Rona Ambrose says Liberals ill-equipped to deal with 'rapidly deteriorating' economy

Interim Conservative LeaderRonaAmbrose is concerned that the "very new and untested" Liberal government is ill-preparedto deal with the economy and wants to meet withPrime Minister JustinTrudeauto offer help.

"I'm asking [Trudeau] to meet because I want to offer him my supportto work with the government to discuss what is the rapidlydeterioratingeconomic situation inCanada," Ambrose saidduring a luncheon speech at the Canadian Club of Toronto on Monday.

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Ambrose conceded that her party has significantpolicy differences with the Liberals, but said she is willing to present a united front on some issues to save what she described as an economyhurtling toward a recession anda Canadian dollar that is in a "tailspin."

"We really need a plan on the economy," the Edmonton-area MP said. "A budget is still apparently months away. It could be the end of March and it's really important right now in our economy that we do have a plan, that we have some strong signals from the government," Ambrose said.

The Tory leadersaid the Liberal government should take a page from the playbook of former prime minister Stephen Harper who, during the 2008 financial crisis, released a federal budget early to put anxious Canadians at ease.

"We put our budget out [in January] it was a very unique time. But we're back in a unique time because the markets and Canadians needed that signal."

Trudeausaid Monday the Canadian economy has "underperformed" over the past 10 yearsand "therewere difficult times ahead" in an era of low commodity prices. But he saidhe won't take any lessons from the Conservatives on fiscal management.

Trudeau asked western Canadian economy

9 years ago

Duration 1:59

Prime Minister Trudeau asked during cabinet retreat in NB why he hasn't visited Western Canada recently

"For 10 years we've had a government that has been focused on cutting its way into balance and not focused on the kind of growth that Canadians need,"the prime minister said in St. Andrews, N.B.,where ministers are meeting for a cabinet retreat.

Trudeausaidhe would be willing to meet with Ambrose to discuss the economy and other concerns she might have, but said thefederal government's priority is "getting things done."

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"Our finance minister is working very, very hard, along with our other colleagues, to ensure that the budget we put forward is the one that is going to create the kind of growth that Canadians expect and deserve," he said, adding the government is focused on getting money out the door fast to "activate the job market."

Infrastructure MinisterAmarjeetSohihas already saidhe's not waiting for the budget to green-light government spendingon projects across the country.

'Hip but not broke'

Ambrose also called on theTrudeaugovernment to come clean on just how big its budget deficit will be, and to put a limit on the amount of money it will add to the federal debt.

"We want to be hip, but we don't want to be broke," Ambrose joked, referring toaNew York Timesarticle written over the weekend thatheraldedCanada as a "hip" country after the election ofTrudeaulast October.

"Now, I said that we will support the government when appropriate, andwe will,because we all want good government But I have to tell you, in the first few weeks the Liberals have made it really difficult for us and we're already seeing some troubling signs.

"The policies they espouse are clearly bad for the economic prosperity of our country," Ambrose said, pointing to Liberal promises on employment-insurance reform, proposals to raiseCPP contribution rates and efforts to settle on a national price on carbon emissions.

Mulcair: Budget process 'unseemly'

The Liberals have not yet announced when a budget will be released, but Finance Minister BillMorneauhas been travelling the country for the past two weeks doingpre-budget consultations.

"I am very proud of the pre-budget consultations we've put forward already, a record number, close to 80,000 Canadians, have engaged in the budgetary-consultation process,"Trudeausaid.

"We continue to listen to Canadians, listen to concerned parliamentarians with solutions and concerns."

But NDP Leader TomMulcairsaid the government wasn't doing enough. The third-party leadercalled on the governmentto release a budget "sooner rather than later" and demanded a voice for opposition MPs in the process.

"Mr. Harper,despite the fact that he didn't respect a lot of our parliamentary traditions always held all-party pre-budget consultations.JustinTrudeauis so far refusing,"Mulcairsaid. "It's unseemlyfor someone who has talked a good gamewith regard to transparency andopennessand respect for our parliamentary traditions.

"Actions speak louder than words so we'd like to see those [hearings] take place."

But the government argues that such criticism is disingenuous. The House finance committeehas yet to be struckits formation has been held up by members of the oppositionand will operate on anabridged timeline for pre-budget consultations, due in part to the federal election.

Mulcair says he doesn't take his job for granted

9 years ago

Duration 1:28

NDP leader tells reporters he's going to continue to work hard ahead of the party's leadership vote this April