Strong Leadership on the World Stage

April 03, 2008

This week Prime Minister Stephen Harper is attending the summit of NATO leaders in Romania.

At this meeting the Prime Minister is sending a clear message that Canada is committed to playing a leadership role in the defence, reconstruction and development in Afghanistan. At the same time the Prime Minister is being equally clear that Canada’s NATO allies must to do their part by providing 1000 troops and additional helicopters and surveillance equipment to Canada’s Kandahar Mission.

This is the latest example of strong leadership and real results from the Harper Conservative Government. Whether it is through taking a world leadership role in Afghanistan, standing up for our arctic sovereignty or not letting other big polluting countries dictate the terms of our a made-in-Canada climate change plan, the message for the rest world is the same. Canada is back.

Yesterday also brought the sorry spectacle of Stéphane Dion signing yet another pledge regarding the Kyoto Protocol. Mr. Dion would prefer that Canadians forget that he served as the Environment Minister in a Liberal government that was quick to sign the original Kyoto Protocol, only to ignore those commitments and let Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions rise 32% above our mandated Kyoto targets.

The Liberal record is so terrible that Mr. Dion’s own Deputy Leader criticized his performance when he said “Stéphane, we didn’t get it done”.

What Stéphane Dion does not seem to understand is that real leadership is not about the pledges you sign, it is about the commitments you keep.

What Stéphane Dion has not learned is that real leaders are not measured by how well you spend money but instead by whether it is money well spent.

What Stéphane Dion still will not recognize is that real leaders don’t just complain from the sidelines. They are always prepared to stand and be held accountable for their views.

Only two leaders have a chance of becoming Prime Minister after the next election. How they perform in the present is a great indicator of what Canadians can expect in the future.

It says a lot that while Prime Minister Stephen Harper is playing a leading role in the world’s most powerful military alliance, Stéphane Dion cannot even hold on to the respect of his own caucus and party.