TORONTO — Any new spending by the recently re-elected government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper – and there will be “very little” of it – will focus primarily on infrastructure projects, especially transportation, says the new Tory member of Parliament for Thornhill.

Thornhill MP Peter Kent

“Tax dollars will be spent very prudently… in areas of infrastructure and stabilizing this country,” Peter Kent told a breakfast meeting of the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto congregation’s brotherhood.

Given the current global economic crisis, Kent, who defeated Thornhill’s incumbent Liberal Susan Kadis by 5,200 votes, said there will be “very little new spending” by Ottawa.

Stressing transportation in the riding itself, he said he has worked with local officials to “encourage and facilitate” the extension of the Yonge subway line “to at least Richmond Hill,” and to look at the building of a light rail system along Highway 407.

In a loosely structured talk, Kent, a former broadcaster who was named to Harper’s cabinet as minister of state of foreign affairs (Americas), said he is “convinced that the depths of the international economic crisis that we have barely entered is going to be much more serious than many of us first feared.”

However, Canada “is much better positioned than most of the other developed nations to ride this out. But we are going to be bruised, and we are going to have to pull together.”

Kent said that Harper asked him “to take on the job of carrying forward a mission in the Americas –  our backyard, which has been ignored so often in recent years – to basically engage in economies which until now have basically looked to the northern horizon and seen the United States and the American economy.”

Kent touched very little on Israel, whose support by Harper shifted some Jewish votes away from the Liberals, except to say, to applause, that “you can expect more of the same.”

He said he had “private thoughts” of visiting Israel, but with the election campaign, “it would be unseemly for a minister to wander in, even on one’s own time.” And careful not to express any partisan views, he said that he hoped Israeli voters “will make a choice which will provide the sort of leadership to get us through these next few challenging years.”

Canada recently signed a free trade deal with Colombia, a move some saw as controversial because of the country’s internal violence arising from drug trafficking. But Kent said the deal will “redirect a good part” of Colombia’s trade away from the United States to Canada and “will in fact enhance and allow the building of democratic institutions and greater respect for the human rights of all… and in terms of fighting narcotics trafficking.”

He said Canada is working on free trade agreements with “other strong emerging democracies” in South America, including Peru, Brazil and the Central American states.

He said he “would be surprised if in the future we ever allowed that search for trade to trump our concern over human rights.”

Turning to Iran, Kent related that over the past few years, Canada has sponsored or co-sponsored an annual motion at the United Nations that condemns Iran for its human rights abuses.

In the past, Iran has used “blackmail and other devious techniques” to try to block the vote with a “no action” motion. But this time, Kent said he and foreign minister Lawrence Cannon phoned “some of the wobblers,” and the motion to block was defeated by 10 votes versus by just one vote last year.

In the meantime, the resolution condemning Iran passed in a committee and now heads to the UNGeneral Assembly. Kent said it would “treat Iran with the disrespect it deserves.”

Kent said he is against any arbitrary or premature disengagement of Canadian troops from Afghanistan. The government has set 2011 as a target date to shift from an active peacemaking role “to one of one reconstruction and peacekeeping.” But an early pullout “would put at risk all the gains we have made,” which have been “substantial.”

Earlier this year, Harper announced that Canada will not attend next year’s UNanti-racism conference because the first parley in Durban, South Africa, in 2001 descended into anti-Semitism.

Kent said the Conservatives “will reinforce our belief” that any nation attending what has come to be known as Durban II “is merely helping to provide a podium for hate and is a waste of time, effort and money and is unacceptable diplomatic conduct.”