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The Conservative Party’s commitment to businesses can translate into benefits for students, according to Montreal-born businesswoman Louise O’Sullivan, a candidate in the Westmount/Ville-Marie riding.
O’Sullivan said that government can best help students by giving them a debt-free fiscal base and encouraging business people to leave legacies to their alma maters. To that aim, the Conservative party has proposed a tax-exemption for bursaries and grants up to $10,000, encouraging businesses to invest in post-secondary education.
Students will also be helped by a $500 textbook credit and a promise that transit system-users will have their federal income tax reduced by 16 per cent of the amount they spend on public transit, “or about $127 dollars in your pocket – an extra bag of groceries,” as O’Sullivan puts it.
An assertive, self-made businesswoman, Louise O’Sullivan, 55, has built up a resume that includes stretches in both municipal and provincial levels of government. She has lived in downtown Montreal since 1969 and been a city Councilor for Montreal since 2001, overseeing the business, social and inter-cultural portfolios.
She said that she has been courted by different parties, but that she is most comfortable with the Conservatives. “I was not comfortable with the Liberal party (policies) in the past four or five years. I was happy when I got elected municipally because I had to tear up my (Liberal) card to be neutral, so I could take a step back and watch them.”
She has switched allegiances three times in the past four decades, from being a Trudeau follower, to voting for Mulroney in the Conservative “Golden Era”, then back to being a card-carrying Liberal again. But she got disgusted with the party’s latest era of scandal and inaction.
“All I can tell you is that the (sponsorship) scandal has plagued the party – it’s like having an apple with a rotten core. I was Vice-President for the Liberal Party of Canada, Quebec wing, representing the anglophone side of the whole province. And it was such pure theatre.”
Switching to the Conservative party is a final move for her and was a decision based on careful thought. “You can’t just make an emotional decision, it’s got to be analyzed. I like Stephen Harper. He’s young, dynamic and has made it a point to be comfortable in French and I see the potential for two or three mandates with him.”
When asked which of her party’s values she feels the most strongly about, she said, “Stephen Harper is someone who wants to recognize Quebec at the table. He has said on numerous occasions that he won’t put people in cabinet who are not elected; he wants elected ministers to represent Quebec, not nominated puppets.”
Harper has stated that he wants to have Quebec participate in international institutions such as UNESCO. He has also said that he will make an effort to correct the fiscal imbalance between Ottawa and the provinces, although that item wasn’t included on the budget analysis lately released by Paul Darby, an economist at the Conference Board of Canada. He was hired by the Tories to assess the feasibility of their budget.
After a strong Quebec presence in Ottawa, the other priorities for O’Sullivan are family values and preventative health care. “We should be the biggest influence in our child’s lives, not paid educators. I will hold the party and Mr. Harper to his promise (“Choice of Child Care Allowance” of $1,200 to spend per child, per year) because I think that will make a whole lot of difference to families.”
O’Sullivan revealed that the party will be putting $250 million in a health care program to prevent cancer. Also part of the party’s health care plan is to reduce wait times for medical treatment, effective in 2006, and to ban embryonic research for at least three years, encouraging adult (post-natal) stem cell research.
She pointed out that studies have shown that obesity starts in childhood, but although more involvement in sports can head off the trend, the high price tag often deters parents. The Conservatives have promised to give $500 in taxation credits for parents to offset the costs of sport programs and equipment.
In the trades sector, she said that employers will have incentive to employ more apprentices because they’ll receive a 10 per cent tax credit for their wages, and an “Apprentice Incentive Grant” worth $1,000 to help cover the costs of tools, boots and other work accessories.
In immigration, Harper said he would set up an agency assigned to pre-assess foreign-trained professionals credentials and experience, thus easing the transition to Canada and putting qualified people to work more quickly. He has also promised to halve the $975 landing fee for immigrants, and to provide automatic citizenship to foreign-born children who are adopted by Canadian parents.
The Liberal party mistakenly released an ad last week attacking Harper’s supposed aim to put armed soldiers in Canadian cities. What he has in fact promised is to pump up the national defence so that Canadian Forces can be rapidly deployed, to increase DART’s capacity and purchase much-needed heavy-lift aircraft.
When asked about Harper’s apparent move to a more center-right political position compared to his last run-up to the elections in 1994, O’Sullivan related it to her own experience in politics.
“Having been in four campaigns to be elected, I can tell you that you evolve and mature. If you take a position more near the center, it’s because you have to adjust and stretch yourself (as you meet) thousands of people.”
Conservative Party Promises
Health care:
– to prevent the drift toward two-tier health care
– to reduce wait time for medical treatment
– to ban embryonic research for at least three years and encourage adult (post-natal) stem cell research.
Students:
– a tax deduction for post-secondary education textbooks up to $500/yr (can be transferred to parents)
– to lower the expected parental contribution rates for middle income families for student loans
– to have the first $10,000 of student scholarship or bursary income exempt from taxation
Transit:
– that commuters who travel on buses, light-rail and subways will have their federal income tax reduced by 16 per cent of the amount they spend on public transit.
Jobs & Small Businesses:
– that employers who hire new apprentices in 45 designated trades will get a tax credit to reduce their tax by 10 per cent of wages paid to apprentices
– a $1,000 “Apprentice Incentive Grant” for apprentices in the first two years of a registered apprenticeship program to help cover the high costs of tools, boots, and other work accessories
– to raise the threshold for the small business tax rate from $300,000 to $400,000
Child Care:
– that all families will receive a new $1,200 per year Choice in Child Care Allowance for each child under six, to spend on child care as they see fit
Canada’s sovereignty & National Defence:
– more rapidly deployable Canadian Forces
Quebec:
– will seek to correct the fiscal imbalance between Ottawa and the provinces
– recognize Quebec’s autonomy and constitutional areas of responsibility
– let Quebec participate in international institutions such as UNESCO
– establish a regular army presence in the Saguenay region
– Quebec City and Montreal areas will each have 100 regular and at least 400 reserve force personnel territorial defence battalions for emergency response.
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