| Back to the future with Stéphane Dion
December 02, 2006
Old Liberal policies, the old Liberal way of governing OTTAWA – Today, the Conservative Party of Canada responded to the selection of Stéphane Dion as leader of the Liberal Party. “Last election, Canadians voted for change,” said Conservative Senate Leader Marjory LeBreton. “With the selection of Mr. Dion, Liberals have ignored the Canadian people and have reached into their past to plot their future.” “Mr. Dion was part of the Chrétien Cabinet during the sponsorship scandal and was in Cabinet as successive Liberal governments presided over the multi-billion dollar HRDC and gun registry boondoggles”, commented President of the Treasury Board, John Baird. Mr. Dion was a failure as Environment Minister. During his time in office, he presided over a 34.6% increase in greenhouse gas emissions along with a precipitous decline in overall air quality, with Canada dropping to 27th out of 29 nations in the OECD. Dion’s record was so bad, he earned a sharp rebuke from the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development. The Auditor General said that, under Dion, ``the federal government (was) not organized to manage its climate change initiatives effectively.” “Mr. Dion’s lack of respect for provincial jurisdictions will make him a very hard sell in Quebec, where Liberals are no longer the federalist option,” said Public Works Minister Michael Fortier. Mr. Dion also marks a return to the old Liberal way of directionless government, admitting candidly during the leadership campaign, “do you think it’s easy to make priorities?” In Prime Minister Harper, Canadians have a leader who knows who he is, knows where he stands and gets things done. In Stéphane Dion, the Liberals have a weak leader with a failed record who admits to having difficulty setting priorities. Canadians want a leader who will get things done for all of us. Stéphane Dion is not that leader. BACKGROUNDER – LIBERAL LEADER STÉPHANE DION ISSUE Liberal delegates have selected former Chrétien and Martin cabinet minister Stéphane Dion as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. HISTORY Stéphane Dion was first elected as a Liberal MP in 1996 and served in the Cabinets of Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin Summary of Cabinet Posts:
RECORD OF FAILURE Scandal in Cabinet Mr. Dion was part of the Chrétien Cabinet during the sponsorship scandal. Mr Dion was also in Cabinet as successive Liberal governments presided over the multi-billion dollar HRDC and gun registry boondoggles. As Environment Minister The 2006 report by Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Johanne Gélinas, was highly critical of the Liberal government’s approach to climate change and GHG emissions under Dion’s watch: "Climate change is upon us and no matter how you look at it, the stakes for Canada are high," said Ms. Gélinas. "With its resources and powers, the federal government can make a big difference. But our findings show that it has not been up to the task so far. -The Commissioner's Perspective STYLE OF GOVERNING IGNATIEFF: We didn’t get it done (on the environment). DION: This is unfair. You don’t know what you speak about. You don’t know what you speak about. Do you think it’s easy to make priorities? DOMINIC LEBLANC: Mr. Ignatieff? DRYDEN: Stephane, the point is that we didn’t get it done. It’s not anybody individually. We didn’t get it done collectively. |
