HARPER DEFENDS TORY RECORD
Leaders clash over economy, unity, ISIL in feisty debate
Canada’s political leaders clashed over competing economic and political visions Thursday night in a feisty first debate only days into a long election campaign.
And in a sharp exchange on national unity, they jousted over whether Quebec separatists should be able to break up the country with a vote of 50- per- cent- plusone in any future referendum.
Other themes from the evening included differing views of how the government should reform the Senate; what the best approach is to battling ISIL in the Middle East; and how to stop terrorists at home.
The debate hosted by Maclean’s magazine came just five days into the campaign and the outcome has the potential to seal voters’ impressions of the main contenders.
The two- hour debate featuring the leaders of four parties began with a bang, as Conservative Leader Stephen Harper fended off criticism from his rivals over his record in managing the economy as prime minister over the past decade.
NDP Leader Tom Mulcair, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau and Green Leader Elizabeth May all accused Harper of turning his back on the middle class and doing little to create jobs, saying families had seen their incomes grow stagnant in recent years.
Trudeau, whose party’s public popularity has dropped in recent months, was particularly aggressive in his attacks on Harper — and also turned his sights on Mulcair.
“You have become completely disconnected with the reality that people are facing across the country,” Trudeau told Harper.
He also reminded viewers that Harper’s government has delivered eight deficits after inheriting surpluses from the Liberal government the Tories defeated in 2006. Trudeau ridiculed Harper’s statement that voters would be taking a big risk if they put his rivals in power.
“The only risk right now would be sticking with a failed plan for 10 years.”
Mulcair blasted Harper for failing to protect the manufacturing sector and safeguard jobs throughout the country.
“Incomes are flatlining, household debts are skyrocketing,” he said.
Mulcair said Harper is trying to deceive Canadians about the health of federal finances and is hiding the fact the country is still in deficit — not in surplus, as the governing Tories claim.
May, who participated in a debate with Harper during the 2008 election, reminded him of how he denied at that time the country was in recession.
She said Harper doesn’t have a good “track record” of spotting when the country is in recession “and we are in a recession now.”
Harper fought back, saying his is the only party committed to providing a fiscally responsible government. For instance, he said his opponents would hike taxes through higher payroll premiums for the Canada Pension Plan.
“Now is not the time to throw us back in deficit and to spend billions of dollars.”
The economy has become an increasing important issue in the campaign.
Canada’s economy has shrunk for each of the first five months of this year. In late August, data will be released for June’s economic output. It’s expected it will show the trend is continuing and that, with two quarters of negative growth, Canada is now officially in a recession.
In the most heated exchanges of the evening, Trudeau and Harper criticized Mulcair for his party’s Sherbrooke Declaration, which would recognize a “Yes” vote for independence in a Quebec referendum if separatists achieved a bare majority of one vote.
Trudeau said the NDP’s policy runs counter to a Supreme Court of Canada ruling on the issue and Mulcair is appeasing Quebec separatists by speaking about it in his home province and saying he would repeal the federal Clarity Act, which says succession talks would start only if separatists win a “clear” majority” on a clear question.
Mulcair retorted that he has spent his political life fighting against separatism.
“Mr. Trudeau has an obligation if he wants to talk about this subject to come clean with Canadians. What’s his number? What is your number? What is your number, Mr. Trudeau?” Mulcair demanded.
Trudeau retorted: “I’ll give you a number. Nine. My number is nine. Nine Supreme Court justices said one vote is not enough to break up this country and yet that is Mr. Mulcair’s position. He wants to be prime minister of this country and he’s choosing to side with the separatist movement in Quebec and not with the Supreme Court of Canada.”
Harper agreed with Trudeau, saying Mulcair “is trying to throw gasoline on a fire that isn’t even burning.”
“I’m not going to question Mr. Mulcair’s position as a longtime federalist ... that is clear. What I do question, along with Mr Trudeau, is: Why bring up the debate over the Clarity Act other than to satisfy the separatist element within the NDP? Nobody’s talking about that,” said Harper.
But Mulcair stood firm, saying his party’s stance is a good policy. He said the Liberals are playing a “dangerous game” by refusing to put a specific number on what threshold of victory separatists would need in a referendum.
The leaders entered their first debate of the race knowing that the stakes are high. A surprise performance by one of the leaders could shake loose votes and set the tone for an election that already has a high degree of unpredictability.
All the while, because the major TV networks did not broadcast the full debate, it’s unclear how many people even watched it, either on TV or online.
The debate was moderated by Maclean’s political editor Paul Wells.
I’ll give you a number. Nine. My number is nine. Nine Supreme Court justices said one vote is not enough to break up this country.