The Rt. Hon. Paul Martin said:
Dear Friends:
At the end of a tremendous campaign I want to thank each and every one of you for your hard work and support. I am so proud of what we have accomplished – in eight weeks and 18 months – for Canada and for Canadians.
The economy has never been stronger. Last month the national rate of unemployment reached a 30 year low. We delivered 8 balanced budgets in a row. We have paid down $60 billion in debt while easing the tax burden on every Canadian. These are impressive numbers – but consider what they represent: for Canadians today it is easier to find work and to pay the bills, easier to afford a home. It's easier to bring up families and to provide for them.
We all worked hard for this and we should all be proud. But what we should be proud of most of all is that we didn't take any of this for granted – we built on it. We accepted our prosperity and we reinvested it – in one another, in Canada.
Working with the provinces, working together we laid the foundation for a national program for early learning and child care – the first new social program in a generation. We strengthened our public health care system – lowering wait times, expanding access to hospitals, extending research. We set aside millions to clean up our rivers and streams, lakes and oceans; and billions more in new technologies and new ideas to deal with climate change. We brought the cities and communities we live in to the national table. We invested in their needs directly.
We reached an historic agreement with First Nation, Métis and Inuit leaders to raise the living standards of Aboriginal Canadians. We stood up for the Charter of Rights and Freedoms – declaring that every person's rights should be protected. We stood on the world stage and spoke with a clear, strong voice, and acted with compassion, generosity and resolve in the face of need, in the face of tragedy.
We have done all this looking forward. Because we in Canada believe that what we represent is where the world is going. A country that will never stray from the values on which it was founded: mutual respect, fairness and generosity. A country where every person has an equal opportunity – to contribute and to benefit from our collective prosperity.
We have accomplished so much. We have prepared Canada for great things. We did it together.
Thank you.
