NEWS RELEASE

March 15, 2004                                                                             For Immediate Release

MARTIN BREAKS HIS PROMISES TO THE WEST BEFORE THE ELECTION IS EVEN HELD!

"Paul Martin promised he would fix 'Western Alienation', but his actions speak louder than words."

Yorkton – Today, Garry Breitkreuz, MP for Yorkton-Melville, accused Prime Minister Paul Martin of fuelling the fires of Western Alienation.  “Long before he was even proclaimed Prime Minister by the Liberal Party, Paul Martin vowed he could be the one to ‘unite’ this country and win over voters in Western Canada. But just three months into his reign, Mr. Martin has done the exact opposite.  Instead of helping people in the west, the Prime Minister is actually using his power to do more harm.  And like former Prime Minister Jean Chretien, he can’t see what life is really like beyond the Ontario-Manitoba border,” stated Breitkreuz. 

Instead of starting with a new mandate which Mr. Martin says Canadians want – therefore the need for an immediate election – he is carrying on ‘the Chretien Legacy’.  Here are just a few examples:

Ø      Implementation of the Kyoto Accord continues despite the economic devastation that will be felt in Saskatchewan and Alberta;

Ø      Tax on fuel, used primarily by the rural population, has not been lowered;

Ø      The Western Canadian push to appoint Senators elected by their provinces, making the Senate more accountable and fair, continues to be ignored; and

Ø      Property owners remain unprotected under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.  In fact, under the Species at Risk Act, the government could take control of land without compensating the owner.

“And now Mr. Martin has reintroduced amendments to the Cruelty to Animals portion of the Criminal Code. There are still no provisions to compensate animal-dependent businesses for any losses they suffer because of this poorly-worded legislation,” reported Breitkreuz.

“While our farmers live the daily nightmare known as the BSE crisis, Mr. Martin and the Liberal government sit back waiting for the Americans to make the first move to reopen the border to live cattle exports. The Prime Minister claims he knows the importance of getting trade back to normal, yet the Liberal government continues to do nothing,” stated Breitkreuz.  “That lack of action speaks volumes to our cattle producers – this government doesn’t understand or care that farmers are losing their herds, their livelihoods and their homes because of one case of BSE. The Liberal’s wait-and-see approach is shameful and unacceptable to everyone connected to the agricultural industry.” 

“Billions of dollars that could be helping our cattle producers have been lost by this government through avenues like the mushrooming $2 billion gun registry or the now infamous $250 million Sponsorship Program. And now comes word of a nearly $200 million theft in the National Defence Department.  Day after day Canadians are finding out just how badly they have been cheated by the Liberals, yet Mr. Martin and his colleagues claim law-abiding gun owners are the criminals,” said Breitkreuz.

“So as this government spends time trying to convince us that gun-toting, animal-beating criminals are the only ones opposed to the gun registry and the Cruelty to Animals legislation, Western Canadians are looking to the government for solutions to real problems, not government-created problems. The Liberals are so consumed by their scandals and in-fighting that they are forgetting that this country needs a legitimate government to make decisions that improve the quality of life for all Canadians,” concluded Breitkreuz.

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