NDP Leader Jack Layton addressed delegates today to close the party's national convention in Quebec City.
At this convention, we have begun a campaign to persuade the people of Canada to elect an NDP-led government.
In the months to come, I am going to ask the people of Canada to hire me as their next prime minister.
In the months to come, we are going to ask Canadians to put a team of New Democrat MPs into office to make life better for today's families.
In the months to come, we are going to ask Canadians to elect the New Democratic Party to lead the next government of Canada.
There are three very good reasons why.
First, because Stephen Harper and his conservatives are unfit for office.
Conservatives come in different flavours.
I'd like to think my father was a pretty good conservative, "progressive", as even they used to say.
But these conservatives, threw out the "progressive," and have come forward as angry, mean-spirited and out of touch with working families and what matters to working families.
Even worse, Mr. Harper is deliberately misleading Canadians about who benefits most from his policies, he's become a cheerleader for President George Bush and he's leading Canada down the wrong track on every issue that matters to ordinary people.
Second, the Liberals are no better.
The Liberals are parading across this country proving again and again, including today -- right here in Quebec City, only a few blocks from here -- that they have learned nothing from their defeat only months ago.
The Liberal party of Canada is consumed by arrogance - by corruption - and by an unbroken determination to say anything to get elected and to do nothing once in office.
The Liberals need more time -- a lot more time -- in the penalty box.
But Canada needs a new government sooner than that.
And third, today's families deserve a government that's on their side.
So we're going to ask the people of Canada to elect an NDP-led government.
Because we'll get Canada back on track for working people and their families.
Working families ... the people we represent ... the people we stand for ... the people we fight for ... - are the people we're going to put first if we are elected to lead the next government.
Let me talk with you a little more about these points.
And then I'm going to talk with you very directly about what I am asking you to do in the months to come.
Friends, Stephen Harper was elected to be Prime Minister of Canada in the spring of 2006 with one of the weakest, most tentative mandates ever given a Canadian federal government.
I think the people of Canada were very clear about what they wanted in the last election.
In the last election, Canadians wanted to get rid of the Liberals.
Very properly so.
And they were prepared -- provisionally, carefully, not without reserve -- to give Mr. Harper a chance.
But they wanted those Conservatives to be prudent, to be careful to be reasonable, and to work closely and in partnership with other parties in Parliament to keep Canada on track.
That's why Canadians gave Mr. Harper one of the thinnest minority governments ever to govern this country.
What do you think?
Did Mr. Harper get the message Canadians had for him last election?
Has he kept faith with the people of Canada?
Is he being honest about who benefits most from his policies?
No. I don't think so either.
The fact is that on every major issue before this country today, Stephen Harper is wrong.
Stephen Harper is taking Canada on the wrong track. He's off side.
He's out of touch with everyday Canadians.
And Stephen Harper isn't being honest about the real impact of his government's actions -- like his so-called Universal Child Care Program -- something that isn't universal, isn't a program, and doesn't create child care.
Friends, Stephen Harper is so arrogant and controlling he sounds more like he is trying to be a President than a Prime Minister.
Here are three very important examples.
Canadians want our environment protected.
Stephen Harper's government is shaping up to be the WORST government on the environment since Canadians became concerned about their air and their water more than a generation ago.
Amazingly, he wants to reward the oil companies and the coal companies.
He wants to walk away from public transport and other priorities this country needs to get greenhouse gas emissions DOWN for good.
And Stephen Harper wants to follow George Bush in reneging on Canada's international commitments.
Following George Bush. A Canadian government.
I say shame on Stephen Harper for failing on the environment. What do you say?
Friends, working families want their jobs to be protected.
But Stephen Harper's government has just sold out one of the most important industries in Canada -- softwood lumber.
And as part of the sale, he has sold out hundreds of thousands of people in forest industry - workers and communities from coast to coast.
On the eve of a final Canadian victory in the courts, Stephen Harper and the Conservatives dumped our winning case.
They conceded what the U.S. lumber lobby really wants.
