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Written by THE CANADIAN PRESS
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Sunday, 12 October 2008 |
Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper delivers his speech to supporters at a campaign rally in Winnipeg. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Tom Hanson
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OTTAWA - The argument over the state of the Canadian economy is taking on a sharply personal tone as the federal election campaign speeds toward the day of reckoning.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is pointing to a bungled English-language interview by Stephane Dion as proof that the Liberal leader doesn't have what it takes to cope with the current financial crisis.
The Liberals retort that Harper is taking a cheap shot at a man whose English is imperfect, and who has a hearing disability to boot.
The row was sparked by an interview Thursday in which Dion complained he didn't understand the opening question and asked to start over.
It took three false starts before he finally solved the problem by repeating the 30-day economic action plan he's been touting for the last week.
Harper pounced on the incident after a day that had been marked by more bad news for his Conservative campaign.
It started with a report by Parliament's budget officer warning that the cost of the Canadian military deployment to Afghanistan could reach $18 billion - far above the $8 billion the prime minister had claimed.
That was followed by another day of falling stock prices and further losses by the Canadian dollar on international markets.
All eyes will turn Thursday to the latest unemployment figures due to be released by Statistics Canada. Analysts have been split in recent days on what the numbers will show, with some predicting little change and others fearing more job losses.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty will have his say on that and a variety of other issues at an Ottawa news conference, his second in as many days in an effort to allay public concern.
Harper and Dion will be barnstorming through vote-rich southern Ontario with just four days of campaigning left until next Tuesday's vote.
Jack Layton of the NDP will start the day in Toronto before moving on to western Quebec, while Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe will be in the Montreal area.
Green Leader Elizabeth May will be in Nova Scotia, where she's been concentrating on trying to win her own seat ever since the televised campaign debates a week ago.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 12 October 2008 )
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