It is odd that the Conservatives are pitching their finances as part of the election. They took the country from surplus to deficit and Mulroney ran up terrible deficits. One can argue that deficit spending is sometimes proper -- I am not sure I agree but it's a viable argument -- but to argue the Conservatives are fiscally prudent is pretty thin stuff.
Chretien jogs Harper's memory: Liberals not Tories balanced the books
OTTAWA - Jean Chretien says Prime Minister Stephen Harper is conveniently ignoring the fact that Liberals - not Conservatives - did all the heavy lifting required to eliminate the federal deficit.
"We balanced the books . . . and they forget to mention that," the former Liberal prime minister said in a brief interview Thursday.
Through the opening two weeks of the federal election campaign, Harper has repeatedly warned that the Liberals would drive the country back into a deficit with billions in unaffordable, reckless spending promises. He reiterated the theme Thursday in response to Liberal Leader Stephane Dion's promise to invest $70 billion over 10 years in infrastructure.
By contrast, Harper has painted himself and the Conservatives as models of fiscal rectitude.
But Chretien suggested Harper has got it backwards.
"We balanced the books, we took the heat for that and we were admired by a lot of people around the globe for that," he said on his way into a closed-door speech to a francophone business group.
"Now, some think the good old days might disappear - but don't blame me, I'm not there anymore."
When Chretien took office in 1993, he inherited a $43-billion deficit left by the Conservative government of Brian Mulroney. By the time he retired in 2003, the deficit had been eliminated and the federal government was awash in huge annual surpluses.
After less than three years in office, Liberals contend, Harper has squandered the surpluses and left the country teetering on the brink of deficit. Moreover, Dion has repeatedly charged that Harper has presided over the slowest economic growth since 1990, when Mulroney was still in charge.
See full story here:
http://news.sympatico.msn.ca/Chretien+jogs+Harpers+memory+Liberals+not+Tories+balanced+the+books/Election_08/ContentPosting?isfa=1&newsitemid=89363039&feedname=CP_EN_ELECTION&show=False&number=0&showbyline=True&subtitle=&detect=&abc=abc&date=True
Chretien jogs Harper's memory: Liberals not Tories balanced the books
OTTAWA - Jean Chretien says Prime Minister Stephen Harper is conveniently ignoring the fact that Liberals - not Conservatives - did all the heavy lifting required to eliminate the federal deficit.
"We balanced the books . . . and they forget to mention that," the former Liberal prime minister said in a brief interview Thursday.
Through the opening two weeks of the federal election campaign, Harper has repeatedly warned that the Liberals would drive the country back into a deficit with billions in unaffordable, reckless spending promises. He reiterated the theme Thursday in response to Liberal Leader Stephane Dion's promise to invest $70 billion over 10 years in infrastructure.
By contrast, Harper has painted himself and the Conservatives as models of fiscal rectitude.
But Chretien suggested Harper has got it backwards.
"We balanced the books, we took the heat for that and we were admired by a lot of people around the globe for that," he said on his way into a closed-door speech to a francophone business group.
"Now, some think the good old days might disappear - but don't blame me, I'm not there anymore."
When Chretien took office in 1993, he inherited a $43-billion deficit left by the Conservative government of Brian Mulroney. By the time he retired in 2003, the deficit had been eliminated and the federal government was awash in huge annual surpluses.
After less than three years in office, Liberals contend, Harper has squandered the surpluses and left the country teetering on the brink of deficit. Moreover, Dion has repeatedly charged that Harper has presided over the slowest economic growth since 1990, when Mulroney was still in charge.
See full story here:
http://news.sympatico.msn.ca/Chretien+jogs+Harpers+memory+Liberals+not+Tories+balanced+the+books/Election_08/ContentPosting?isfa=1&newsitemid=89363039&feedname=CP_EN_ELECTION&show=False&number=0&showbyline=True&subtitle=&detect=&abc=abc&date=True
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