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Lieberal polices over the past 45 years created the separatist problem. Here's the solution:
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Politic...1330536-cp.html
Stem separatist threat by revamping federal transfers to provinces: Harper
By SUE BAILEY
QUEBEC (CP) - Stephen Harper says the best way to keep Quebec in Canada is to end a sorry era of federal corruption and meddling in provincial affairs.
The Conservative leader repeatedly blamed Liberal arrogance and administrative rot on Monday for revving the engines of separatism. If elected, the Conservative leader says he would quickly meet with premiers to discuss ending the so-called fiscal imbalance. He would also move to forge what he called a Charter of Open Federalism to better stake out provincial turf.
It's a message Harper hopes will resonate in a province that is electoral tundra for frozen-out Conservatives.
Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe has long scored political points here by saying Ottawa doesn't transfer enough cash to Quebec in yearly equalization payments.
The money helps to spread national wealth among have-and have-not provinces.
Ontario, meanwhile, says it pays too much into the redistribution fund but doesn't get enough back in government services.
"I think you have to face the fact that Ottawa is rolling in tens of billions of dollars in surpluses - most of it hidden for years - at the same time as provinces and municipalities are having trouble meeting essential core services without going into debt," Harper told a news conference.
He took several shots at Liberal Leader Paul Martin for not acting sooner to stem the sponsorship scandal.
The Tory leader also lambasted his chief political rival for the fact that he "hasn't even recognized the existence of the fiscal imbalance."
Harper was short on specifics, but said provinces should have more powers to tax and spend in their areas of jurisdiction.
"I want to find a long-term solution not just to solve the problem but also to end the annual pilgrimage of premiers and mayors to Ottawa for financing," he said. "I don't think that's the way to run a federation."
Should Quebec be treated differently in a revamped system?
"I believe in general that we should treat all Canadians similarly," Harper said.
"I think the truth is, the province of Quebec is looking for powers and arrangements that other provinces may not want."
This is especially true when it comes to language and culture, Harper said, proposing that Quebec play a role in international bodies such as UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
He is also open to "incremental" changes to the Constitution - including the thorny issue of Quebec exclusion - but does not want to bog the country down in full-scale reform a la Meech Lake, he stressed.
Any changes would be piecemeal depending on consensus among provinces, Harper said.
The Conservative leader brought his campaign for the second time to Quebec where his party is all but eclipsed by the surging Bloc Quebecois and waning Liberals.
Harper must change that if he is ever to truly head a national party.
His speech to the Quebec Chamber of Commerce was interrupted by a protester who shouted at him to do more to improve social housing.
Harper said he would consider it - but without trampling on provincial jurisdiction, he added without missing a beat.
Upstairs in the hotel pub, the woman tending bar said Harper has his work cut out for him.
"Conservatives are not popular here at all," said the ardent Bloc supporter.
"This is all for nothing," she said of the election in general, predicting very much the same results as in 2004. "Me, I don't like politics."
Harper's quest for votes will shift Tuesday to Southern Ontario, another battleground where he must improve his showing if he is to have a chance at forming a government.
The Tory leader was to kick off his swing by visiting the Cabbagetown Boxing Club and Youth Centre in Toronto, which made its name as the training ground for Shawn O'Sullivan, an Olympic silver medallist in 1984.
Harper planned to use the centre as a backdrop to address the hot-button issue of youth crime.
He has scoffed at Liberal plans to ban handguns and maintains the answers are crime prevention and tougher penalties for gun and drug offences. Harper says he would also bolster programs aimed at keeping young people out of the gangs and drug warfare that fuel much of the violence.
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