Heavy on symbolism, light on detail.Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer left Parliament Hill on Thursday for Toronto’s financial district to roll out his proposals for Canada’s economy, the second in a series of policy speeches meant to define his campaign to become the next prime minister.He evoked the memory of gold magnate Peter Munk, who fled the Nazi invasion of his native Hungary to eventually come to Canada and become one of this country’s richest and most influential businessmen.He flagged his own middle-class upbringing and gave a hat-tip to the suburbs of Toronto. He spoke of his parents having to make tough choices to make ends meet.The message, of course, was that a Conservative government would get out of the way and allow regular Canadians to pull themselves up by their bootstraps like Munk, contributing greatly to the growth of the country. The Liberals, on the other hand, meddle with business and taxpayers’ money, to the detriment of the prosperity and fiscal health of the country.“Canada must be a place where no ambition is too big, where no dream is out of reach, and where no government will stand in the way of people working hard to get ahead,” Scheer said.The vision and its framing were unmistakably Conservative and a contrast to his political foes, setting the stage for an election-campaign showdown over the role of government in the country’s economic activity.Scheer sketched out an energy-centric plan that would see growth hinging on an east-to-west corridor for energy resources, and making Canada energy-independent by 2030. Innovation and entrepreneurial spirit would be unleashed through the removal of red tape and the advent of smaller government. Government spending would be responsible, with all new initiatives funded from savings found elsewhere. He would have a lighter hand on real estate markets.And indeed, the emphasis on energy independence, market-driven growth and smaller government differ ...
|
