The Way Forward
By: Dr. Keith Martin
Canada is not immune from the economic tsunami that is wrecking havoc around the globe. We are enduring the worst job losses in many years, increasing unemployment, insecurity in the private sector, and the vaporization of people’s savings as the stock market has lost half its value.
In the face of this crisis, the Conservative government, quite remarkably, failed to come up with a plan to address this, the worst economic catastrophe we have seen since the Great Depression. This is in contrast to other developed nations that have implemented stimulus packages for their economies. As the Canadian Chamber of Commerce has said, such a package must be implemented early if it is going to have the best possible effect of inoculating our economy against the challenges we are facing and they have called on all parties to work together to do this. Liberal MPs, like all Canadians, do not want an election. However, we have a challenge before us. We can wait for an undefined plan to be put forth too late at the end of January by the government, or take action now and prevent further harm to our citizens.
I believe that we, as MPs have a moral obligation to prevent the harm that will be inflicted upon our citizens if we fail to act intelligently now. So we have taken the following course.
First, our hand is out to work with the government to implement the effective solutions our country needs at this point in time. We have a formidable team across party lines to make this happen. If the government fails to take our offer of assistance to work in a bipartisan manner, our only option is to work with other parties to implement solutions that will save jobs, protect pensions, and improve our economy.
Our stimulus package would exempt pensioners from being obligated to cash in their RIFFs during this crash in the stock market, rapidly invest in much needed infrastructure, liberate credit for businesses, invest in affordable housing, and skills training. For us in Victoria, this could mean possible money for the E&N Railway, an LRT, storm sewer repairs, affordable housing, Camousun College, and Royal Roads University faculty.
I am, as always, committed to work for my constituents across party lines to ensure that the best possible solutions are implemented for them and our nation. In this time of economic uncertainty, we must ensure that the well-being of our citizens is at the forefront of our decision making. I will continue to work hard to make this happen. I hope that an election can be averted, however we will act and work in a coalition with all opposition parties to address the economic challenges before us if Mr. Harper and his government fail to work with us to address this crisis.
Dr. Martin is the Member of Parliament for Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca
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The Way Forward
4 Responses to “The Way Forward”
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December 4th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
I can not understand how any MP elected to help govern our federation can make any deal with a group of politicans whose mandate is to destroy our country i.e. the Partie Quebecois. I would suggest to you that this action by two power hungry leaders, Liberal and NDP, will lead to a further splitting of our country. A reputation is a fragile thing and the company you keep impacts on it.
December 4th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
Hi Keith,
This is the first time I addressed you directly. I have never thought of myself as being politically active but here I am writing you this letter. My wife and I both voted for you in the last election, which was only about one month ago, because I feel you are the best candidate to represent my family and I in Ottawa. Not because of the party you represent but from the sincere attitude that you portrayed in representing your riding. The events of the past couple of weeks has caused some great concerns for me. I have such mixed emotions right now, most of which is anger and disappointment.
My anger is a result of what I see as a simple power grab from a desperate Liberal party and its coalition parties. The whole economic card being touted by the lot of you is nothing more than a smoke-screen. Since all of you are so concerned about the economy, can you please tell me how this ongoing political fiasco is helping our economy? Let me tell you, it isn’t! Now parliament will be suspended until February. So any productive discussions between our elected officials on how to best deal with our ailing economy is an absolute non-starter. At least until parliament resumes. Can you also tell me how productive the lot of you will be on the economy issue when parliament resumes? The taxpayers will hear the same song and dance and all of you will be so busy doing exactly the same thing as you do now!
Like it or not, Harper was voted in. The sooner your bunch can accept that, the sooner we can start to get working on fixing the country. Throw some economic ideas his way if you think they will work but get some PR brownie points out of it.
My disappointment (disgusted is more accurate) is a result of how all of you so-called MPs are behaving, like school-yard children. You should all be stripped of you ‘Honorable’ title and be required to earn it back. I haven’t even seen a sincere gesture by any of the opposition parties to have a civilized dialogue with Harper and his crew on how to fix the economy, if indeed it needs fixing. Sure there are some job losses and economic casualties, but you can’t expect the gravy train to continue the way it has. It was due for a correction. Any economist can tell you that! Let me ask you this. Do the Liberals have a comprehensive economic play that will rescue my RRSPs? The truth is, as I’m sure you can agree to, no one knows exactly how to fix it. Knee-jerk reactions to blindly throw money at the problem won’t made it any better. Do you think getting further into debt is what we need right now? Isn’t that what this whole economic mess is all about? Living beyond our means? There are claims of inaction by the Cons regarding the economy. Even if they do decide to throw money around, which direction should they throw it at? Sometimes inaction is the best possible action.
I am beginning to hate the Canadian political system more and more simply because of all this crap. Can you imagine if any private company was run the way you guys are running things in Ottawa? That company would be in the ground even before it has any chance to get up and running. The only reason there is still a government is because our MPs feel there is a bottomless pit of cash at their disposal (aka taxpayers) We can’t afford another $300+ million election, especially in this economic climate. And we certainly cannot afford to have our MPs behaving the way they have been.
I would like to see you play a more active role in persuading Mr. Dion to tone down his political antics and start working with the Harper government to solve any future issues. This would go a long way in creating a better image of the Liberal party. Not to mention a better use of taxpayer dollars by doing some actual work to improve the country.
A country that is as rich in history as Canada should not be experiencing such a period of political instability. It would be nice to see a true democracy at play where the system will take advantage of the best ideas from the best talent pool it has, regardless of political affiliations. However, I doubt I will live long enough to see that happen. Perhaps when hell freezes over like those Capital One credit card commercials.
I don’t know how receptive you are to these suggestions and opinions. Heck, I don’t even know if you will even read this message. But I feel I’ve done my duty by writing this letter. What you and your party does in the coming days will determine how events will unfold and I will need to consider those actions in the next election.
Thanks for your attention.
Simon Siu
December 5th, 2008 at 6:48 am
I support the coalition.
I think the time between now and the time the nonconfidence votes take place has to be used tothe best advantage.
I would appreciate hearing about your thoughts on this.
I really like the two latestest in the tyee.
I came to like you through the interview you had with kathleen clark on cpac.
sincerely, buz cougur
December 8th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Simon, you make some good points, but missed one big one.
It was Harper’s crass partisanship and inability to listen to anyone but himself that precipitated this political instability.
I don’t think we need a change in Government, just a new Prime Minister.