URGENT ACTION . . .

Ed Gould of CAW 199 has requested that all take the following action:

It is extremely important that we support the deal worked out between Paul Martin and the NDP's Jack Layton. This is exactly how minority government are supposed to work - and we just got the best of both worlds: more money for extremely important (and very popular) policy areas and a reduction in tax cuts for the whiners on Bay Street.

The deal is under relentless attack in the media, by Bay Street and Stephen Harper. It is up to us to defend it.

WRITE LETTERS IMMEDIATELY -- YOU KNOW IF YOU DON'T DO IT NOW, YOU PROBABLY WON'T DO IT AT ALL -- SUPPORTING THE DEAL AND/OR CHASTISING BIG BUSINESS FOR THEIR SELFISHNESS AND WHINING.

Just in case you do not have the e-mail addresses for the Party leaders:

Paul Martin pm@pm.gc.ca

Gilles Duceppe duceppe.g@parl.gc.ca

Steven Harper harper.s@parl.gc.ca

Jack Layton layton.j@parl.gc.ca

SOME OF THE FACTS/ARGUMENTS BEHIND THE ISSUE:

• When the Gomery report comes out people will be held accountable - in the courts and at the ballot box. In the meantime, we need government that responds to the needs of Canadians and their communities.
  
  
• Between 60-70% of Canadian have consistently said they don't want an election. WHY? Because the chose a minority govt for a reason - they don't want another electoral dictatorship by either Martin or the conservatives. Layton has it right: Canadians want the govt to work for people.
  
  
• All the items of the deal are things the Liberals said they would invest in but failed to do so - the NDP is just keeping them honest.
  
  
• During the last election the Liberals attacked the Conservatives for suggesting more tax cuts - promising not to cut taxes further because this would be irresponsible. The corporate tax cut was never part of the Liberal election platform.
  
  
• The federal cooperate tax in the US is 34% and in Canada it is 21%. We already coddle our large corporations with taxes that are 50% less than those in the US. In addition, we have all kinds of corporate tax breaks not available to US corporations so that our "effective" tax rate (taxes actually paid after the loopholes are used) is even lower.
  
  
• The whole issue reveals exactly where Stephen Harper sits on the political spectrum: he would rather hand over $$$ to his pals on Bay Street than provide decent funding for the things Canadians say they want.

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There are a number of major initiatives in the agreement worked out between Jack Layton and Prime Minister Martin.

Major gains are:

1. $100 million into a fund to protect the pensions of workers who become victims of companies that close or go bankrupt.
   
   
2. $1.6 billion to build public, affordable housing for Canada's poor and elderly
   
   
3. $1.5 billion to assist university and college students
   
   
4. An increase from 5 cents to 6 cents per litre from the federal gas tax for Canadian cities
   
   
5. Additional funds to spur energy efficiency with incentives to help low-income Canadians to retrofit their homes
   
   
6. $500 million more in foreign aid to assist the poorest nations in the developing world

These initiatives clearly improve the quality of life for Canadians.

Please take the time now to e-mail Steven Harper (with copies to the other leaders) and Tories in your area (see attached e-mail and address list of Ontario Tory MPs) to demand that they put people first by voting to keep the government working to help Canadians and not the large corporations.

The Tories oppose a national childcare program, same sex marriage, Kyoto - they support U.S. missile defence and want to move closer to U.S. President Bush, they supported the Iraq phoney war on "weapons of mass destruction," etc.

We must get a strong message to the Tories that we want the government to work.