This House Would Recognize That The NDP Should Lose the 2009 Nova Scotia Election

Before taking down each of my opponent's points, I would like to point out that the resolution today is that the NDP SHOULD win the upcoming election, arguing that they will is like arguing the weather. Of course I believe that they still will win, for the reasons I have detailed and am about to expand upon, but it is not required by the resolution. My opponent would like you to believe that it is the Liberals would who stop the Orange Machine but that is, of course, utterly ludicrous. History has shown that it is difficult enough to gain any more than 10 seats, and the being in a previously two-horse race. As there are now three closely matched parties, I believe that large surges in seats will be nearly impossible. What's more is that Steven McNeil is not strong on any issues, he is not charismatic and he has no proven himself in any way, shape or form. His platform resides on his proposed cutting of the business tax from 5% to 1%, something Darrell Dexter is very open to (on top of his manufacturers tax credit which I will talk about later.) If the only reason McNeil is running is to cut the tax rate for small businesses, he may as well stay at home on election day. And I resent my opponent's assertion that the NDP will lose seats to the Liberals or to anyone else. The surge in popularity for Darrell Dexter, coupled with the real momentum behind him will result in large gains. I sincerely doubt that the future premier will lose seats to a man that has so thoroughly messed up his terms in office and a man with virtually no name recognition among voters. As for the NDP's strong record on justice issues, I would refer my opponent to the proper link; http://www.ndpcaucus.ns.ca... And his response the releasing of the inmates can be summed up in Dexter's own words; "For the minister to try and offload the responsibility on employees by saying it's simply a human error is not adequately addressing the issue." He must have not wanted to waste his time doing a thorough search for these issues. I would further ask him to produce a Liberal plan for justice, as I will be anticipating it. My opponent then went on to attack the NDP's cap-and-trade program while ignoring the inherent hypocrisy of his own party's platform. They wish to slash the business tax, yet they want to levy a tax not only on small businesses but on homeowners? The cap and trade system is what the Liberals -should- be supporting; it contains the benefits of both the business tax cut and of their microlending program, yet they would prefer to levy an indiscriminate carbon tax on every Nova Scotian? No thank you, Mr. McNeil. And of course my opponent would turn to the poorly-implemented cap and trade system in BC started by a wishy-washy Liberal premier. My opponent has suggested that the cap and trade system is fraught with problems, but I fundamentally disagree. The cap and trade system is a huge industry ($64 billion as of 2005) and can help promote green business in Nova Scotia rather than scaring businesses away. The EU, an example of a poorly implemented system, still managed to cut the carbon output of regulated industries by 1.12% using the cap and trade system. That may not seem like a lot, but if every country were to cut that much off their output in one year, the results would be absolutely incredible. I, for one, would like to preserve the environment while spurring growth and investment, I hope my opponent feels the same. The NDP position on healthcare is firm. My opponent asks me how it will be payed for, and I can safely say that I do not know. What I do know is that cutting the business tax by 4% will not help pay for it nor will merely lavishing money on hospitals as the Liberals and Conservatives propose. There is a fundamental problem here that may take more than dollars and cents to fix. A plan is required that addresses doctors and nurses and not merely the government bureaucracy of the healthcare system. One of Darrell Dexter's first orders of business will be to establish a board of doctors to decide exactly what to do with the problem, and then action will be taken. This is the most coherent approach by any of the parties. What would the other parties do? Simply spill money, which ignores the fundamental problems of human labour. My opponent has tried to pass off the government's plan as a comprehensive strategy that will solve the problem of doctor outmigration and ER closures, what he doesn't say is that this is the same plan Rodney has always had, just with a bigger price tag. If it has not worked for the past 4 years, why would it work now? Furthermore, I will ask a question that my opponent has already asked of me; how do you intend to pay for it? My opponent has taken fault with numbers, but I counter that his straw man is structurally unstable. It is not common practice for parties to cost their election platforms before winning the election as it is usually foolhardy. Once a party wins government, then they have the resources at their disposal to properly crunch the numbers. I assume they have rough estimates run up, likely what the Liberals are posting, but it would be irresponsible to publish these numbers as they are subject to change often. The fact remains that the only leader truely committed to a balanced budget is Darrell Dexter. It is ironic that my opponent attacks the NDP for not costing their budget when, in fact, the government he is essentially protecting has just released a budget that out-right lies to the people. By cooking the books, they have slanted the numbers in their favour which I would argue is fundamentally more dishonest than simply not showing the numbers. My opponent further ignores the historical precedent set by previous provincial NDP governments. We have had the best track record of any party for balancing budgets. And what of the Liberal party? Their platform looks so similar to the current governments that I, again, wonder why he is even running. For microcredit and a lowered business tax? So there you have it. My opponent has been thoroughly unable to deconstruct my points, instead relying on attacking Darrell Dexter's lack of numbers, despite it being a common political practice. The fact remains that the Liberal platform is not unique, it is not innovative and it will not fix any of the problems that face us today. It is too little, too late for the Liberal party.