complained they were told the Liberal MP had or was about to resign.
House Speaker Andrew Scheer on Tuesday described the campaign as a "reprehensible tactic," but refused to rule against the Conservatives, who have used arguments related to free speech to defend their actions.
Rae said the case has implications for all Canadians.
"If you condone telling lies and making phone calls into somebody's riding and playing those games, what would stop you from being similarly abusive in situations where you're keeping confidential information?" he said.
He called on Harper to "stop this rot" before it infects the rest of government.
However, Rae defended a letter written by former Liberal prime minister Jean Chretien that warned Liberals the Conservative government may be targeting abortion or gay rights now that it has eliminated the long-gun registry and walked away from Kyoto.
"We think these values are under attack," he said. "We think this is a bad government and we think there are a lot of Canadians who agree with us and we're going to talk about issues that we think matter to people."
The letter was published as part of a major Liberal fundraising campaign that the party says has raised more than $900,000 in just under two weeks.
"The Conservatives already ended gun control and Kyoto," Chretien wrote in a letter posted to the Liberal party website. "Next may be a woman's right to choose, or gay marriage. Then might come capital punishment. And one by one, the values we cherish as Canadians will be gone."
Other former Liberal leaders, including Martin and John Turner, also contributed letters, but neither was as pointed as Chretien, who sought to remind Liberals of how the party eliminated the deficit, kept Canada out of Iraq, led development of the Constitution and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and helped establish health care.
"Unless we are bold," Chretien added. "Unless we seize the moment. Everything we built will start being chipped away."
OTTAWA — Liberal interim leader Bob Rae has accused the Conservative government of using this past session of Parliament to pursue an ideological agenda instead of addressing the needs of Canadians, notably the economy.
"They've been focusing on issues that are, frankly, of secondary importance to Canadians," Rae told reporters at an end-of-year news conference. "The top-of-mind issue for Canadians is jobs and work. It's the economy and health care."
Parliament is preparing to rise after what has been a raucous four months. The Conservative government has accomplished the vast majority of its agenda by ramming through its massive crime bill, dismantling the Canadian Wheat Board's monopoly and abolishing the long-gun registry.
Much of those changes were done with haste as the government limited discussion and debate at all levels of Parliament, a tactic that earned as much recrimination from Liberals as the topics themselves.
The government fast-tracked five of the 21 bills put forward during this 66-day parliamentary session, Liberal House leader Marc Garneau said.
That works out to about a quarter of all legislation passed, including those controversial bills dealing with the wheat board, long-gun registry and crime bill.
In contrast, the last majority government under Jean Chretien and Paul Martin used restrictions eight times on 153 bills over 419 sitting days, or 5.2 per cent of all legislation.
The Conservative government has also limited discussion on bills at committee meetings and in the Senate, Garneau said, while refusing to entertain any amendments from opposition parties.
"His is a government that absolutely doesn't want to get involved in debate," he said. "(Prime Minister) Stephen Harper simply doesn't listen."
The Conservatives argue that Canadians gave them a clear mandate in the May federal election, and that they are simply fulfilling promises made during that campaign. This includes passing key legislation within 100 sitting days.
But Rae said the Conservatives' election victory doesn't give it the right to abuse its power, and he described the government's refusal to work with the other parties an "affront" to the values of the country and a threat to all Canadians.
"Canadians deserve to know the kind of government they have," Rae said, "and a government that treats Parliament this way is a government that will ultimately treat its citizens this way."
The Liberal leader's criticism also extended outside of Parliament, focusing on the government's telephone campaign in Irwin Cotler's Montreal riding in which constituents have complained they were told the Liberal MP had or was about to resign.
House Speaker Andrew Scheer on Tuesday described the campaign as a "reprehensible tactic," but refused to rule against the Conservatives, who have used arguments related to free speech to defend their actions.
Rae said the case has implications for all Canadians.
"If you condone telling lies and making phone calls into somebody's riding and playing those games, what would stop you from being similarly abusive in situations where you're keeping confidential information?" he said.
He called on Harper to "stop this rot" before it infects the rest of government.
However, Rae defended a letter written by former Liberal prime minister Jean Chretien that warned Liberals the Conservative government may be targeting abortion or gay rights now that it has eliminated the long-gun registry and walked away from Kyoto.
"We think these values are under attack," he said. "We think this is a bad government and we think there are a lot of Canadians who agree with us and we're going to talk about issues that we think matter to people."
The letter was published as part of a major Liberal fundraising campaign that the party says has raised more than $900,000 in just under two weeks.
"The Conservatives already ended gun control and Kyoto," Chretien wrote in a letter posted to the Liberal party website. "Next may be a woman's right to choose, or gay marriage. Then might come capital punishment. And one by one, the values we cherish as Canadians will be gone."
Other former Liberal leaders, including Martin and John Turner, also contributed letters, but neither was as pointed as Chretien, who sought to remind Liberals of how the party eliminated the deficit, kept Canada out of Iraq, led development of the Constitution and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and helped establish health care.
"Unless we are bold," Chretien added. "Unless we seize the moment. Everything we built will start being chipped away."
