SUDBURY, Ont. – Michael Ignatieff says there’s no turning back on his decision to try to bring down the Harper government this fall, and it’s now up to the other parties to decide what they want to do.
The Liberal leader was asked Wednesday if there’s anything Prime Minister Stephen Harper could do to make peace. Ignatieff said he negotiated with Harper in June to avoid a summer election and the Tories failed to deliver on stimulus cash and EI reform.
He said he made a “clear decision after a great deal of thought,” and the ball is now in the court of the NDP and Bloc Quebecois.
“It’s up to the NDP to decide, I can’t decide for the other parties.”
Ignatieff said the Liberals will unveil their platform soon, including a plan to slay the massive deficit run up by the Tories – without raising taxes.
“We will clean it up without raising taxes … wait and see.”
He said the platform will also include a Canadian-made strategy to fight climate change, unlike the Tories who are waiting to see the American plan.
“We are not going to wait for the United States, we are not going to wait for Mr. Obama. Canadian climate change policy gets made in Canada, it doesn’t get made in the United States.”
Ignatieff said the ballot question is: “Who is best placed to lead Canada into the economy of tomorrow?”
He accused the Conservatives of fiscal mismanagement and said the Liberals will offer a “more compassionate and a more competent government.”
“Remember the record – they offered us a budget with a deficit at $32 billion, big number. Six weeks later it jumped to $50 billion.
“So there’s a question not just about the size of the deficit but the basic competence of (Finance Minister) Jim Flaherty and Stephen Harper.”
“We’ve been saying all summer two things: they’re spraying the money around like a kid with a garden hose,only the hose tends to be landing in Conservative ridings more than anywhere else.”
