Mulcair blames Harper for East-West divisions

[mentalfloss]

Mulcair blames Harper for East-West divisions

Federal NDP Leader Tom Mulcair says he isn't pitting Canada's East against the West, in prepared remarks to provincial New Democrats gathered for a party convention in Winnipeg on Saturday.

"Those are Stephen Harper's battle lines," Mulcair said on his last day of a three-day tour of the Prairies. "Not mine."

Mulcair's controversial "Dutch Disease" comments unleashed a fury of reaction from federal Conservatives and western premiers alike who called his comments "divisive", "goofy" and intended to divide the country.

The NDP leader dismissed the premiers' criticism by calling them "messengers" for Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Since then, Mulcair did not repeat his comment about the premiers but has stood by his theory that the Canadian dollar is being held "artificially high" by the oilsands causing the economy harm in other parts of the country.

During a heated exchange in question period, Conservative cabinet minister James Moore called on Mulcair to apologize for "suggesting the strength of the western Canadian economy is a disease on Canada."

Conservatives have maintained all along that the success of Alberta's oilsands have brought dividends not just to the Prairies but to the rest of the country as well.

In prepared remarks to Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger and his New Democrats, Mulcair said Harper's "failed environmental policies" are having "serious" economic consequences.

Environment Minister Peter Kent has said that the changes in the government's budget bill are merely intended to update "decade-old" environmental laws.

But in Saturday's prepared remarks, the Official Opposition leader blamed what he called the prime minister's "handouts to a few favoured industries" for an artificial rise in the value of the Canadian dollar.

"An artificially high dollar makes our exports more expensive. That's just simple economics," he said.
While in Alberta on Thursday, Mulcair said his beef was with the federal government and not the premiers.

On Saturday, Mulcair sided with Selinger and other premiers who have accused Ottawa of not consulting with them on issues like health funding, immigration reform, and employment insurance.

"Without a single consultation, the Conservatives are short-changing provinces by a whopping $31 billion," he said.

However, Conservative cabinet ministers like Diane Finley and Peter Mackay, who are responsible for touting the benefits of the government's latest budget, have said that they consulted with Canadians "extensively."

In a written statement to CBC News on Saturday, Andrew MacDougall, director of communications for the prime minister said, "Mulcair has it exactly backwards.

"The prime minister is governing for all regions while Mulcair slags premiers and tries to pit province against province," said MacDougall.

Mulcair said the federal New Democrats would create more jobs, promote sustainable development and protect the services that Canadians rely on in an effort to defeat the Conservatives in 2015.

The three-day tour saw the NDP leader visiting Alberta's oil sands on Thursday and meeting some of Canada's city mayors in Saskatoon on Friday.

Mulcair blames Harper for East-West divisions - Politics - CBC News

 

[lone wolf]

I think a lot of it is facts that get interpreted by people who've left with chips on their shoulders from kicks in their arses that they probably deserved anyhow.

 

[petros]

How does one lower the CDN dollar without investing heavily in the US dollar?

That doesn't sound very Canadian to me.

 

[WLDB]

I would have thought it was mostly Trudeau who divided east and west.

 

[petros]

We're divided?

 

[mentalfloss]

We're divided?

Nope..

Alberta's own budget backs 'Dutch disease' theory

OTTAWA — The federal New Democratic Party is citing information in Alberta's 2012 budget to support leader Tom Mulcair's argument that a high dollar caused by booming natural resource exports is hurting Canadian manufacturers.A section of the provincial government's spring budget, titled Risks to Alberta's Economic Outlook, refers positively to the importance of the oilsands to Alberta's economy.

But the report notes that the province's manufacturing sector is challenged by the high Canadian dollar, which in turn is linked to natural resource exports.

"The Canadian dollar remains elevated, buoyed by high commodity prices. An appreciation of the Canadian dollar could hurt exporters," it states.

In another section the authors noted that "manufacturing companies will continue to be challenged by a strong Canadian dollar and moderate external demand," though it added that "they should benefit from growth in energy and agricultural sectors."

B.C. New Democrat MP Peter Julian, who accompanied Mulcair to Alberta this week, said the statements support Mulcair's notions about the so-called Dutch disease.

The term first was coined by the Economist magazine in the 1970s to describe the problems then experienced by the Netherlands, where offshore gas sales pumped up the currency and hurt manufacturers.

Mulcair has maintained that the Canadian dollar, artificially inflated by oilsands exports by companies that don't pay the full cost of their pollution, have caused the loss of 250,000 manufacturing jobs in recent years.

Many critics have ridiculed Mulcair's argument and suggested he's deliberately dividing Western Canada from the rest of the country in order to win votes in Ontario and Quebec.

Alberta Premier Alison Redford didn't meet with Mulcair during the NDP leader's visit, suggesting prior to his arrival that a meeting would be premature.

"Once he's actually seen the oilsands, once he's actually been briefed, then I'm prepared to try to have a constructive conversation with him," she said.

"So we'll see how it goes, but I think he's got some work to do first."

While academic studies on the Dutch disease have resulted in conflicting results, Julian said Mulcair is supported by studies such as those by the Pembina Institute and the Institute for Research on Public Policy.

Both recent reports say the Canadian economy is experiencing milder versions of the Dutch disease, though neither embraced Mulcair's estimate about 250,000 jobs lost.

"It reinforces what we've been hearing," said Julian, his party's natural resources critic.

But the Macdonald Laurier Institute came out with a report this week saying the oilsands is a net winner for Canada.

While Alberta is known for its oil and gas industry it also has a robust manufacturing sector, dominated by petroleum products, food, chemicals, machinery and fabricated metal products, according to Statistics Canada.

The natural resources sector employed 187,000 Albertans in April of 2012 compared to 137,000 employed in manufacturing. By far the biggest employer, according to StatsCan, was the service sector, with roughly 1.5 million workers, many servicing the oil and gas sector.

Alberta's own budget backs 'Dutch disease' theory
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