– that will help seniors to live with respect and in comfort,
and help take the pressure off emergency and acute care beds.
Addressing Health Costs: first steps towards a national prescription drug plan
In 2002, 7.8 million Canadian households spent $3 billion out-of-pocket on prescription drugs – an average of $378 per household.
The Liberal government has offered no leadership on this issue, content to let people pay more or go without necessary medication.
In some instances, it has ignored its own reports for almost a decade, such as long-standing recommendations to cut health costs through bulk buying of prescription drugs, whose costs have soared under this Liberal government.
Jack Layton and the NDP believe this issue must be a priority in the next Parliament.
We will introduce a National Prescription Drug Plan.
Building on the offer of the provinces and territories and work together towards the establishment of a national prescription drug plan,
which would be phased in beginning with coverage for key catastrophic drug costs and gradually expanding coverage, as finances permit, until the plan is universal in application.
Beginning by phasing out the evergreening of patent drugs so cheaper generic drugs can come to market sooner.
And the ban on direct-to-consumer advertising of pharmaceuticals so there is less unnecessary prescribing of drug therapies.
Moving to a national plan would be good for individuals, businesses and our national economy.
Employers would gain a significant competitive advantage over their U.S. counterparts.
At their 2004 summit, the premiers estimated $2 billion would be saved overall through a national pharmacare plan.
The provinces and territories are now waiting for the kind of leadership from Ottawa this NDP commitment provides.
Freeing UpHospital Beds: providing real care at home for our loved ones.
Canada’s inpatient hospital sector is shrinking and care is shifting to the home and community setting.
Since 1995, over 275 hospitals across the country have been closed, merged, or converted to another type of care facility.
The number of approved beds is down substantially and the number of people being cared for in hospital day-surgery programs has increased.
Shorter hospital stays, earlier discharge,
and the use of outpatient procedures have increased the demand for home care.
Individuals who, in the past, would not have survived a serious illness or injury are now living with chronic conditions, which often require constant care and / or technology in the home or alternative settings in the community.
The majority of Canadians (53%) would prefer to recover from an illness or surgery in their own home.
However, the home care sector is seeing a serious supply/demand crunch.
Demand continues to far exceed our ability to deliver.
In the area of senior care, for example, Canada’s Association for the Fifty-Plus says that 2.1 million Canadians serve as informal caregivers for their aging family members.
Without proper home care services, many seniors end up in acute-care hospital beds, adding to the overall wait list crunch.
The Romanow Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada found that Canadians want a priority placed on home care.
They know this will reduce the use of much more expensive hospital space, increase the care options for the terminally ill and keep people healthier, longer.
Home care is medically effective, financially efficient and personally satisfying.
Jack Layton and the NDP will help provide the home care Canadians need.
Expand the coverage of home care including post-acute coverage, home mental health services and interventions, and palliative care for those in the last six months of their life.
We will work with the provinces and territories to implement the Home Care Transfer called for in the Romanow Report.
Providing the Caring Hand: health care professionals are the foundation of a strong health care system.
Timely access to the health care system can only be realized if there are enough people to provide the care.
This includes enough nurses, nurse practitioners and other health care providers.
A key impediment to timely health care access is the shortage of health care professionals — the people who provide the care.
Education and training programs must be funded
and health professionals need to be acknowledged and respected.
As well, recruiting and retaining the full range of health care professionals is needed along with a sustained effort to promote careers in the health sciences.
To improve patients’ access to the needed health care providers, it is essential that we increase enrolment in Canadian health science education programs and health training courses,
as well as expanding postgraduate training positions.
A central challenge to the immediate problem is getting Nurse Practitioners working in communities as soon as possible.
Nurse practitioners are experts in community-based primary health care and prevention, bringing advanced training that allows them to carry out a broad range of health care services, including diagnosing, prescribing medications, ordering diagnostic tests and managing common acute and chronic illnesses.
There in no more financially strategic or medically flexible way to help our health care system than increasing the role and numbers of nurses and nurse practitioners.
Jack Layton and the NDP will increase the number of nurses, nurse practitioners and health care providers.
Invest in training and upgrading health care providers, particularly nurses and nurse practitioners, through a Health Care Provider TrainingFund.
We will begin by investing in education and training programs and initiatives with a goal adding 16,000 health care providers to the Canadian system.
Increase support for provincial and territorial health initiativesand joint federal, provincial and territorial national strategies, including the Cancer Control Strategy, that bring constituent groups together to work on a health problem.
This is often carried out through community based health programs and centres.
People with Disabilities
The NDP is the only party with draft legislation (The Canadians With Disabilities Act) and has played a leading role in developing this legislation through broad-based consultation.
We commit to the introduction of this legislation at the earliest opportunity.
Keeping our air and water clean – cracking down on polluter
No issue has been handled more ineptly by the Paul Martin Liberal government than the environment, and few broken promises are clearer.
In opposition in the 1980s and early 1990s, Liberals urged meaningful targets to cut pollution and condemned Brian Mulroney for outlining pollution reduction targets they deemed too weak.
