Prime Minister Paul Martin elaborated on the five main priorities of his government going forward, identifying health care, learning, communities, Canada’s role in the world and the plight of Aboriginal Peoples as the heart of his government’s agenda.

April 16, 2004
Toronto, Ontario

PM vows to respect jurisdictions by working with First Ministers on shared agenda

Prime Minister Paul Martin elaborated on the five main priorities of his government going forward, identifying health care, learning, communities, Canada’s role in the world and the plight of Aboriginal Peoples as the heart of his government’s agenda.

In a luncheon address to the Empire Club and the Canadian Club, the PM remarked that the substantial savings generated by an aggressive spending review already underway will be directed toward these objectives.

Beginning with health care, the PM said he plans to increase health spending but only after he meets with Premiers this summer to agree on a 10-year sustainable plan.

Speech: Address by Prime Minister Paul Martin to the Empire Club and the Canadian Club

The PM said the leaders will “meet as long as it takes” to find solutions to reduce waiting times in hospitals and doctors’ offices, make health care professionals available when and where they are needed, improve health outcomes by offering timely service, and ensure diagnostic tests, surgeries and treatments are governed by need.

The PM proposed that a further boost to the health care delivery will be achieved by enhancing home care and community services, opening more medical spaces in universities and creating a new pharmaceutical strategy,.

"Health care is this government's number one priority," he declared. "We will come to an agreement with the provinces, because we must. We will implement a long-term plan, because we must. And because we must, we will provide a fix for a generation.”

Moving on to another priority, lifelong learning, Martin emphasized the importance of making education accessible to those in all income brackets.

A new starter grant, the Learning Bond, will help low-income families save for the future, and reforms to the Canada Student Loans program, as well as a new first-year grant for students who demonstrate a financial need, will give Canada an edge in a globally competitive world, he said.

“Our goal is to help ensure that significantly more Canadians achieve a post-secondary level of learning and training, and that significantly more of these Canadians move on to pursue post-graduate degrees, and ever-improving skills development during their careers,” he said.

The PM also spoke of expanding the New Deal beyond the $7-billion GST rebate his government provided to municipalities in Budget 2004. Working with the provinces, the PM aims to draft a new blueprint for communities of all sizes to enable them to address their unique challenges, from crumbling infrastructure to clean water systems. He reiterated his commitment to providing a portion of the gas tax, or finding another long-term and sustainable funding mechanism that is better suited.

“The achievement of great national objectives requires that everyone be at the table,” he said.

”This is why we are working with the provinces to ensure that communities have a say when national decisions that affect them are taken – not because it’s in their individual interest but because it’s in our collective interest.”

This, plus more, must be done to also address issues faced by Aboriginal Canadians, who are increasingly moving to urban centres. Yet, only by taking a collaborative approach will this be achieved, according to the PM.

“True progress starts with a full partnership, and with all the rights and responsibilities on both sides that partnership entails,” said Martin.

Finally, the PM wrapped up his remarks by clearly stating that one of his government’s key goals will be to increase Canada’s influence on the world stage. A day earlier, the PM announced that 400 Canadian Forces and 200 support staff will carry on a Canadian presence in Afghanistan beyond their current mission that ends this summer. This support is modelled on Canada’s new ‘3-D approach’ that integrates defence, diplomacy and development, said the PM.

“It’s a multilateral mission aimed at reviving a failing state for humanitarian reasons but also so as to deny it to terrorists. Elements of defence, diplomacy and development are woven tightly together in the fabric of the mission. This will serve as the model for Canada’s involvement in the international crises of the future,” he said.

In addition, Canada hopes to expand the leaders’ G8 by pushing for a similar forum involving more nations – a Leaders` G20 – that will achieve consensus and then take action on international issues.

“These are our priorities,” concluded the PM.

“In many of the five areas just mentioned, the provinces have the primary jurisdiction. We respect that. Some may see this as a reason to scale down our efforts. We see it as an opportunity to foster a new co-operative partnership to prove to Canadians that their governments share the goal of achieving real progress on the issues that matter most.”

Speech: Address by Prime Minister Paul Martin to the Empire Club and the Canadian Club