The Editor,
In his recent letter to your newspaper, Gerry Ritz seemed caught in a time warp and full of invective. He's entitled to his own opinion but not his own facts.
On federal transfer payments to provincial governments to help finance valuable social programs, when the federal government changed in 2006 those transfers were at an all-time record high. For health care in particular, the previous Liberal administration implemented the 10-year, $40-billion Canada Health Accord – to which the Harper government has added not a single penny.
On tax breaks for families, it was the previous Liberal administration that established both the Canada Child Tax Benefit and the National Child Benefit Supplement, which together provide more than $10-billion in financial support every year to low and middle-income families. That's a strong, progressive and principled foundation upon which to build for the future. And we will.
As for Mr. Harper's “Income Splitting” scheme for wealthier families, the most telling criticism came from none other than the late Jim Flaherty who depicted this measure as both expensive and unfair. It will cost $2 billion every year, but benefit fewer than 15-per cent of households.
Meanwhile, the Harper government has imposed new Conservative taxes on Saskatchewan’s credit unions, on a wide range of consumer goods (from children’s tricycles to cosmetic wigs for cancer patients), and on every employer and employee through an extra $5 billion in job-killing employment insurance payroll taxes.
And on the topic of “the Conservative record,” we would be happy to make that the issue in the next election. A great many Saskatchewan voters might well ask:
* Why did the Harper government design and impose such a deficient grain handling and transportation system, which is totally controlled by the railways and grain companies, leaving farmers as “captive shippers” with no competitive alternatives and no legal recourse when the system fails – as it did last year at a cost to farmers of $5 billion?
* Why has the Harper government failed to achieve a single inch of new export pipeline capacity for western energy products?
* How is it that two of the worst food safety scandals in Canadian history (E-coli and listeriosis) occurred on this government's watch – resulting in Mr. Ritz being stripped of his responsibilities for food inspections?
* Why has this government so abused Canadian veterans, lapsing promised funding, closing service centres, slashing support staff, delaying help for psychiatric conditions, increasing health-care premiums and dragging vets through the courts to clawback their pensions?
* Where is the ethanol plant that Conservatives promised for the Prince Albert district? Where is that pasta plant they promised for Regina? Where is the $800 million per year in new Equalization payments they promised to all of Saskatchewan?
* After solemnly pledging never to tax income trusts, why did the Harper government impose a lethal 31.5 per cent Conservative tax on trusts, which slashed the savings accounts of some two million ordinary Canadians by $25 billion.
The list goes on. It's odd that Mr. Ritz forgot to mention these cornerstones of the Conservative record.
Sincerely,
Hon. Ralph Goodale, PC, MP
Wascana
