Nash releases statement of economic priorities
Toronto / Dec 2, 2011 – In a policy statement released today, entitled A New Direction for Jobs and Prosperity, NDP leadership candidate Peggy Nash sharply criticised the economic management of Stephen Harper’s Conservative government and laid out her alternative economic vision for the country.
“Stephen Harper’s claim to be the best economic manager has been utterly refuted by the bitter experience of recent years,” said Ms. Nash.
“The countries that have truly succeeded in modern global commerce haven’t handed over all decision-making power to corporations. They’ve recognized successful development needs all stakeholders pulling in the same direction – government, business, unions, universities.”
Ms. Nash said as Leader, she would make it clear to Canadians that the NDP can grow the economic pie, not just divide it up more fairly. She announced a number of job creation and income security measures to be expanded upon during the campaign:
- enhance the value that Canadians extract from our natural resource industries, while reducing their environmental impacts,
- require foreign investors to make binding commitments to jobs and development,
- replace lucrative no-strings-attached tax breaks with more effective incentives for business R&D and innovation, and develop new mechanisms for public sector participation in high-tech developments,
- utilize the federal government’s balance sheet strength to leverage long-run job-creating investments in essential infrastructure, transportation, and energy projects,
- maximize Canadians’ access to and utilization of modern telecommunications technologies, while leveraging more Canadian content in infrastructure and software,
- strengthen income security programs to protect Canadians working in our modern, precarious labour market while maximizing labour force participation and job-creation, and
- strengthen links between all our social programs (including a national early childhood education strategy) and economic goals to further boost jobs and productivity.
