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Harper calls Grit tactics 'anti-Western' - Thursday, June 17, 2004 at 20:15

Harper calls Grit tactics 'anti-Western'
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Politics/CanadaVotes/2004/06/17/503553-cp.html

By SUE BAILEY

Conservative leader Stephen Harper speaks at a rally in Montreal on Thursday. (CP/Frank Gunn)
MONTREAL (CP) - Paul Martin risks a flare-up of Western anger by warning that a Conservative government would let Alberta undermine medicare, says Tory Leader Stephen Harper.

"I think it is simply trying to wrap an anti-Alberta, anti-Western rhetoric in the flag of health care," Harper said Thursday.

"These guys did it last time, they're trying to do it again. It doesn't help unity, it doesn't help health care."

Liberal Leader Paul Martin pounced on news that Alberta Premier Ralph Klein will announce plans June 30 - two days after the federal vote - for changes that could violate the Canada Health Act.

The most contentious proposals are expected to include user fees for the sick, more private clinics offering insured services and rewards for those with healthy lifestyles.

Martin warned that Harper would be a "silent partner" in Ottawa who would not defend cherished medicare services. Harper scoffed at the notion.  

He said he would expect all provinces to work within the health accord reached by Ottawa and the provinces last year, and "to make sure we sustain a system of universal public health insurance."

"This is yet another example of a Liberal party that is desperate, playing the same old politics of fear and division."

But Harper stopped short of saying how he would penalize Alberta if it breaches federal medicare rules.

He has said he doesn't care who delivers health services - private or public providers - as long as all Canadians have reasonable access to care. He also says Ottawa must work with provinces, which have jurisdiction over health care.

Klein's threat to flout the Canada Health Act and accept any penalties for breaking federal rules puts his federal cousins in a delicate spot at a crucial stage of the campaign. It also gives the Liberals a handy wedge to distance their health care position from the Conservative one.

"I will look Ralph Klein in the eye and I will say 'No,"' Martin declared Thursday. "Unlike Stephen Harper, I will defend medicare."

Harper's retort: Martin cut $25 billion in provincial transfer payments in the 1990s, helping to throw health care into cardiac arrest.

Martin "is not the least bit credible" on the issue, he said.

Liberal attacks are just another sign of the party's desperation as the Conservatives gain momentum, Harper added.

Polls show the two parties in a tight battle for dominance nationally and in Ontario, where most federal seats are concentrated.

The Conservatives targeted Quebec on Thursday, where the party hopes to raise its profile in a handful of seats around Montreal and in the Eastern Townships where polls suggest it has a slim chance of winning. Harper is badly trailing the Bloc and Liberals in the race for the province's 75 seats.

He hoped to stir outrage over the federal sponsorship scandal by demanding the Liberals release internal data on whether cash that flowed to Grit-friendly Quebec ad firms wound up back in party coffers.

"Show us the report. Show us the truth. Show us the money!" Harper shouted to about 100 cheering supporters at each of two rallies.

As he spoke at the first whistle-stop, 19-year-old Ben Brown, an NDP supporter, stood silently holding a sign warning of environmental damage under a Conservative government. He was constantly jostled by Harper supporters who tried to cover up his hand-written sign with Tory placards.

A man who said he was there for crowd control stepped in, grabbed Brown by the shoulders and turned him away.

Brown demanded an apology from a female Tory organizer who said she would investigate.

Harper earlier stopped in North Bay, Ont., home town of former Ontario premier Mike Harris.

Harris, who rode to power on his Common Sense Revolution, was nowhere in sight and Harper didn't mention him during a speech to about 200 supporters.

He later denied it was an attempt to put space between himself and Harris, who left a controversial legacy.

"One thing that people will grow to appreciate about Mike Harris as time wears on is that (he) did what he said he would do," Harper said of the region's most famous son.

"And that obviously makes him very different than the current government Ontarians have today," he added in a swipe at Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty, who reneged on an election promise by introducing a hefty health-care premium.