ErinWeir.Ca

Overview

In the upcoming federal election, I will present voters in Wascana with a clear choice between the social democratic program of the New Democratic Party (NDP) and the right-wing agenda of the Liberal and Conservative parties. Upon taking office a decade ago, the Liberals jettisoned their own Red Book promises and instead pushed the Conservative program of expenditure reductions, tax cuts, privatization, deregulation, “free trade,” environmental degradation, and Americanization to new extremes. These policies have severely undermined Canadian social programs, made the distribution of wealth in Canada far more unequal, abandoned Canadian sovereignty, and greatly increased Canada's emission of greenhouse gases and other pollutants. By all accounts, the current Prime Minister, Paul Martin, is appreciably more right-wing than his predecessor, Jean Chretien, and will drive this destructive agenda even further.

Ralph Goodale, the incumbent Liberal MP for Wascana and federal Minister of Finance, has maintained personal popularity and evaded the controversial issues outlined above by focusing on vague, unobjectionable themes like western inclusion, fiscal responsibility, and public accountability. But he is not Saskatchewan's benign representative in the federal cabinet. Goodale is now the most powerful cabinet minister, next to the Prime Minister, in the Liberal government. As the NDP candidate in Wascana, I will hold him to account for his government's abysmal record and its negative effects in Saskatchewan. I will advance alternative policies to restore spending for important public programs, distribute wealth more equally, regain Canadian sovereignty, and meet or exceed Canada's environmental obligations.