Harper says he could find common ground with NDP
Last Updated: Thursday, January 5, 2006 | 9:56 PM ET
CBC News
Harper said Thursday he would be willing to work with the NDP on issues such as ethics and accountability.
"They saw the wisdom of defeating the present government we have today, so I would hope they would see the wisdom of making the next federal government work better," Harper said after a news conference in Toronto.
"The federal NDP, regardless of the philosophical differences I have with them on a range of issues, has long been concerned with ethics and integrity in politics ...There is an example of a matter I hope to work with them [on]."
NDP Leader Jack Layton repeatedly deflected questions on Thursday about working with a Conservative government.
Instead, he said the Tories have little in common with the NDP and are "offside with the views of a great majority of Canadians" on most issues, including abortion.
"It would take a major research project I think to try and uncover the similarities, and right now I'm in the middle of an election campaign, focusing on what I believe are rather clear differences between where the Conservatives want to go, and where we believe the country should go," he said.
"My goal right now, of course, is to point out that the Conservatives have very different values, and wrong ideas, and they haven't been effective ...in Parliament."
On Wednesday, Layton warned that Harper wants to "dismantle the Canadian state" by giving too much power to the provinces.
