PM’s TV Address One of the Lowest Moments
in Canadian Political History Says Jay Hill

Thursday, April 21, 2005

OTTAWA – Jay Hill, Member of Parliament for Prince George-Peace River and Official Opposition House Leader, said today that Prime Minister Paul Martin’s address to the nation marked a sad chapter in Canadian politics.

“This act of desperation by the country’s highest democratic office was a disheartening spectacle that will be recorded as one of the lowest moments in Canadian political history,” said Hill. “To see the Prime Minister of Canada appear on national television to beg Canadians to overlook the scandal and corruption and plead that he be allowed to keep his job was an act of desperation.”

“I found it particularly galling to hear Mr. Martin say he would get to the bottom of the Liberal corruption because he has “too much respect for this place,” added Hill. “This is the same Prime Minister who shunned the House of Commons, the rightful democratic institution in which to address this growing political scandal, and instead chose what was nothing more than a rehearsed partisan TV ad. If he had so much respect for Parliament, why did he only show up for work one day this week to answer questions?”

Hill noted that last year Paul Martin wanted an election before the Gomery Inquiry had heard even one witness, but now he wants an election only after the Gomery Inquiry is completed. “The only commitment the Prime Minister made during his statement was to call an election in January. Do Canadians really want an election in the dead of winter?

Hill concluded, “This televised ploy was a discredit to the office of the Prime Minister. Such televised addresses should be strictly reserved for times of national crisis, not a crisis in the Liberal Party. Paul Martin is begging for his political life and this was his last ditch attempt to buy time.”

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For more information, please contact:
Jay Hill, M.P. (613) 947-4524 or (250) 787-119