The weekend was a great time to connect and plan for the coming election campaign.
The PC Party has the most candidates nominated at this point: 25. We're also ready financially.
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| South Shore PC Candidates: Brian Pickings, Janet Irwin, David Mitchell |
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| With two members of my campaign team: Bill Brooks (L) & George Broome (R) |
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| With Shane Buchan (Kings South) & former Premier Hon. John Hamm |
Here is the text of leader Jamie Baillie's speech Friday night. It really set out why a Progressive Conservative government is needed now in Nova Scotia and why Jamie Baillie and the PC team should form the next government.
February
8, 2013
PC LEADER JAMIE BAILLIE
2013 AGM REMARKS
(after an introduction by Jamie’s daughter Alex)
Alex, thank you. You make me very proud.
If any of you ever wonder about the importance of
stopping
the growth of debt, and deficits, and passing the bills on to
our
children…remember my Alex…and yours.
My name is Jamie Baillie. I’m a Chartered Accountant. And
I
can assure you that this speech does not contain a $27million error.
And we
have a little game for everyone tonight. I want each
of you to look under your
seat, because you may be the lucky winner of the
NDP’s missing $27million! Did
you find it? But you know what is particularly galling about this? It
isn’t the
error. It isn’t the mistake. It is the cover-up that is wrong. We now
know we
have a government, that when faced with the decision to fess-up, or
cover-up,
chooses the cover-up. And that is wrong.
The NDP say maybe they can balance the budget. They
will
keep racking up the tab for the next generation to pay. And that is
shameful.
The Liberals are no better. They won’t stop the string
of
deficit budgets either. In fact, they have been strangely quiet lately,
while
the debt keeps growing.
It seems the only Liberal we ever hear from, on
anything
these days, is Justin Trudeau! But let me tell you something. And this
is
important. Unlike Justin Trudeau…I will not exploit my natural good
looks
and sex appeal for political gain!
So the NDP, and the Liberals, are for running up the
debt
even more, YOU should know that only the new, modern, dynamic
Progressive
Conservative Party will balance the books and stop passing on more
debt to our
kids…once and for all.
This time, let’s not just change political parties.
Let’s
truly change direction!
With the NDP, we know we have
the highest taxes, and the
highest power rates, in Canada. That is
no surprise.
But it is the record of corporate handouts…and giveaways… and
bailouts…that no
one saw coming.
Every dollar that the NDP took from you in higher HST
went
to big bail-outs, more bureaucracy, and even double doubles.
Yes. Double doubles. They are a whole new kind of corporate bail-out. The 4 government-run Tim Hortons' in our hospitals are losing money. Over $1.4 million a year. Now that takes a special talent…to lose money on a Tim Hortons. At Capital Health, they want to outsource these Tims, and the other food outlets, and put the money back into actual healthcare. But the NDP said no. 4 years in a row. No. Keep up the subsidies, they order. To Tims! The NDP give a whole new meaning to the term donut hole. Since he can even lose money on a Tim Hortons, doesn’t it make you feel good to know that when Darrell Dexter faces off with companies like the Irvings, Emera, Shell, Pacific West Forestry, Resolute Forest Products, and on and on…he’s using your tax money? Even Joan Jessome of the NSGEU has taken him to the cleaners…over and over again. They all did well this past year, unlike most Nova Scotians. These companies feel good when they face the NDP. And I doubt they’re worried about the Liberals.
Yes. Double doubles. They are a whole new kind of corporate bail-out. The 4 government-run Tim Hortons' in our hospitals are losing money. Over $1.4 million a year. Now that takes a special talent…to lose money on a Tim Hortons. At Capital Health, they want to outsource these Tims, and the other food outlets, and put the money back into actual healthcare. But the NDP said no. 4 years in a row. No. Keep up the subsidies, they order. To Tims! The NDP give a whole new meaning to the term donut hole. Since he can even lose money on a Tim Hortons, doesn’t it make you feel good to know that when Darrell Dexter faces off with companies like the Irvings, Emera, Shell, Pacific West Forestry, Resolute Forest Products, and on and on…he’s using your tax money? Even Joan Jessome of the NSGEU has taken him to the cleaners…over and over again. They all did well this past year, unlike most Nova Scotians. These companies feel good when they face the NDP. And I doubt they’re worried about the Liberals.
We’re having a few laughs tonight about how the NDP
and
Liberals are alike. They really are pretty funny together. Like Ernie and
Bert
without the nice apartment.
On all the tough issues, no one can tell them
apart.
High power rates are choking our economy… costing jobs . . .
and
squeezing the family budget. The Liberals run political attack ads about
power.
But when a reporter asked their Leader if his plan would
really lower
rates… he said No!. He hopes someday we have stable rates.
Now where have we
heard that before?