And in a desperate backroom deal, Stephen Harper put $1 billion of Canadian money into the pockets of special interests south of the border so that they can recharge their batteries and their wallets and start this whole cycle again only months from now.
Incredibly, Gilles Duceppe and the Bloc Quebecois have endorsed this disgraceful softwood lumber deal and are going to team up with the Conservatives to put it through Parliament -- unconditionally and without amendment.
So much for the Bloc "defending the people of Quebec".
With Gilles Duceppe's eager help, Stephen Harper has sold out Canada.
He sold out working Canadians. He sold out forest communities.
Because it was more important to Stephen Harper to be George Bush's pal and to follow George Bush's lead than to fight for working Canadians.
I say shame on Stephen Harper for that sell-out.
Unlike the Bloc Quebecois, we know whose interests we fight for in Parliament.
If Gilles Duceppe won't stand up for Quebecers, the NDP will.
We're going to fight the Conservatives, and fight this deal every step of the way.
The Liberals won't be doing it. The Bloc won't do it. New Democrats will.
Friends, Canadians believe in peace.
That doesn't mean we think Canada is an island.
There is a time and a place for answering the call.
Canadians are prepared to fight wars that are right for our country. We've done so proudly. That's why we're so proud of our veterans.
But on this mission, Stephen Harper is out of touch with ordinary Canadians.
Canadians are not warmongers.
Canada does not commit its soldiers to war just because that will get our prime minister in good with an administration of a certain sort in Washington.
Canada doesn't commit soldiers to war without clear goals.
Canada doesn't commit our soldiers without a plan.
Canada doesn't commit our soldiers without a fraction of the numbers or resources needed to make a difference.
Canada doesn't commit our soldiers without knowing what victory is.
And Canada doesn't commit our soldiers without the certainty that their efforts are part of a carefully constructed and balanced mission that holds real prospects of making the world a safer place.
Canada doesn't do those things.
But Paul Martin and Stephen Harper did in Afghanistan.
Paul Martin and the Liberals are gone.
My friends....the time is coming for Stephen Harper to go too.
A few minutes ago I said the Liberals aren't any better than the conservatives.
Let's talk about that.
Now as you may know, when the Liberals heard that we were holding this convention in Quebec City, they decided to invite themselves along.
So they scheduled one of their modest leadership events in this city, pretty much at the same place, and at the same time.
As I speak, Liberal leadership candidates are gathering with what could be called a pretty beat-up and discouraged little group of surviving federal Liberals from Quebec.
Quite a contrast with this convention!
There's Mr Ignatieff, who has decided to pop into Canada from Harvard to see if he can be crowned Liberal leader.
Failing that, it would seem he's planning to go back home to Boston.
Then there is a certain failed one-term Ontario premier who, it turns out, is also a turncoat.
He thinks that's the kind of competence and character the Liberals need in a leader.
And then there's a son of this city -- Stephane Dion.
A man with whom I have fundamental disagreements about how Canada should build and renew itself.
But also a man who is, if I may say so across the partisan divide, distinct from his principal opponents in being a committed Canadian and a man of principle and conviction.
And therefore almost certain not to be elected leader of the Liberal party.
Now, as these gentlemen and the various also-rans were cabbing it in from the airport today to have their little meeting... they would have noticed that they were surrounded by cars with license plates that all say the following:
Je me souviens.
I remember.
Working people here in Quebec City, across Quebec and across Canada "se souviennent" very well what those Liberals did in office for thirteen long years -- a record of failure that ended only months ago.
Everyday families from one end of this country to another se souviennent the incredible arrogance and sense of entitlement of the Liberals.
The Liberals can't accept that they were defeated by the people of Canada. No. With typical arrogance they blame us, as if the people of Canada had nothing to do with it.
People across Canada se souviennent the contemptible inaction of Liberal governments over more than a decade on the environment, on child care, on labour rights, on jobs, and on health care.
But the Liberals did have a hundred billion dollars to give to wealthy Canadians and profitable corporations in tax breaks.
