OTTAWA – “Exactly one year ago, on December 1 2008, the leaders of the Liberal Party, Bloc Quebecois and NDP signed their infamous deal to form a coalition government” noted Leon Benoit, Member of Parliament for Vegreville-Wainwright. “This backroom deal would have overturned the 2008 election and stolen power away from the Government that Canadians had elected just two months earlier.”
“Canadians were shocked by this backroom political posturing and Canadians across Canada held rallies and gatherings to protest this shameless grab for power” explained Benoit.
Benoit remarked that the current leader of the Liberal Party, Michael Ignatieff, signed the coalition deal and told Canadians: “I am prepared to enter into a Coalition government and to lead that government.” (CTV, December 10, 2008). “Ignatieff has never completely ruled out entering into another Coalition” said Benoit. “A year ago, Ignatieff proved he was out of touch with Canadians by signing up for a coalition deal that Canadians did not want. He has continued to prove that he is out of touch with Canadians by trying to force an unnecessary and unwanted election at every turn, at a time when Canadians want political parties to put their differences aside and focus on steering Canada through the global recession.”
In their pursuit of forcing an unnecessary and unwanted election that would harm our economic recovery, the Ignatieff Liberals have voted against the important measures our government has put forward that are crucial to helping Canadians cope with the effects of the global recession. For example, they voted against the:
- Home Renovation Tax Credit;
- First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit to assist first-time homebuyers with the costs associated with buying a home, such as legal fees;
- Enhanced Working Income Tax Benefit to help ensure low-income workers are better off financially by remaining or becoming employed;
- Extended tax deferral available to farmers in drought and flood regions to help farmers cope with extreme weather conditions;
- Extending 5-20 extra weeks of EI benefits to long-tenured workers to help them while they search for new employment; and
- Tariff Relief to make it easier for Canadian businesses to import and export goods by improving the rules on temporary cargo containers.
“Our Government will continue to fight the recession by implementing Canada’s Economic Action Plan” concluded Benoit.
