A stronger economy and a united Canada

Speech to the Canadian Club of Ottawa
The Honourable Nycole Turmel
Interim Leader of Canada’s Official Opposition
September 20, 2011

Thank you.

I am very happy to be with you today.

Je suis très heureuse d’être ici avec vous aujourd’hui.

This summer brought a great tragedy for our party, and for all Canadians. We have mourned, and we will certainly continue to do so. But those of you who knew Jack Layton know that he would want us all to continue the important work in front of us. And so that's just what I'm going to do.

Cet été, notre parti a vécu une grande tragédie. C’était également une tragédie pour tous les Canadiens. Nous avons porté le deuil d’un grand homme, un deuil qui se poursuit. Mais ceux d’entre vous qui connaissiez Jack Layton savez qu’il aurait souhaité que nous continuions notre important travail. Et c’est exactement ce que je compte faire.

In my short time as leader of Canada's Official Opposition, I don't plan to be sitting down a lot. Canada has big challenges. And I intend to roll up my sleeves and get down to work.

I have a 20-year track-record of fighting to build a better Canada — the Canada I love. Twenty years fighting misguided Conservative ideas. And now I get the absolute honour and joy of doing that job every day as Leader of the Opposition.

This job requires taking on Stephen Harper every day in the House of Commons. But it also means reaching out and sharing our New Democrat vision with folks who may not have voted for us in May.

I understand there may be a few of you in the crowd today.

There’s no question — the challenges our country faces are immense. I meet these challenges with an excellent team. A caucus with experience at all levels of government. A caucus with a mix of steady hands and new energy. A caucus from every region of this country. The largest Official Opposition since 1979.

This team is one of Jack Layton's greatest legacies.

And I can tell you coming out of our caucus strategy session last week: This team is united. It knows what it believes, and it is ready now to take on Stephen Harper.

It seems odd in this country, I know—to think of an official opposition that actually opposes the government. An opposition that has a different vision for our country and our economy.

It's a better one. It's a vision where government unites Canadians — instead of pushing them apart. Where everyday families feel their hard work pay is paying off. It’s a vision of a country where we tackle our challenges together. And where no one is left behind.

C’est la vision d’un gouvernement qui est capable d’unir les Canadiens, plutôt que de les diviser. Une vision d’un Canada où toutes les familles retirent les bénéfices de leur dur travail. C’est la vision d’un pays où nous travaillons ensemble pour relever les défis auxquels nous faisons face. Et où personne n’est laissé pour compte.

* * * * *

It is a vision that received a strong mandate from the Canadian people. Four and a half million Canadians chose this path in the last election. Including record numbers of New Canadians and young Canadians. Not surprisingly, these are two groups that continue to be left behind by Harper's policies.

So what did millions of Canadians ask us to do?

Qu’est-ce que 4 millions de Canadiens nous ont demandé de faire?

Ils nous ont demandé de protéger leurs pensions de retraite. Parce qu’actuellement au Canada, il y a 11 millions de personnes qui n’ont pas accès à un fonds de pension au travail.

They asked us to fix pensions. Because today in Canada, 11 million people are without a workplace pension.

Ils nous ont régalement demandé de rendre leurs collectivités plus sécuritaires. Parce que de plus grandes prisons ne vont pas permettre de mettre un terme aux activités des gangs de rue. Pour ce faire il faut engager plus de forces policières pour travailler au sein de nos collectivités.

They asked us to make their communities safer. Because bigger prisons won’t keep gangs off the streets. Hiring more police officers in our communities will.

Ils nous ont demandé de nous battre pour de meilleurs soins de santé. Parce qu’il y a actuellement plus de 4 millions de Canadiens qui n’ont pas accès à un médecin de famille.

They asked us to push for better health care. Because over 4 million Canadians today don't have access to a family doctor.

Ils nous ont demandé de changer les choses à Ottawa. Ils nous ont demandé de travailler de manière coopérative. De mettre fin aux scandales, aux luttes partisanes, aux politiques conflictuelles qui ont menés tant de Canadiens à se désintéresser du processus politique.

They asked us to fix Ottawa. To work together. To stop the scandals, the partisan fighting, and the politics of division that have turned so many Canadians off politics.

Et ils nous ont demandé d’adopter une approche plus intelligente en ce qui concerne l’économie. Parce que l’approche conservatrice s’est avérée un échec pour plusieurs Canadiens.

And they asked us for a smarter approach to the economy.

The Conservative approach has simply failed too many Canadians. Today, families are working harder than ever — just to keep from falling behind.

Good Canadian jobs are being shipped overseas, while our jobless rate inches higher.

Two weeks ago, we learned that a majority of Canadians are living paycheque to paycheque.

And as the Conference Board of Canada reported last week, the gap between the rich and the rest of us has grown more rapidly in Canada than it has in the U.S. since the mid-nineties.

Last week, Statistics Canada told us the Canadian household debt to income ratio is 149 per cent. That’s more household debt than ever before . A dollar forty-nine of debt for every dollar a family earns.

