'We're hoping for peace, but preparing for battle': Conservative MP

Members of the Conservative Party and its supporters gathered at the Holiday Inn in Sudbury March 13 for a meet and greet event with John Baird, MP for the Ottawa-West Nepean riding.

He was joined by several other cabinet ministers, MPs and all eight northern Ontario Conservative candidates, including Sudbury's Fred Slade and the Nickel Belt's Lynne Reynolds.

The event was hosted by the Nickel Belt Conservative Association.

“We're here to meet local conservatives to get a sense of what the issues are... as we get ready for the next election,” Baird said to media.

When asked what the conservative party is going to do to take over northern Ontario — an NDP-dominated area — Baird emphasized that the Conservatives do not want an election.

“We're hoping for peace, but preparing for battle,” he said. “We will be voting against having an election when the house returns.”

However, pending an election, he said “jobs and the economy are the number one priority,” across northern Ontario, as well as Canada.

He said he is encouraged with how the country has recovered since “bottoming out” 18 months ago during the recession.

“We're pleased with the report the other day of 15,000 new jobs created — so we're up to 480,000 since... the recession,” Baird said. “A good recovery's taking hold but it's still fragile, and we think that the low tax job creation plan is the way to go.”

He said “getting tough on crime” and health care are also important issues.
“The last time Canada went into a recession, the Liberals cut health care by $25 billion. We've increased it by 30 per cent since we took over five years ago, so we're proud of that.

“I think those are the three issues that matter most to Sudbury families.”

Slade, the Conservative candidate for the Sudbury riding, echoed Baird's sentiments about an election this fall.

“It's not up to us. We've made it very clear that we are not looking for an election. It's in the hands of the opposition. If they decide to do so, then we're there.

“It's part of the reason why we're here today is just to let the people know, if they force an unnecessary election, we're ready,” he added. “We have a great team in Ottawa, we have a great team in northern Ontario, and of course, we have a great team in Sudbury.”