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“ Vision of a new Canada”  

     A conversation with the    R. Hon. Stephen Harper, PC. MC,   Prime Minister of Canada

  By Thomas S. Saras  

 Q.

Mr. Harper let me say it is an honour for my publication and for my community to be in this office interviewing you today.

A.

I am glad to do it.

Q.

I have known you now for a number of years and I know that you have worked very hard to reach this point. What are your impressions from the Prime Minister’s job?

A.

My impressions of the job, well it certainly comes with a lot of responsibility and a lot of celebrity. I am surprised I must admit even though I have been in public life for a long time, how much celebrity is attached to the job. You know I really am on some days quite overwhelmed by the mandate of the people, the responsibility and the trust that has been placed on anyone who holds this occupation, this job. I am determined to do the best I can and so we are working hard but I am enjoying it. I am enjoying it a lot.

Q.

Prime Minister, recently you introduced some changes in the relations between Canada the Province of Quebec and their rights. There was some criticism from other politicians. Can you tell me give me an idea of your philosophy towards the Canadian federation?

A.

First of all let’s be very clear. We have always said we are in a federal state. We respect the jurisdiction of the Provinces in their own areas and that is how we work. It is a traditional conservative philosophy. It is a philosophy that is behind the founding of this Country and in my judgment this is the way the Country should be run.   Each order of government has an important responsibility and should concentrate on those responsibilities.  When it comes to international affairs; international affairs overlap areas that are Federal that will also touch on areas that are Provincial. For instance, international affairs that relate to educational issues. Education is Provincial so obviously what the Federal government does on educational issues directly affects the Provinces. So what I’ve said is whenever the jurisdictions of the Provinces are affected by what we are doing internationally, we are prepared to consult with them. We are prepared to develop a formal mechanism for the engagement of the Provinces, when Provinces are affected in the way that affects them very specifically and in a very particular way. We are prepared to make accommodations for those unique circumstances. Quebec has asked for an enhanced role at UNESCO, which is a United Nations organization, which concentrates on cultural matters. Obviously the Province of Quebec being the sole majority francophone jurisdiction in the Country has particular concerns and particular involvement in cultural matters, not just as a Province but also specifically because of its unique circumstances. So we have signed an accord with Quebec that allows Quebec to have a formal and direct role beside the delegation of Canada at UNESCO.  I think it is a good deal and I think it works well for Canada as a whole. At the same time I think it is a great deal for Quebec and I think it shows Quebecers that Federalism can adapt to their particular needs.

Q.

In the case of disagreement, or different opinions between Quebec and the Federal government, who will represent Canada?

A.

Well, there is only one delegation, the Canadian delegation. We always try and work together with all of the Provinces obviously in the end the national view has to be the one expressed by  the National Delegation. But frankly we are working and always have worked as a government and as a Country to try and work very closely with Quebec on its own cultural matters. What the Bloc finds in disagreement, we find in Federalism can generally work together on these things. UNESCO itself attempts to work by consensus.

Q.

Ontario receives approximately 40% of the total number of immigrants entering the Country every year. Yet Ontario complains that they receive less Equalization transfer payments than Quebec and other Provinces. Is there any reason for this?

A

Yes, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia don’t get equalization. Equalization is transfer programs that only goes to Provinces that have below average tax revenues, because of their economic circumstances. They are not related to specific programs. It is related to the general economic position of the Province. Alberta and Ontario are the two wealthiest provinces and there has never been equalization and in Alberta rarely. So that’s why equalization is a program specifically for the poor provinces. It is mandated by the constitution. The provinces are supposed to provide comparable levels of services with comparable levels of taxation. The federal government is constitutionally obligated to have equalization of programs to ensure that that happens. In terms of immigration funding there are other transfer payments that go to all provinces for specific programs. All provinces get healthcare transfer funds. Recently we fulfilled a unique agreement between the government of Canada and the government of Ontario to talk about the amount of transfer payments Ontario is receiving in a wide variety of areas including immigration settlement. This was in our most recent budget.

Q.

But this amount of money Ontario receives for immigration should not be in equal percentage  with the other provinces? Yet Ontario is not receiving the same amount that Quebec receives?

A.

Quebec has a special equalization transfer deal it goes back to the 1970’s. That is why Quebec receives more than other provinces. That deal has been a matter of law for a number of decades.

Q.

Prime Minister, I was driving from Toronto to Ottawa and on the way I encountered four types of weather systems. Is this the Greenhouse effect that we so refer to and yet I hear your government is against KYOTO or that your government does not want to implement the Kyoto agreement?

A.

Well, first of all I think it is a bit of a stretch to suggest that today’s weather encountered between Toronto and Ottawa is due to the fact that we have or have not gone along with the KYOTO accord. But this government wants to work co-operatively with the international community to reduce greenhouse gases. We are committed to doing that. We are committed to developing a Made in Canada plan that we will implement in this country. The previous government never did anything. They spent a lot of money but never actually had a plan and we want to work to make sure that there is an effective international plan. The rate now under KYOTO, Canada has targets it cannot reach. The targets are 35% below the level of our economic activity. The government of Canada cannot responsibly cut our economy by 1/3 beneath these targets. No other country in the world is expected to do that. The KYOTO accord as it is presently constituted has no targets for China or India or Brazil or any major emitters. Mexico does not have targets. The United States is not a member. So we want to make sure that we can do things we want to do here with our own Made in Canada plan. We will work with other countries with those who are in KYOTO and with those who are not in KYOTO to obtain an effective international plan that applies to everyone.

Q.

The President of the United States introduced an amnesty Bill for illegal immigrants. Does your government have any plans directly towards the 250,000 illegal immigrants who currently reside in Canada?

A.

First of all, I think we will proceed very cautiously. You will notice in the states where the President has done that, this measure has not been well received. Our estimates, you said 250,000, our estimates are not nearly that high we think it 1/3 in terms of settled people. All I can say is that we want a vigorous immigration system. We want to encourage immigration, legal immigration and people working through that system. The vast majority of immigrants do that. We may need to make some changes in the laws so that people are able to get work here and that people are able to enter legally to get that work. We are very reluctant to make changes that will reward those who don’t follow the rules and penalize those who do when we know that hundreds of thousands wait in line following the process.

Q.

Multiculturalism has been a policy in Canada for more than thirty years. What are your government’s views on multiculturalism?

A

This is still something we believe in very strongly. We believe that Canada is a country made up of a wide variety of cultures from across the world. We believe that unity is best enhanced when people are able to retain their cultural identity that is part of being in a free and democratic society. People can retain their cultural identity and we want to encourage that. We want to make sure that the program works as well as it can. And obviously we want ultimately to encourage people from all cultural background to support our government and our party. Since I became leader of the conservative movement in this Country we work very hard to ensure that conservatism is broad and embraces people from all cultural backgrounds. This is a priority of mine as a political leader and as Prime Minister. We want to continue to work on that.

T. Saras:

Mr. Prime Minister I thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule for this interview.