My friends, Stephen Harper can boast about his economic record all he wants, but this is what reality looks like for Canadian families.

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So starting now, starting right this week in the House of Commons, you will see New Democrats fighting every day for a better deal for those families.

And you will see a clear difference between the failed economic policies of Stephen Harper’s Conservatives and the New Democrat plan to kick-start job creation and move Canada forward.

On pensions: Stephen Harper wants families to roll the dice with even more of their retirement savings.
In a time when declining stock markets have wiped out billions in retirement savings, Stephen Harper wants you to double down on the same private plans that failed so many families.

New Democrats will push for what so many Canadians—so many provincial leaders—have been asking for: an increase in the stable, guaranteed Canada Pension Plan and Quebec Pension Plan. Because families deserve to be able to plan their retirement around a pension they can count on in tough times.

On jobs: Stephen Harper stubbornly sticks to a failed approach of giving away billions in tax cuts to already profitable corporations. With no accountability and no guarantee that a single new job will be created. Out-of-work Canadians deserve something a little more promising.

New Democrats will push to reward the actual job creators — with tax credits for every new hire and an increase in the capital cost allowance. We'll ensure that every penny that's spent goes directly into job creation. And we’ll fight to give small businesses a break. They are the backbone of our economy, accounting for nearly half of all new jobs in Canada.

And unlike Stephen Harper, we won’t tell farmers to go fend for themselves. Entire Prairie communities depend on farming to survive. But Stephen Harper wants to scrap the Wheat Board—even though farmers have said loud and clear that they want to keep it. That they rely on it.

Mr. Harper would rather leave Prairie families vulnerable.

Well, Mr. Harper might not care to listen to farmers, but New Democrats sure do. We hear you — and we’re going to fight every day to save the Wheat Board.

You know, as we stare down a potential double-dip recession, I think it’s amazing how quickly this government forgets history.

It was only three years ago that we saw headline after headline pointing to an oncoming recession. While New Democrats called for immediate action, the Conservatives just kept pointing to rising bank profits and shrugging off the problems.

They put it off, and they waited.

They waited until after the largest round of Canadian job losses in 25 years.

They waited until after our manufacturing sector collapsed.

They waited until after the recession caused a record spike in food bank use. A figure that has grown 28 per cent higher since 2008.

The stimulus package — championed by New Democrats and viscerally opposed by the Conservative Party in 2008 — has since become touted as a major factor in getting Canada through the recession.
Now only three years later, it seems the Conservatives have forgotten the lesson.

New Democrats won’t let Mr. Harper sleepwalk through another recession. Canadians won’t let him. Not when they’re still recovering from the household debt, job loss and uncertainty they experienced just three short years ago.

That’s why this time, we are pushing the government to work with us on an action plan that focuses on jobs. New Democrats believe jobs must be the priority. And let there be no doubt, the Conservatives’ harsh austerity measures are a job killer.

What we need right now are pragmatic, practical solutions. The kind that encourage job creation, economic growth, and investments that build expertise in the Canadian work force. The kind that realize the need to invest in vital infrastructure, fixing up our aging bridges and roads while putting more Canadians to work.

* * * * *

Now, we all know that a stable economy is built on stable, predictable conditions.

In fact, what we need more than anything as a country is stability.

Which is why it was so damaging in 2008, when Stephen Harper failed to act quickly enough. He ignored the clear signs of a recession, and he carried on with his rosy forecast, while working families got left behind.

And that's why it was so damaging in 2010, when Mr. Harper forced the HST on British Columbians. They didn’t want it then, and they’ve clearly said they don’t want it now. And yet they’re being asked to pay back the $1.6-billion that has already been injected into their economy.

Stephen Harper didn’t tell them the truth, but British Columbians have to pay the cost — by taking money out of their healthcare and education systems. Mr. Harper has just made a bad situation worse. He has made doing business in BC harder.

That doesn’t sound like stability to me. To me, a truly stable country is one where all citizens grow together, work together, and communicate with each other.

This was a key part of the New Democrats’ appeal to Quebecers.

In the last federal election, Quebecers took the first steps towards re-engaging in federal politics by choosing the federalist New Democrats to represent them.

They said no to the same old politics of division that had been driving this country apart for decades.

They said yes to working together with other Canadians for a better Canada and a better future.

This is good news for our country, and great news for our economy. And now is our time to respond. To build bridges. To unite this country, and move forward together — as one Canada, stronger than ever.

Because despite Stephen Harper's inaction, despite his divisive, this country is getting stronger. It is getting more united. Its citizens are saying “together, we can overcome these hard times.”

They are forcing their leaders in Ottawa to listen to them and act on their concerns.

New Democrats will answer that call.

Together, we will move Canada forward and build a stronger country and stronger economy.

Ensemble, nous allons faire progresser le Canada, bâtir un meilleur pays et renforcer notre économie.

Thank you.

Merci beaucoup.