The following is the Statement with some personal notes in italics made by Belinda in Ottawa at a Press Conference with Prime Minister Paul Martin, Tuesday, May 17, 2005.
Thank you, Prime Minister ( for now ).
After difficult reflection, ( my head really hurts now ) I reached a conclusion. I cannot exaggerate how hard this was for me ( almost as hard as first year University ). The political crisis affecting Canada is too risky and dangerous for blind partisanship. I watch and listen and feel that the interests of individuals or parties are often placed above the national interests ( Don't worry I didn't write that, in fact I don't even know what that means ). The country must come first.
The current political crisis is too risky to enter into partisan politics ( which is why I am doing the most partisan thing possible by switching parties). I have observed, I've listened, and I believe that the interests of persons and parties have superseded those of the national interests. Our country ( and my ego ) must be our priority.
I entered politics in the first place ( because my daddy wouldn't let me really run his company ) both to be a strong voice for the citizens of New Market and Aurora, and to try to make my country stronger and better. To have healthy politics in Canada , we need the checks and balances of more than one strong and vibrant party ( which is why I am jumping to the party which has been in power for most of the last century) .
Over time, the Conservative Party will mature and grow to provide that option ( maturing is not really one of my strong points ). There are many good and talented folks that I have a great deal of respect for in the Conservative Party ( none of whom I respected enough to give any advance notice though ). But I find myself at a crossroads ( what a great movie; Britney is the Belinda of movies ) forced on me by the decision of the leader of the Conservative Party to try to force the defeat of this government this Thursday ( the same government I tried to vote down last week ).
It is now the moment to stand and be counted ( as opposed to last week when I was standing up and being counted on the other side ) because the consequences are serious ( yeah I might lose my seat in Parliament and have to go back to being a twice divorced single mother with no real employable skills ). I've been uncomfortable for some time with the direction the leader of the Conservative Party has been taking.
I tried to the very best of my ability to play a constructive role within the Conservative Party ( by undermining Harper every chance I got ) to advance issues that really mattered to Canadians in cities, to women, to young people, to many Ontarians.
But regret to say that I do not believe the party leader's truly sensitive to the needs of each part of the country and how big and complicated ( of course not as complicated as math which is really hard ) Canada really is.
Also, by forcing an election before the Conservative party has grown and established itself in Quebec ( despite all my efforts to fill rotten boroughs in the Conservative leadership race ), the hold over Quebec of the Bloc Québécois can only grow into the vacuum. The result will be to stack the deck in favour of separatism and the possibility of a Conservative government beholden to the separatists ( I wonder if Transport Minister Lapierre will show me the best shopping in Montreal ).
After agonizing, soul ( I bet you didn't know I had one of those ) searching, I just cannot support such a large risk with my country ( wait a minute that sentence doesn't even make any sense, oh well). I'm as offended as any Canadian by the arrogance of entitlement at the core of the sponsorship scandal ( not to mention the poor fashion sense of some of the government's members ).
Today, the Prime Minister has given me the chance to serve my constituents and my country by making a difference at a critical time. ( What the heck is the Department of Human Resources and Skill Development anyways?)
Among several things, he's asked me to take aggressive action on the lessons that will come from the Gomery inquiry ( first of all how to hide it better ), and to put priority on renewing the Canadian democracy ( by trying to keep the same corrupt party in power for another hundred years ).
Our political structures and institutions need renewal ( not to mention a nice face lift ). Canadians are crying for political stability ( and for me as their Prime Minister ). Only in this way can we direct the focus of government once again to growing a competitive economy that safeguards our quality of life.
Only when the people of Canada have renewed confidence and faith in the systems of government can we return to ethics ( tee hee ethics that's funny ) and civility ( I wonder if Peter has stopped crying yet, that not only did I stab him in the back but I did it over the phone? ).
Thank you ( This speech thing isn't so tough ).
Belinda Stronach
No comments:
Post a Comment