Darrell Dexter says his “bite the bullet” electricity
plan
is about stable rates. But they have gone up 25 per cent…and will keep
going
every year for the rest of this decade. That’s their kind of stable: up ,
up,
up , up, up…!
It may not be politically correct to say why our rates
keep
going up, which is why the Liberals and NDP won’t say it, but we tell
Nova
Scotians the truth about their power bills.These rate hikes are not driven
by rising coal costs; they
are driven by the expensive electricity policy of
their own government, with
the consent of the Liberals. Both the Liberals and
NDP will cost you more and more and
more…even though you’re already paying the
highest power rates in Canada. Only the PCs have a plan to stop the increases.
Even the CBC
said so! Only we - the new, modern, dynamic PC party - will
stop
power rate increases in their tracks, and freeze them where they are.
Not
another job need be lost. Not another family need suffer. We will freeze
rates by buying as much renewable energy as
we can at the current rate, use
more natural gas, and protect our
economy and the jobs that go with it. The
other 2 won’t. But WE WILL!
This time, let’s not just change political parties,
let’s
truly change direction.
High taxes are also killing jobs and squeezing the
family
budget.
The NDP raised the HST to the highest in Canada. They said
they
needed the money to balance the books. Since then, they have collected: A
BILLION dollars in extra HST.That’s $1,000 each.
Over $300m more in
transfers
from Ottawa.
And they borrowed another
BILLION in new debt.
But they
still can’t balance the budget! No government in
the history of Nova Scotia has
had more money to play with, and they still
can’t get it done.
Suddenly that
money-losing Tim Hortons is starting to make
sense, isn’t it!?!
So under the
NDP we are stuck with a 15 per cent HST. Turns out the Liberals would keep the
15 per cent tax too.
They complained about it when it went up, but they won’t
reduce it. They complained about all the deficits too, but they won’t
stop
them. What a bunch those Liberals are. They complain and complain,
but don’t
have a clue what they, themselves would do. I remember the good ol’ days, when
Graham Steele was in
charge. He said he would reduce the government payroll by
1,000.
Well, Graham Steele is long gone, and guess how they are
doing with
this promised reduction? They are only off by 1,064.
They aren’t serious about
controlling the size of the
bureaucracy. They won’t even outsource a
money-losing Tim Hortons! The NDP won’t do it. The Liberals won’t do it. The
Progressive Conservative Party balanced the budget of
this province 8 years in
a row, at the lower rate of HST. We’ve done it before. We will do it again. We
will keep Graham Steele’s promise to reduce the
government payroll by 10 per
cent. We will freeze hiring, reduce the payroll, and control
spending until the
budget is balanced AND the HST is reduced…..for EVERYONE.
We’ll even outsource
those Tim Hortons!
This time, let’s not just change political parties.
Let’s
truly change direction.
This June marks 4 years of the NDP. That is the end of what most people consider to be their mandate. Or maybe they will hold on for 5? That would be unusual, but they seem strangely reluctant to call an election. They are running scared. Darrell Dexter desperately wants another 4 years to keep doing what he’s doing, The Liberals also want 4 years to keep doing what Darrell Dexter is doing: higher power rates, more deficits, the 15 per cent HST, and on and on…That is cold comfort to the 7,700 Nova Scotians who lost their job in the last year. It’s cold comfort to the thousands of kids who went to school in overcrowded classrooms this September. And it’s cold comfort to every single household that got an even higher power bill this month! They deserve real change. NDP or Liberal. Liberal or NDP. They are both the same. 2 sides of the same coin. You say tomato, and I say tomato. The Dynamic Duo of Debt and Despair. On all the important issues, you can’t tell them apart. So let’s be clear about how we are different…TRULY different, from the other 2 parties. Last spring, a strike threatened our healthcare, as 3,600 health-workers prepared to go off the job. Many important surgeries and medical tests were cancelled. Lisa Morehouse knows all this. She’s a single mother, raising a young child. She has cancer. Her treatments were about to start. Then a union contract dispute shut down the healthcare system. Her treatments were postponed. Lisa is here with us tonight. Mac and Marjory Fiander are here tonight. Marjory’s cancer surgery was outright cancelled. Mac wrote to the Premier: “Cancer doesn’t wait for anybody… this is totally unacceptable and immoral.” Darrell Dexter let the hospitals ramp down anyway. The Liberals said nothing…as usual. We are different. We will ALWAYS put patients first. We will keep those hospitals open. Not another surgery would ever be cancelled, or important test postponed, because of a contract dispute. A PC government would ban healthcare strikes and force both sides to work out their differences without holding patients hostage! Because we are for Lisa and Mac. Randy Arnold is also here. He’s visually impaired. Randy gets around on the Access-A-Bus. For 6 long weeks last winter, there was no bus. There was no easy way for Randy to get anywhere: to the grocery store, or the drugstore, or even to visit family and friends. There was a strike, a long strike…over money. Randy, and thousands like him who rely on the buses to get to work, or live their lives, paid the price. Randy said: “I hoped Premier Dexter would intervene on our behalf, but he wasn’t there.” No. He wasn’t there. He was standing on the sidelines …with guess who…the Liberals again. Someone has to stand up for Randy, and his friends, and all the other hardworking Nova Scotians who take the bus to work every day… and keep those buses, and our economy, running. We will keep the buses running for people like Randy. We are for them. Give Randy a hand. We are with HIM. This time, let’s not just change political parties. Let’s truly change direction.
