PM visits to talk economy
Published Monday December 15th, 2008
It's one political heavyweight after another in Saint John these days - so many one might think the fight for the riding hadn't ended two months ago.
Today Prime Minister Stephen Harper is in town, and plans to meet privately in the city with Premier Shawn Graham to talk about the economy.
Graham's office says the Liberal premier hopes to brief Harper on the province's plan to address the economic slowdown through record spending on infrastructure.
Graham is expected to suggest areas where the federal government could also boost or accelerate spending, such as transportation and post-secondary education and training.
It's the two leaders' first one-on-one meeting since the Conservatives were re-elected on Oct. 14. Graham had requested a meeting with the prime minister at that time.
He had tentative plans to meet several federal cabinet ministers in Ottawa - and was hoping to also see Harper - roughly two weeks ago, but that was cancelled when the Conservative government and an opposition coalition became embroiled in a showdown.
Among the subjects Graham intended to push was action on the Atlantic Gateway, a series of transportation infrastructure projects New Brunswick and the other Atlantic provinces have been promoting.
Most of a $2.1 billion fund has yet to be allotted, and funding has flowed more quickly on the West Coast and to the Windsor-Detroit border crossing, the country's busiest, than to Atlantic Canada.
Harper will also appear with Veterans Affairs Minister Greg Thompson, his political lieutenant for the province, at Forest Hills Middle School for an early afternoon event, planned weeks ago, at which veterans will share their experiences with schoolchildren.
It is part of the non-profit Dominion Institute's Memory Project, which receives funding from Thompson's department.
Harper's arrival caps off 10 days during which so many prominent federal politicians have visited, residents could be forgiven for thinking the election was still on.
At the time of Michael Ignatieff's visit on Dec. 5, he was still one of three candidates chasing the leadership, but has since become the interim and de facto Opposition leader.
On Friday Finance Minister Jim Flaherty chose Saint John as one of just five Canadian cities in which to hold closed-door pre-budget consultations and also spoke to the Saint John Board of Trade.
Both Liberals and Conservatives say the timing is coincidence, but the political buzz reflects the clout of some local political personalities.
Ignatieff's visit came about because of his close friendship with former Saint John Liberal MP Paul Zed.
He wanted to make a foray into the Maritimes for his leadership bid, and Zed suggested he come to Saint John and meet mayors and business leaders.
Zed helped run Ignatieff's unsuccessful run at the leadership in 2006, and was one of three national campaign co-chairs for the campaign that ended prematurely last week.
Flaherty was encouraged to come to Saint John by the city's new Conservative MP, Rodney Weston. Flaherty's communications director Chisholm Pothier and Weston worked together in former premier Bernard Lord's office and are close friends.
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I encourage Canadians to consider running as INDEPENDENTS in the next federal election. I will help anyone WHO CONSIDERS RUNNING AS INDEPENDENTS.
SUPPORT INDEPENDENT CANDIDATES, VOTE INDEPENDENT.
Prime Minister Harper has to change his governance ways and work with TWO INDEPENDENTS WHO WERE ELECTED and the others from the various parties. I will be waiting to see if he works with the TWO INDEPENDENTS that were elected to serve their ridings.
I am sure that INDEPENDENT BILL CASEY can contribute and will to this national crisis. We will see if PM Harper respects the Independents.
Joseph Bonnevie Moncton NB joeb@nb.sympatico.ca
For the most part the parties, even at the party executive level, seem to be controlled by either folks who have a business connection, or folks that have never had a set back of any kind in their life.
We need disabled people, workers injured on the job, Welfare recipients, recovered drug addicts, and the like involved in the parties as well...not just those forunate enough to have a good business, or to have had a good job. Sometimes life is about luck as much as doing all the right things. We need all kinds of folks to have their say.