Harper deflects shots from opponents in first debate

OTTAWA – The first of two televised leaders’ debates was held Tuesday evening, and from the first question, it was clear that all three opposition parties had their sights squarely on Conservative Leader Stephen Harper.

The auditor general’s report on G8 spending was a recurring theme in Tuesday’s English-language debate.

NDP leader Jack Layton called on Harper to release the report, to which the Conservative leader said he would be happy to see the real report.

His response had Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff chiming in asking Harper, “What are you afraid of?”

Other topics in the debate ranged from issues such as corporate taxes, crime, the accusation of contempt of Parliament against the Conservatives and health care.

During the debate Harper called for his opponents to end the “bickering”

“What we are asking, in an election we didn’t want, in an election Canadians didn’t want, we’re asking Canadians to make the decision: Do you want to have this kind of bickering, do you want to have another election in two years? Or do you want a focus on the economy?” an unflappable Harper asked at the debate’s midpoint.

Ignatieff shot back: “There he goes again with this word ‘bickering.’ This is a debate, Mr. Harper. This is a democracy.”

Things got heated when Layton and Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe accused Harper of signing a deal to lead a coalition in 2004

“I walked out because I wasn’t ready to make you prime minister,” Layton said. “Lets be crystal clear.”

Harper was slapped from the opening exchange of the evening, when Duceppe thanked him for taking his first question of the campaign from a citizen.

During the debate Layton took on both Ignatieff and Harper in turns.

After ripping Ignatieff’s Liberals for supporting Harper’s minority government in a number of key votes, Layton turned to the podium on his right.

“In fact, Mr. Harper, if it hadn’t been for him supporting you all this time, I’d have to be lending you my crutch so your government could’ve stayed in power,” the NDP leader, who recently had hip surgery, said.

Layton also attacked Ignatieff’s attendance record in House of Commons saying, “If you miss work you don’t get a promotion.”

The debate was held at the Government Conference Centre in Ottawa and consisted of six segments, each featuring two of the four leaders squaring off in a six-minute showdown after a pre-recorded question from a Canadian voter.

Each segment ended with a brief free-for-all debate involving all four leaders.

The Ottawa bureau chief for Maclean’s magazine spoke to CityNews about the leaders’ style during the English-language debate.

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