And like ordinary people here in Quebec and everywhere across Canada, je me souviens the disgraceful corruption that has rotted the Liberal Party.
My friends it's going to take more than a new layer of lipstick to turn that particular pig into a party worthy of office again.
The Liberals need to stay in the penalty box until they show they got the message the people of Canada sent them last election.
To listen to them now, it is crystal clear they're going to need at least another defeat before they get the message.
Maybe more than one more.
But then there's the good news.
People who used to vote for the Liberal party -- and all Canadians -- have a better choice.
They can vote NDP.
Friends, we're here today in the province of Quebec. A province with a strong union movement.
A province with a strong progressive tradition, and a record of some very enlightened social legislation.
Progressives in Quebec, like progressives across Canada, want a progressive government in Ottawa.
The Liberals didn't provide it.
The Conservatives aren't providing it.
And the Bloc can't provide it.
In fact, the Bloc have systematically voted with the Conservatives to deny the rest of Canada the progress Quebecers have enjoyed for years.
So I have a message today for working people in Quebec -- for progressive voters across this province:
VENEZ CHEZ NOUS
We New Democrats, together, extend our hand.
We have the same goals. Join with us. Choose the NDP. And together we'll create the kind of government in Ottawa we can all be proud of.
I said at the beginning of these remarks that we are beginning a campaign today -- a campaign that lies before us for many months -- to ask the people of Canada to elect an NDP-led government next election.
In the months to come, we're going to continue to be as clear as I've tried to be today about what's wrong with Stephen Harper and his government.
In the months to come, we're going to continue to be as clear as I've tried to be today about the arrogance, the inaction and the corruption of the Liberals.
And there's another thing we're going to do during the campaign that I'm calling on you to join me in today.
In the months to come, we're going to talk about what we'll do to get Canada back on track if elected.
Here's how.
Carefully.
Prudently.
And one practical step at a time.
- We'll work to make things more affordable for working Canadians.
- We'll work to make sure the children of ordinary families have access to the education and training they need.
- We'll look after our seniors -- the people who built this country.
- We'll defend the environment and move to clean it up.
- And we'll get Canada OUT of the miserable, no-hope quagmire we've been committed to in Afghanistan.
Let's consider each of our five points in more detail.
How will we make life more affordable for working Canadians?
One prudent step at a time.
Forward -- not backward, like the Tories.
Here's our first step: we're going to detail a program that will ensure affordable housing for those in need and we'll help today's young people afford their first home.
How will we address the crying need for new training, apprenticeship and educational opportunities?
One prudent step at a time.
Here's the first step: in the months to come, we're going to detail a program to get those training spaces created for working people.
How will we look after our seniors?
Canadians are going to get to know this "new" NDP that's going to be asking them for a mandate in the months to come.
One prudent step at a time.
Here's our first step for Seniors: we're going to detail a national program to create 50,000 additional long-term care spaces for our seniors by 2010.
How will we defend and clean up our environment?
Prudently....a step at a time -- and with absolute commitment and determination.
Friends, this summer I was in British Columbia looking at the devastation caused by the plague of pine beetles that has settled over that province.
Pine beetles used to be killed by winter.
Our climate kept our forests safe.
But not anymore.
A big early warning from our environment.
A warning that speaks directly to our jobs and to the economic futures of working families and communities across this country.
Once the pine beetles have finished killing the trees, the trees' needles turn red.
I flew over a forest near Quesnel that was an ocean of red from horizon to horizon.
As our climate continues to change, those pine beetles are beginning to cross over the Rockies.
Unless we act they're going to settle over the great boreal forests of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec.
For 13 years, the Liberals talked about issues like this -- which at their root are about the urgent need for action on pollution and climate change.
But they did nothing.
The Conservatives aren't even bothering to talk.
So what will we do if we're given a mandate by the people of Canada to lead the next government?
We'll introduce tough, clear, real and long-term national guidelines for greenhouse gas emissions.
Specifically, an 80% cut below 1990 levels by 2050.
