fC u C3 Speaking for Canadians The Constitution ~,?';)C The NDP-Lberal rejection of the Crosbie 'There are times when a govemment pro- 'XD, budget made way for the return of disastrous poses to act against the essential interest of C ' 1-Lberal economic policies, and eliminated the the Nation. At such a time, the role of the opportunity to implement Progressive Conser- Opposition Leader is not to submit to the vative initiatives which would have restored govemment, but to fight for the larger confidence in the Canadian economy and interests of Canada. II helped get this country back to work. Rt. Hon. Joe Clark October 2, 1980 'It was a nonsense motion, but it served the Grits. They regained power, brought high interest rates, high taxes and a recession, along with soaring energy prices and a
budget that (NDP'er) Rae himself despises. II Charles Lynch, Southam March 3, 1982
As a result of the "nonsense motion", Cana- dians' needs were ignored and the PC Plan was shelved.
• an economic strategy which encouraged Canadians to invest in Canada. • mortgage interest and property tax credits. • the Small BU$inessDevelopment Bond. • the energy tax credit for low-income workers. • freedom of information legislation. • much-needed parliamentary reform. "Clark has played a role of historic What the Liberals have given you: importance. When the constitutional • a high interest rate policy, resulting in package was unveiled in October, 1980, record-high mortgage rates and depression- after the failure of the September federal/ level unemployment. provincial conference to produce agree- ment, Clark had a very brief period in which • a national energy policy which contributed directly to the collapse of the Alsands, Cold Lake and Alaska Pipeline megaproJects. • a 78-cent-a-gallon increase in fuel costs.
More and more Canadians now recognize that the PC Party spoke for them. to decide his course .... , he decided the Postal Dispute unilateral federal course must be opposed. That decision helped to give the provinces In June of 1981, inside postal workers struck time for their court appeals. This in turn over contract demands. The Liberal response provided the opportunity for the historic was described by the Toronto Star (July 5, Supreme Court of Canada decision which 1981) as "a morality play staged by the attached so much weight to our constitu- Trudeau government to show Canadians the tional conventions that even a ruthlessly government is serious in its fight against determined govemment had to give way inflation." Not many opposition leaders do anything of The six-week strike hurt the Canadian as great significance in the unfolding history economy and contributed to massive layoffs of their country." and wide-scale business failures and losses. WA. Wilson During the strike, PC Members called upon The Financial Post the government to reach a negotiated settle- April 3, 1982 ment within a reasonable period of time. They forced the government to appoint a mediator The Progressive Conservatives under Joe by refusing to allow Parliament to recess until Clark's leadership spoke for Canadians on the some action had been taken. Constitution and won an historic victory for cooperative federalism, in the interest of long- The government caused a needless strike; term social and economic stability. they put on a "tough guy" act and then caved in. As former PC Postmaster General John Fraser put it:
''Hyou start off by saying, 'We're going to let the union hang out to dry, ,you can't turn around and make concessions after so much public hardship. Mere is the lesson? There is none and in the meantime thousands and thousands of Canadians - and especially small businessmen - suffered the effects of a long and protracted postal strike."
By holding firm, Progressive Conservatives spoke in defense of Canadian business and workers. Via Rail The MacEachen Budget PC Task Force PC Budget Task Force
"No discussion. No debate. No dialogue. No The MacEachen Budget, introduced on hearings." That's how the St. John Telegraph November 12, 1981, provoked a storm of pro- Journal described Transport Minister Jean-Luc test from Canadians from all walks of life. As Pepin's decision to remove up to one-fifth of with other Liberal measures, it was hatched Canada's passenger rail services. The decision behind closed doors and without public con- to cut rail services by Order-in-Council serious- sultation, and seemingly without concern for its ly impaired the role of the Canadian Transpor- damaging effects on the livelihood of the tation Commission as protector of the public average person. The Special PC Committee on interest in transportation services. Service the Budget and the Economy, headed by the reductions represent severe hardships for Honourable Michael Wilson, cor:ducted hear- people in remote areas, for commuters and ings in sixteen communities across the country. for the tourist industry. The message from those the Liberals purported to be helping was clear: The "Robin Hood Had this move gone unchallenged by the Budget" was fleecing them. PC Task Force on Rail Passenger Services, there would have been little to prevent further The Task Force Report asked why: large-scale service reductions. • the Minister had failed to recognize the obvious signs of recession? 'The recent announcement that the • the Budget attacked job creation Progressive Conservatives will hold public programmes when one million Canadians hearings into the VIA Rail cutbacks is a well- were out of work? intentioned action aimed at highlighting the • nothing was being done to help the concems of thousands of Canadians about thousallds of Canadians who were losing reduced rail services in this country. The their homes due to high :rr.ortgage rates? nationwide hearings will undoubtedly give the public exactly what it wants: A chance to vent • the Liberals penalized small personal its frustrations and anger with a govemment investments: savings, life insurance, that announced drastic cutbacks in rail and annuities? services without public consultation." • low and middle income earners would bear Toronto Star the brunt of tax increases? August 6, 1981
The Progressive Conservative Task Force, which was chaired by former Transport ',I Minister Don Mazankowski, consulted hun- dreds of Canadians across Canada and spoke for the modernization and expansion of our national transportation system. Armed with hindsight and faced with massive public outrage, Mr. MacEachen hasti- "Keep Fighting, ly introduced a Green Paper on budget pro- Clark and Nielsen!" . cedures in which he said:, "what is important is The Toronto Sun that parliamentary processes allow for the March 5,1982 thorough and timely consideration of budget measures. " In an unprecedented procedural move, PC House Leader Erik Nielsen, Energy Critic Said Charles Lynch, April 2, 1982,: Harvie Andre and Whip Bill Kempling, 'Thanks a lot, MacEachen! The man has spearheaded rejection of an Omnibus Energy been a member of successive Liberal Bill, which combined 15 pieces of legislation, govemments whose policies have led to the by refusing, for more than two weeks, to answer complexities of which he complains, and he the bells which summon MPs to vote in killed the only budget that tried to restore the House. sanity in the public economic sector, namely Thousands of letters, phone calls and the budget of John Crosbie." telegrams flooded into the Leader's and the "His ovvn budget was an attempt at MPs' offices with messages of support and unilateral tax refoIm, engineered by tunnel- calls to oust the Liberals. visioned mandarins in his ovvn department, Editorial headlines reflected the Nation's not one of whose heads has rolled. Instead, mood: we get this Green Paper telling us they would have done better had they been able Bells ring, questions mount. to hold public hearings and hire profes- Star Phoenix, Saskatoon sionals from the private sector." March 6, 1982
The Task Force kept the heat of public Good for tbe Tories concern on the Budget, obliging the Liberals "Quite clearly it is the Conservatives who to make important changes to it. The PC Team are representing the people on this issue, spoke in defence of consumer interests, labour and doing so responsibly." and the business community. The Edmonton Sun March 9, 1982 The Conservatives are right A PC Majority 'The Conservatives very correctly identify the omnibus energy bill as a flagrant exam- The steady rise in the polls of the Party, since ple of Liberal arrogance, ramming a whole the 1980 election, clearly demonstrates voter package of varied legislation down the dissatisfaction with the liberals on one hand, throats of Parliament and people with the and voter shift to a Progressive Conservative assurance that the Liberal majority in the majority on the other hand. Commons will have the last word./I The Windsor Star March 9,1982
Election call #- OJ « 'The ringing bells and the Tory blockade N ~M' . N. ...., of Parliament are far more than a tactic to . • '# ...., embarrass government. It is the people .• .N~ registering dissatisfaction and disaHection ..e?fl... ::2