This June marks 4 years of the NDP. That is the end of what most people consider to be their mandate. Or maybe they will hold on for 5? That would be unusual, but they seem strangely reluctant to call an election. They are running scared. Darrell Dexter desperately wants another 4 years to keep doing what he’s doing, The Liberals also want 4 years to keep doing what Darrell Dexter is doing: higher power rates, more deficits, the 15 per cent HST, and on and on…That is cold comfort to the 7,700 Nova Scotians who lost their job in the last year. It’s cold comfort to the thousands of kids who went to school in overcrowded classrooms this September. And it’s cold comfort to every single household that got an even higher power bill this month! They deserve real change. NDP or Liberal. Liberal or NDP. They are both the same. 2 sides of the same coin. You say tomato, and I say tomato. The Dynamic Duo of Debt and Despair. On all the important issues, you can’t tell them apart. So let’s be clear about how we are different…TRULY different, from the other 2 parties. Last spring, a strike threatened our healthcare, as 3,600 health-workers prepared to go off the job. Many important surgeries and medical tests were cancelled. Lisa Morehouse knows all this. She’s a single mother, raising a young child. She has cancer. Her treatments were about to start. Then a union contract dispute shut down the healthcare system. Her treatments were postponed. Lisa is here with us tonight. Mac and Marjory Fiander are here tonight. Marjory’s cancer surgery was outright cancelled. Mac wrote to the Premier: “Cancer doesn’t wait for anybody… this is totally unacceptable and immoral.” Darrell Dexter let the hospitals ramp down anyway. The Liberals said nothing…as usual. We are different. We will ALWAYS put patients first. We will keep those hospitals open. Not another surgery would ever be cancelled, or important test postponed, because of a contract dispute. A PC government would ban healthcare strikes and force both sides to work out their differences without holding patients hostage! Because we are for Lisa and Mac. Randy Arnold is also here. He’s visually impaired. Randy gets around on the Access-A-Bus. For 6 long weeks last winter, there was no bus. There was no easy way for Randy to get anywhere: to the grocery store, or the drugstore, or even to visit family and friends. There was a strike, a long strike…over money. Randy, and thousands like him who rely on the buses to get to work, or live their lives, paid the price. Randy said: “I hoped Premier Dexter would intervene on our behalf, but he wasn’t there.” No. He wasn’t there. He was standing on the sidelines …with guess who…the Liberals again. Someone has to stand up for Randy, and his friends, and all the other hardworking Nova Scotians who take the bus to work every day… and keep those buses, and our economy, running. We will keep the buses running for people like Randy. We are for them. Give Randy a hand. We are with HIM. This time, let’s not just change political parties. Let’s truly change direction.
Now we have LaHave Manor, a non-profit group home
for
intellectually-challenged adults, located near Bridgewater. They face
an
imposed first contract, under the NDPs extreme new labour law. What happens
when a contract is forced on a group home? What
happens when real services, to
those who need them the most, get cut to pay for
it? This isn’t just a business
issue anymore…it is a very human
issue. And when it comes to the residents of
LaHave Manor, our most vulnerable
of citizens, they are the ones who pay! The
NDP forced through First Contract Arbitration. The
Liberals complained (again!)
but now say they are OK with it, just not the kind
the NDP have. Well, they
have made their choices. They will allow these
things to happen. But not us. We
are for the people of LaHave Manor. We are for
THEM. By the way, are you
sensing a pattern with the
Liberals? I hope at least there is some
maple syrup
with all this waffling! Or some sunscreen to go along with all
their
flip-flops. All Parties need to decide who they stand with. Clearly the NDP
have picked the entitled, the special
interests, the union leaders, and the
comfortable. Columnist Lorne Gunter recently wrote this about the NDP:
The NDP
has
largely become the defender of the tenured, the sinecured and the well
paid...
How true that is here in Nova Scotia. So we know who THEY
are for. And
the Liberals…well, who knows???
But WE are for Randy, and Lisa, and Mac, and
the people of
LaHave Manor, and all the men and women, who work hard, pay their
taxes, send
their kids to school, and need to know that it does not have to be
this way!