That's what the science tells us we have to do.
That's what jurisdictions that are serious about this issue are moving to do.
That's what Premier Gary Doer is working for.
That's precisely the lead being set by the state of California.
If even The Terminator can figure this out, my friends, then we can too.
An NDP-led government will partner with the provinces, and jurisdictions like California and get real, long-term, and enforceable air emissions standards in place in North America.
Now.
Before it's too late.
That means tough auto emissions standards. Now. Before it's too late.
That means clamping down on the emissions of large-scale industrial polluters. Now. Before it's too late.
And that means ending subsidies to those same large-scale polluters. Now. Before it's too late.
For example, how can it make sense to have one heavily federally-subsidized industry -- the nuclear lobby -- build a plant with taxpayers' money only to feed another heavily federally-subsidized industry -- the oil and gas sector -- to power the oil sands.
If Canadians think that's crazy -- and it is -- then they'll give us a mandate in the next election to get on the right track instead.
Protecting the environment is about the health and prosperity of ordinary Canadians -- and we're the party with the political will to make it happen.
Finally, my friends, how will we address the strategic blunder the Liberals and Conservatives have committed, that entangles our armed forces in a quagmire in Afghanistan?
That mission is the wrong mission for Canada.
There is no plan for victory.
There is no exit strategy.
There is no sign that it is making the Taliban weaker or the world safer.
And there is no hope of changing the realities on the ground in Afghanistan -- with the forces we have or can commit.
So here is what we're going to commit to do.
We are going to support our troops.
We are going to support them the single best way we can.
We're going to bring our troops home.
So my friends, I've talked about Stephen Harper.
So eager to cozy up to George Bush.
So arrogant and controlling.
So wrong on all the key issues we face together.
I've talked about our visitors this weekend -- the Liberals. And the arrogance, inaction and corruption they still need so much more time to recover from.
I've talked about the priorities for working families we'll pursue if we are given a mandate by the people of Canada in the next election.
Housing that is more affordable for families.
Skills training for our young people.
Care for our seniors.
Protection for our environment.
Withdrawing from this war.
And now what remains is for me to talk about what I need from you.
As somebody else once said, I never seem to talk to you without asking you to do more work.
But when you think about the issues we've talked about today, I think you'll agree that rarely has our work been more important.
If you were thinking of running as a candidate in the next election, I'm asking you to make that decision, to come forward, and to give your neighbours the chance to vote for you.
I'm asking you to get involved in your local riding association and to get it ready for an election that might come much sooner than you think.
I'm asking you to give generously to our party and to your local campaign so that we can be as successful as possible.
I'm asking you to talk to your neighbours and friends and colleagues at work and tell them that the time has come for a government led by the NDP.
If you're delegate from a small town or a big urban centre, a person living with a disability, a young person or a senior -- one of the many aboriginal delegates or a new Canadian -- I'm asking you to commit to give it your all for a Canadian federal government that puts you and your family first.
- If you're a steelworker, worried about your community's future...
- if you're a health care worker, fighting to protect our public health care system...
- if you're a forestry worker, fighting the lumber sellout...
- if you're a trade unionist, working for anti-scab laws...
- if you're a retail worker, struggling for basic workers' rights at WalMart...
- if you're an office worker, fighting for a decent wage...
- if you make the things we need or serve people with your work so you can put food on the table and pay the rent...
- or you're someone who works at home, worried about raising your family and giving your kids a bright future...
Then I'm asking you to join with us in the NDP and to get at the root of the problem by helping us replace a government that puts working people last with an NDP-led government that will put working people first.
I'm asking you all to work like you have never worked before in the months to come.
I'm asking you to make this convention the start of a campaign like we've never seen before in this party.
I'm asking you to commit to giving it everything you've got.
This is the opportunity we've been waiting for.
To make this great country of ours -- our Canada -- your Canada -- a country that will finally be worthy of the working people who spend their lives building it.
Together, let's do it. Let's do it now.
Thank you.
