Confident Harper talks majority
By JANE TABER
From Friday's Globe and Mail
Toronto — Stephen Harper has begun to talk publicly about forming a majority government, suggesting for the first time Thursday that his Conservatives would deliver a Throne Speech in the fall followed by a budget emphasizing tax cuts, military spending and increased transfer payments to the provinces for health care.
Mr. Harper first uttered the words "majority government" at an event on Wednesday night in Aurora, Ont., with one of his star candidates and former leadership opponents, Belinda Stronach. He kept up this confidence Thursday as he campaigned across the Toronto region, slipping the words "majority government" into speeches.
He introduced his candidate in Don Valley East, former Ontario Tory cabinet minister David Johnson, saying he's the kind of person he needs for his government.
"I need to make him part of this whole new generation of Conservative MPs and part of a new majority government across this country."
Buoyed by polls that continue to show the Paul Martin Liberals on the decline, Mr. Harper is speaking more boldly about his electoral chances, openly discussing which Liberal ridings the Tories feel are vulnerable.
An Ipsos-Reid poll, published in Thursday's Globe and Mail, showed the Conservatives in a virtual tie with the Liberals, but nowhere near a majority government. The party would need a major breakthrough in Quebec or in Liberal strongholds such as Toronto, Montreal and parts of Vancouver to govern without another party's support.
Mr. Harper said that if he becomes prime minister — possibly supported by the Bloc Quèbécois — he would aim to meet with the premiers over the summer.
"I want to meet with the premiers to discuss health care and fiscal imbalance," he said at his only press conference Thursday.
"Obviously, I would like to start implementing my program as soon as possible after that, and that will include a budget. I don't want to say that my intention is to wait until February for a budget. I think it can be done much faster than that."
A senior aide explained that if the Conservatives win the June 28 election, Mr. Harper would be sworn in as prime minister in July with his cabinet, followed by a Throne Speech in September and budget before the end of the year.
But even as Mr. Harper tried to exude confidence, his campaign continued to be dogged by questions about same-sex marriage and abortion, and by growing concern over the fiscal cost of the Conservative platform.
Mr. Harper dodged repeated questions on Charter rights for homosexuals, saying at one campaign stop that the issue "is not part of my election campaign.
"What consenting adults do is their own business, and it's not up to me to comment on it one way or another, and it's not what people want from government officials." When he was pushed on the issue at a press conference, a crowd of Conservative supporters jeered the reporters.
Mr. Harper also refused to answer a question on whether he would recognize the Supreme Court's power to interpret sexual orientation as a right under the Charter.
"I think courts should apply the law that Parliament passes, the Charter of Rights as passed by Parliament; I think that legal protection should be provided...courts should act within their authority."
The Conservatives will be hit Friday by a new study warning that the party's platform would run up costs beyond Ottawa's means.
The report, to be released from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, says the Tories would ring up deficits amounting to more than $11-billion over five years.
The left-wing think tank says the Liberal and NDP platforms would not result in deficits. Another report, released this week by economist Dale Orr of Global Insight (Canada), says that the Conservative tax and $57-billion spending plan does add up, but would be very difficult to achieve without cuts in some parts of government.
Mr. Harper has promised $13-billion for health care over five years, his biggest spending item. He also has said he would give the provinces $1-billion in new transfers and increase military spending by $1.2-billion.
The Conservative Leader said Thursday his government would also focus early in its mandate on immigration reform. He vowed to speed the process of recognizing the credentials of Canadians educated in foreign countries.
"This is not a new issue, nor is it...an easy issue to be resolved, but it must be resolved because too many new Canadians are not achieving their full potential and Canada is experiencing too many shortages in key professional areas like medicine, engineering and diagnostics," he said.
Mr. Harper pledged that his Human Resources minister and Immigration minister would sit down over the summer to hammer out how his government could expedite and implement the recognition of foreign credentials.
With a report from Heather Scoffield.
