Foreign minister on an electoral mission

Times & Transcript News - As published on page A11 on September 2, 2006

Peter MacKay says helping Lord campaign a sign of federal-provincial co-operation

Daniel McHardie
With the Lord Campaign

Local Tories received a burst of star power yesterday when Conservative Leader Bernard Lord and Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay barnstormed through four Metro Moncton ridings.
Lord and MacKay were sharing laughs while playing "parachute" with a group of children at St. Patrick's Family Centre, meeting seniors at Castle Manor and glad-handing in Dieppe. The high-profile federal Conservative cabinet minister attended the Moncton-area events as a personal and professional favour for Lord.

"I'm here to help, I'm here to assist Bernard Lord get re-elected," MacKay said. "I think it benefits the people of New Brunswick to have that type of co-operation working at the federal-provincial level."

The federal Tory said the two levels of government have been able to get results together in only six months of co-operation. With Lord at his side, MacKay told reporters that the Ottawa-New Brunswick partnership is a model for other provinces, although he would not speculate on the potential working relationship if Liberal Leader Shawn Graham formed government on Sept. 18.

"In less than a hockey season we have been able to move on environmental issues, issues related to the highway, infrastructure," MacKay said.

Lord's campaign bus rolled through the Moncton area yesterday, giving local candidates some valuable face time with their party leader. Moncton West Tory candidate Joan MacAlpine-Stiles said it's a great morale boost for candidates and voters to see Lord swing through the local ridings during the election.

"He is the premier of the province. He is also a Moncton member of the legislature, so I think when someone takes the time to come to an area during a busy campaign it shows it matters to them and it shows that he cares," MacAlpine-Stiles said.

Marie-Claude Blais, who is the Conservative standard-bearer in Moncton North, said it was great to have access to Lord as she tries to knock off high-profile Liberal Michael Murphy. Blais said community organizations have not received support in the last four years while the riding has sat in opposition.

The fact that Lord is taking time to tour the riding, Blais said shows how important local issues are to the party leader.

"Being in that team it gives us a higher profile when the premier shows that even if this riding is not a PC riding it shows that he cares for the people and that is important to him," she said.

When Lord and MacKay showed up to a campaign stop in Dieppe Centre-Lewsiville to support Cy LeBlanc, they were greeted by supporters as well as two individuals looking to bend the Tory leader's ear on child care and pay equity.

Jody Dallaire of the New Brunswick Child Care Coalition said she pointed out to the premier that the Liberals have committed to opening up 600 new infant child care spots and the NDP is also promising to take action on day care. Dallaire said the Conservative leader confirmed his intention to follow through with the pre-kindergarten program but he did not make any other promises.

"We are hoping that during this campaign that more details on early learning and care will be made public," Dallaire said.

Johanne Perron, president of the Coalition for Pay Equity, presented Lord with loaves of bread and a rose to symbolize how pay equity is an economic and a justice issue. The coalition is looking for pay equity legislation, while the Conservatives want to stay the course on their voluntary plan.

"If you think of drinking and driving or wearing a (seat) belt while driving, non-smoking in public places, you need laws to really make a change," Perron said.

Meanwhile, Lord will continue his electoral pitch to blue-collar trades workers today when he announces a $500 tool-buying tax credit, according to Tory sources.

Lord turned trades into a campaign theme earlier in the week and he's about use another tax credit scheme to appeal to working-class voters today.

"The tools tax deduction will be a big help to hard-working New Brunswickers who often have to buy the tools of their trade," Lord will announce today. "We want to help minimize the expense of purchasing tools for workers so they can continue to help grow the New Brunswick construction and building sector."

On Tuesday Lord donned a hard hat and informed a dozen students at the Carpenters Training Centre of New Brunswick in Saint John that a new Conservative government would create a four-year $40 million infrastructure initiative to improve the community college network.
Further, Lord pledged to improve current technology and vocational laboratories, ensure there are sufficient qualified instructors, create more co-op placements with local businesses and encourage students to enter the trades as a career.

Boasting a record low unemployment, Lord is vowing to launch a trade mission to Alberta to repatriate New Brunswickers and bring back work that can be done in the province. A new Tory government would provide workers a $500 tax credit for buying work-related tools worth more than $1,000.

The initiative is similar to a federal tax credit and if the two both plans came into force next year as Lord plans roughly 10,000 trades people could qualify for the financial help.
The Tory leader's tax incentives are designed around his plan to create the lowest tax burden east of Alberta, according to a campaign source.

"We have consistently lowered taxes for people and businesses in New Brunswick because lower taxes result in new jobs, higher investment, greater opportunity and more prosperity in our province," Lord will tell supporters today.