This week Prime Minister Stephen Harper is traveling to Europe where he will meet with Canada’s G8 partners on issues of global concern.
The Prime Minister will begin in France where he will meet with President Nicolas Sarkozy to further strengthen Canadian-French relations.
While in Europe, the Prime Minister will continue to speak out on Canadian priorities, including the importance of continued NATO engagement in Afghanistan, and the need for real global greenhouse gas reduction targets that include developed and developing nations alike.
For thirteen years, previous Liberal governments allowed Canada’s voice to decline on the world stage. Weak Liberal cabinet ministers like former Environment Minister Stéphane Dion were quick to lecture other countries and sign international treaties, but when the time came to back up their talk and promises with real action, these same ministers were missing in action.
Under the Liberals' “Decade of Darkness”, Canada’s Armed Forces were left to crumble. The Liberal record of inaction on the environment was so embarrassing, Mr. Dion’s own deputy leader scolded him saying “Stéphane, we didn’t get it done.”
Today Canada is back and our voice is once again being heard, loud and clear, on the world stage. The Harper Government has replaced the era of empty Liberal talk with real Conservative action. This is seen in our made-in-Canada climate change plan, the first ever to provide concrete emission reduction targets. It is also evident in the Conservative Government’s “Canada First” long-term commitment to rebuild the Canadian Forces so that the Canadian Forces can better protect our national security and national interests at home and abroad.
Canada is finally being taken seriously because we finally have a government that measures success by real action and real results. Thanks to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Conservative Government, Canada is once again standing proud on the world stage.
Real Leadership. Real Action. Real Results.