By JANE TABER
From Friday's Globe and Mail
Toronto — Stephen Harper has begun to talk publicly about forming a majority government, suggesting for the first time Thursday that his Conservatives would deliver a Throne Speech in the fall followed by a budget emphasizing tax cuts, military spending and increased transfer payments to the provinces for health care.
Mr. Harper first uttered the words "majority government" at an event on Wednesday night in Aurora, Ont., with one of his star candidates and former leadership opponents, Belinda Stronach. He kept up this confidence Thursday as he campaigned across the Toronto region, slipping the words "majority government" into speeches.
He introduced his candidate in Don Valley East, former Ontario Tory cabinet minister David Johnson, saying he's the kind of person he needs for his government.
"I need to make him part of this whole new generation of Conservative MPs and part of a new majority government across this country."
Buoyed by polls that continue to show the Paul Martin Liberals on the decline, Mr. Harper is speaking more boldly about his electoral chances, openly discussing which Liberal ridings the Tories feel are vulnerable.
An Ipsos-Reid poll, published in Thursday's Globe and Mail, showed the Conservatives in a virtual tie with the Liberals, but nowhere near a majority government. The party would need a major breakthrough in Quebec or in Liberal strongholds such as Toronto, Montreal and parts of Vancouver to govern without another party's support.
Mr. Harper said that if he becomes prime minister — possibly supported by the Bloc Quèbécois — he would aim to meet with the premiers over the summer.
"I want to meet with the premiers to discuss health care and fiscal imbalance," he said at his only press conference Thursday.
"Obviously, I would like to start implementing my program as soon as possible after that, and that will include a budget. I don't want to say that my intention is to wait until February for a budget. I think it can be done much faster than that."
A senior aide explained that if the Conservatives win the June 28 election, Mr. Harper would be sworn in as prime minister in July with his cabinet, followed by a Throne Speech in September and budget before the end of the year.
But even as Mr. Harper tried to exude confidence, his campaign continued to be dogged by questions about same-sex marriage and abortion, and by growing concern over the fiscal cost of the Conservative platform.
Mr. Harper dodged repeated questions on Charter rights for homosexuals, saying at one campaign stop that the issue "is not part of my election campaign.
"What consenting adults do is their own business, and it's not up to me to comment on it one way or another, and it's not what people want from government officials." When he was pushed on the issue at a press conference, a crowd of Conservative supporters jeered the reporters.
Mr. Harper also refused to answer a question on whether he would recognize the Supreme Court's power to interpret sexual orientation as a right under the Charter.
"I think courts should apply the law that Parliament passes, the Charter of Rights as passed by Parliament; I think that legal protection should be provided...courts should act within their authority."
The Conservatives will be hit Friday by a new study warning that the party's platform would run up costs beyond Ottawa's means.
The report, to be released from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, says the Tories would ring up deficits amounting to more than $11-billion over five years.
The left-wing think tank says the Liberal and NDP platforms would not result in deficits. Another report, released this week by economist Dale Orr of Global Insight (Canada), says that the Conservative tax and $57-billion spending plan does add up, but would be very difficult to achieve without cuts in some parts of government.
Mr. Harper has promised $13-billion for health care over five years, his biggest spending item. He also has said he would give the provinces $1-billion in new transfers and increase military spending by $1.2-billion.
The Conservative Leader said Thursday his government would also focus early in its mandate on immigration reform. He vowed to speed the process of recognizing the credentials of Canadians educated in foreign countries.
"This is not a new issue, nor is it...an easy issue to be resolved, but it must be resolved because too many new Canadians are not achieving their full potential and Canada is experiencing too many shortages in key professional areas like medicine, engineering and diagnostics," he said.
Mr. Harper pledged that his Human Resources minister and Immigration minister would sit down over the summer to hammer out how his government could expedite and implement the recognition of foreign credentials.
With a report from Heather Scoffield.