Freedom Party of Ontario

- MEDIA RELEASE -

For immediate release



2006 Whitby-Ajax by-election

PCs, LIBERALS EXPECT A BLANK CHEQUE FROM WHITBY-AJAX VOTERS

McKeever against hidden agendas.
C
hallenges Elliott and Longfield to take a clear stand on issues.

March 11, 2006, Whitby-Ajax - Freedom Party candidate and leader Paul McKeever today is challenging the Progressive Conservatives' Christine Elliott and the Liberals' Judi Longfield to take clear and unequivocal stands on the issues.  McKeever, whose campaign slogan is "Lower Taxes, a Better Life", is the by-election's only candidate to have released a by-election platform (see www.paulmckeever.ca ).

"This by-election is reaching the end of its second week", said McKeever "and, so far, Ms. Longfield and Ms. Elliott have been silent on the big issues facing Ontario such as taxes and private health insurance.  It seems that Ms. Elliott and Ms. Longfield expect the voters of Whitby-Ajax to provide them with a signed blank cheque: they want votes, but they are not willing to take a clear stand on any major issue at all.  

"I'm not looking for a blank cheque.  Before any candidate should expect a vote, he or she should have the decency and respect to tell the voter exactly what he or she stands for.  I am doing that, and I think it is the moral responsibility of Ms. Elliott and Ms. Longfield to be equally clear about their agendas.  

"I'm against hidden agendas.  Let's be Frank.  If you want higher taxes and more big government spending sprees, you should not vote for me.  But if you want a candidate who will reduce your tax burden and legalize faster, better health care, I'm the only candidate in town."


Reality Check: Elliott's and Longfield's statements re: Policy

Christine Elliott: On her website, www.votechristine.ca, Christine Elliott's only statement concerning policy is a cut and paste job from an old, 2004/05 now-deleted page from the Progressive Conservative party web site.  Google still has a copy of the page in its archived cache of web pages (to see the page, click here).  Ms. Elliott's policy page says only this:

"The McGuinty Liberals have told the people of Ontario we will be going to the polls in October of 2007. For us to form the next government, we know not much time remains to develop a policy platform for the next election. So it is with excitement that our Party goes in to 2005 with a new policy process that will once again involve the grassroots of our Party in the development of a new platform to carry us into the next election."

"Talk about taking the voter for granted", says McKeever.  "Ms. Elliott clearly does not think that she owes the voter any explanation about her stand on the issues such as property taxes and private health insurance.  Apparently, she believes that Whitby-Ajax voters deserve nothing better than a discarded old message that she did not even write.  Even then, the message implies nothing more than: 'well, one day I'll know what I stand for, in the meantime, vote for me'."
 
In fact, "Vote for Me" is something that Ms. Elliott's web site does say, literally.  See  https://www.votechristine.ca/images/voteforme.GIF :
 
 
"If Ms. Elliott does not know what she stands for, or if she is unwilling to say, how can she expect voters in Whitby-Ajax to know what she stands for?", says McKeever.  "What is her agenda?  Does she even know, or does she just expect to be handed a seat because her husband used to occupy it?
 
"It is not enough to say 'I'll keep my promises' ", says McKeever.  "You have to make some promises before keeping them has any meaning at all.
 
"It's not right for Ms. Elliott to ask the voter for a blank cheque.  It's insulting to the voters of Whitby-Ajax."
 

Judi Longfield:
 
Ms. Longfield's web site says nothing at all about policy.  It says only that, as a federal MP, she got "results" for the riding. 
 
"Every one of the 'results' that Ms. Longfield lists on her website is more government spending." says McKeever.  "Nowhere in Ms. Longfield's list of 'results' do we see any reference to having cut taxes."
 
"What are Ms. Longfield's views on taxes?" says McKeever.  "Who knows: she doesn't say.  What are Ms. Longfield's views on choice in health insurance: nada, zip, zilch, zero.  No policy whatsoever.  All we can tell from Ms. Longfield is that she likes to pat herself on the back for having increased the size of government at taxpayer's expense."


For further details, contact:

Paul McKeever, Leader, Freedom Party of Ontario
Campaign Website: www.paulmckeever.ca

Cell: ***.***.****
Office: 905-721-9772
e-mail:
e-mail

 

This media release distributed to all major news media.


Freedom Party of Ontario
240 Commissioners Road West
London, Ontario
CANADA N6J 1Y1

Tel: 1-800-830-3301
web: https://freedomparty.on.ca