Section: Canada
Byline: Norma Greenaway
Outlet: National Post
Page: A5

**Excerpt**

Ridiculing Paul Martin as a leader on priority overload, Stephen Harper said a Conservative government would focus on tougher justice for criminals and four other key areas if he is victorious on Jan. 23.

Mr. Harper delivered an upbeat speech to local supporters and party workers yesterday to mark the launch of the final three weeks of his campaign to unseat the Liberals, arguing Canadian voters are tired of "slurs, scandal and spin" and ready to elect a party of "ideas."

At a subdued gathering in Jonquière, a separatist stronghold and the riding once held by Bloc Quebecois founder Lucien Bouchard, Mr. Harper called on voters in the Saguenay region to give his party a chance.

He used the stop to detail his party's plans to station a new rapid-reaction army battalion of 650 regular force personnel at nearby CFB Bagotville, and also to establish two territorial defence battalions in the area of Montreal and Quebec City, made up of 100 regular-force and 400 reserve-force personnel at each location.

Throughout the day, Mr. Harper brushed off a new CanWest News Service poll showing the Tories have edged ahead of the Liberals in national popularity. He said he expected the polls to "bounce all over the place" in the coming weeks, although he added his party's own polling numbers are encouraging.

Mr. Harper also said his advice to activists and supporters is to ignore the polls and the media and to focus on the encouraging signs for the Conservative party on the ground.

Mr. Harper accused Mr. Martin of "throwing around priorities like they are confetti" and said he would not make the same mistake if he becomes the country's next prime minister.

"If you don't have a clear idea of where you want to go, you probably won't get much done," he told the cheering crowd of about 200 people.

"This is one of the Martin government's greatest weaknesses. We remember the Paul Martin of old. The man who ran non-stop for the leadership of the Liberal party.

"Throughout his quest, he never addressed the challenge, the cause without labelling it a very important priority. The list is exhaustive and well-known. There was the democratic deficit, Western alienation, health care wait times, poverty, supporting the military, foreign aid, agriculture.... All important – very, very important."

The party distributed a list of 56 issues that Mr. Martin has been quoted as describing as priorities. Mr. Harper said leaders cannot allow themselves to be pulled in "56 different directions."

The five priorities set out by Mr. Harper for a Tory government are:

- Cleaning up government by passing the Federal Accountability Act, which will, among other things, toughen election financing rules and regulations governing lobbyists.
- Providing tax relief for businesses and individuals, led by a cut in the GST to 5% from 7% during a Conservative government's first mandate.
- Cracking down on crime by imposing mandatory minimum sentences for gun-related violence and adding more front-line workers to the mix.
- Providing $1,200 a year to parents for each child under age six for child care.
- Working with the provinces to establish guaranteed wait times for crucial medical procedures and allowing patients to travel to other jurisdictions to get the treatments if the guaranteed wait time is violated.

Mr. Harper said the priorities would stand, regardless of whether the Conservatives are elected with a minority government.