Protecting Canadian Families

April 10, 2008

Dear Editor,

Yesterday Prime Minister Stephen Harper unveiled the details of the Conservative Government’s comprehensive Consumer Protection Plan that will better protect the health and well-being of Canadian families.

Such changes are long overdue. Canada’s old product safety rules were drafted decades ago and had fallen behind rapid changes in technology and trade. The European Union introduced its first directive for consumer protection in 1992 and went on to revise that directive in 2001 and 2004. The United Kingdom implemented General Product Safety Regulations in 1994 and then revised them again in 2005. Even the United States, our main trading partner, has amended or updated their 1972 product safety legislation on no fewer than 18 separate occasions between its inception and the present day.

In Canada, as Prime Minister Harper was introducing this tough new legislation, Stéphane Dion and the Liberals continued to focus on make-believe scandals, while refusing to offer any policy, any leadership or any plans of their own for the country. For months now the Stéphane Dion Liberals have offered hollow criticism to virtually every initiative of the Conservative Government, only to abstain on these same issues each time they came to a vote.

Now Mr. Dion has an opportunity to make up for 13 years of Liberal Party failure to act to protect consumers. Will he support the Conservative Government’s new product safety laws? Will he oppose them? Or will he once again run and hide from voting on these new rules as he has done so many times before?

When it comes to protecting consumers, the choice is clear. While the Stéphane Dion Liberals remain fixated on the failing health of their party, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Conservative Government will always put the health and safety of Canadians first.

Sincerely,

Brian Jean
Member of Parliament, Fort McMurray – Athabasca