THIS time, let’s not just change political parties, let’s
truly
change direction.
Recently, the NDP finance minister said she was hearing
from
Nova Scotians that it is okay to break their promise and have more
deficits. Do you ever wonder who these mystery people are, who keep
telling
them these things? Are they the same ones who told the NDP to please,
please
raise the HST?
Who is it that whispers these things into the ear of
NDP
finance ministers? It’s not me. I don’t think it’s any of you!
I don’t even
think it’s the Liberals, because that would
mean they actually took a position
on something! Turns out it was the Canadian Union of Public
Employees! They put
out a press release
thanking the NDP for ‘taking a more open-minded approach to
the question
of balancing the books’.
The question of balancing the books? It’s
a
question now???
Like should I wear the blue tie or the green tie
today’?
Should I have the soup or a sandwich for lunch?
Should I watch the
hockey game or the Big Bang Theory?
THOSE are questions. And anyone can answer
them. (well,
except Liberals, they don’t want to take sides!)
But to CUPE
“Should I run up the debt by another billion and
leave it to my children to
pay?” is apparently a fair question.
Alex? What do you think? Is that a fair
question? No? I
didn’t think so.
And the tie? Is this one okay?
For years,
groups like CUPE have told the government that
it’s okay to run up more debt,
And the
NDP and Liberals listen and nod.
Now we have the highest taxes in
Canada, the highest power
rates, too much debt, and too few jobs.
Well I take
my advice from Alex.
And when it comes to creating jobs and keeping
families
here, I know who else I’ll ask for advice…….the small business owner,
the
factory worker, the taxi driver……and the teacher who watches her school get
cut-back while
the NDP bail out their own Tim Hortons. Because I am the guy who
was raised in Truro, came to the
city to go to school, and to work. and now
represent the great constituency of
Cumberland South. For THEM…I want to be the
Premier of ALL of Nova Scotia, not
just SOME of Nova Scotia. This time, let’s
not just change political parties. Let’s
truly change direction.
The best thing about the NDP and Liberals being the same
is
that it makes Nova Scotia’s choice easier. There is the NDP/Liberals…and
there is the new, modern,
dynamic Progressive Conservative Party. And we have a
plan:
- Lower your taxes…so that your family can
get ahead again.
- Freeze
power rates…so that no
more jobs are lost, or family budgets squeezed.
- Stop
wasteful government
spending…and invest in our kids instead.
- And turn Nova
Scotia’s
struggling economy around.
That is our plan, and together we are
going to make sure
every Nova Scotian hears it.
There are all kinds of special
interests out there who care
more about other things besides jobs and the
economy, but our plan does what is
right for today’s Nova Scotia……including
reviewing the liquor monopoly and all the
stone-age liquor-laws that go with
it.
Think about it. We have a crisis in this province: Jobs are
disappearing.
Young people are leaving, our communities shrinking, our churches
and schools
facing closure, and the life we built is fading away. But in the face of all
that, guess what your government
spent its time on this month: cracking down on
beer and wine hobby stores!
Imagine!
It is time to review the way beer and wine
is sold in this
province. It is time to move Nova Scotia into the 21st
century. It
is time to question every aspect of this business.
Why don’t we
modernize our liquor laws?
Why can’t we buy beer and wine in our grocery
stores? Or
corner stores?
Why shouldn’t we look at the taxpayer investment in
this
business, and see if there is a better use for that money…like paying down
debt…and
improving services…and lowering taxes?
There are no sacred cows. There
is only opportunity, if we
have the courage to try. The other 2 Parties don’t,
but we do have the courage!
And we will overhaul this business.
This time,
let’s not just change political parties, let’s
truly change direction.
We will be the voice for those
who have not yet been heard,
those whose needs are ignored because they don’t
shout loudly enough or protest
in the streets.
We will be the voice for those
who want a job, to work hard,
and get ahead. We will be the voice for those who
want to send their kids
to a decent school, with smaller classes, in small
communities and large…with
the extra help those kids sometimes need.
And we
will be the voice for that next generation, who sees
mounting debt and knows
the bills will fall to them to pay.
Let’s do these things while it can still
count, for my kids
and yours.
Who will balance the budget and then cut the HST?
WE WILL.
Who will freeze power rates and give families a break? WE
WILL
Who
will rip up job-killing labour laws and end red tape? WE
WILL
Who will turn
Nova Scotia’s struggling economy around? WE
WILL.
That’s right. WE will and THE
NDP and LIBERALS won’t,
because we have a plan:
Lower taxes. Stop wasteful spending.
More jobs.
Say it with me. All of Nova
Scotia needs to hear you. Lower taxes. Stop wasteful spending. More jobs.
This time, let’s not just change political parties.
Let’s
truly change direction!
Thank you, and Good
night.