In government, Liberals weakened Mulroney’s targets and simply broke their word to meaningfully reduce pollution that causes climate change and smog.
As Liberal environment critic and author of the 1993 Red Book, Paul Martin personally promised that by 2005, Canada’s climate-changing emissions would be cut by 20%.
Canada’s emissions are up by 24%.
Eleven separate environmental organizations say the Liberals’ weak Kyoto plan simply does not keep Canada’s promise to the world to pollute less.
After 12 years of Liberal government, Canada’s air and water are more polluted and we are falling further and further behind.
The Liberals’ negligent approach to the environment endangers our natural heritage and our quality of life.
People have a right to clean air, water and land, and our economy needs to prepare in order to prosper in the greener century ahead.
Again, the facts speak for themselves: in the decade from 1993 to 2003, Canada’s emissions rose at almost double the average for all OECD countries, and higher than countries such as France, the United Kingdom, Mexico and most Eastern European countries.
And, incredibly, Canada’s climate-changing emissions are now growing faster than those in George Bush’s America.
This is a serious issue – and one that has been ignored for too long under the Liberals’ watch.
In this Parliament, Liberals voted against common-sense measures such as mandatory fuel efficiency for vehicles while Jack Layton and the NDP got results through the NDP budget.
That budget invested $900 million in environmental initiatives such as energy efficiency and public transit.
Jack Layton and the NDP will work in the next Parliament to bring much-needed environmentalresponsibility to government.
We introduced a comprehensive environmental plan in January 2005.
Key elements: Environment Canada.
Clean air, water and land
Legislative action is needed now to clean up our air, water and land.
There are now more than 1,000 “boil water” alerts each year across our country.
Respiratory illness is the leading cause of hospital admission for children under age 10.
A recent study showed that Canadians have a cocktail of dozens of poisonous pollutants in our bodies, pollutants that we absorb from the air, water, and through our food.
Jack Layton and the NDP will work to introduce and pass three major laws that will crack down on big polluters and help guarantee a cleaner environment for current and future generations.
Clean Water Act: to establish national standards and protection for drinking water, including those jurisdictions under federal control such as First Nations reserves.
Water quality regulations under this law would include standards for solid waste disposal, dump management, mine site operations and rehabilitation, forestry and farming practices, and pesticide use.
Finally, related to this legislation, the NDP’s infrastructure-financing program will provide funding for badly needed improvements to public sewer and water systems, making a real difference in water quality.
Clean Air Act: to set and pursue a target that lives up to our responsibilities to the Kyoto Accord to address air pollution.
In 1993, the Liberals committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions 20% from 1990 levels by 2005. Instead, emissions are up by 24%.
The NDP’s Clean Air Act will undo the damage caused by Liberal neglect and set a firm target – by 2020, Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions will be 25% below what they were in 1990.
Polluter Pay and Toxic Pollution Reduction Act: to overhaul the Canadian Environmental Protection Act– Canada’s national pollution law –
to introduce the polluter pays concept
and to replace the current emphasis on voluntary action with mandatory pollution prevention measures.
This puts the protection of citizens and their health ahead of the needs of big polluters:
the onus would be on industry to prove that a chemical is safe before it goes to market.
This kind of crackdown on polluters is long overdue in Canada and is consistent with action taken in other industrialized countries.
For example, the European Union has already banned some of the most toxic substances being dumped into the environment by industry.
Clean, sustainable energy and conservation for people
Canada’s energy consumption record is nothing to be proud of.
In the decade between 1993 and 2003, our energy consumption grew by 19% – higher than both the average for OECD countries and for the United States.
Jack Layton and the NDP will work in the next Parliament to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels,
help Canadians conserve energy,
and promote the use of alternative, sustainable, clean sources of energy by implementing the NDP Kyoto Plan.
We will meet Canada’s international obligations.
In the process, these initiatives will create thousands of good jobs.
Establish a national energy retrofit program for residential, commercial, industrial and government buildingsbased on successful models used by local and provincial governments.
In this proven job-creating program, the government would contribute money up front, which would be repaid from energy savings in the future.
Introduce new building codes for homes and industrial, commercial and institutional buildings
and provide financial incentives for the construction of buildings that meet these new codes.
Improve the energy efficiency of our transportation system.
– Provide significantly increased federal funding for public transit, rail transport and rail passenger services, and low-impact transportation options including cycling and pedestrian facilities.
– Require a phased-in substitution of Canadian ethanol from local inputs for non-renewable fuel sources to 10% of motor vehicle fuel by 2010 and target increases in reliance on biodiesel fuel.
Fight smog by implementing a green car strategy.
– Encourage the manufacturing of lower or zero-emission vehicles in Canada, the kind of new models we need to keep auto plants open.
– Establish mandatory vehicle emission standards, opposed by the Liberals, applicable to all vehicles and modeled on the tough California emissions standards.
– Provide financial incentives for purchasers of alternative-fuel vehicles,
support the development of a domestic market and domestic R&D and component production.
Increase the Gas Tax Transfer to municipalities to the full 5 cents per litre requested by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities to be used for sustainable transportation initiatives – such as public transit, cycling and pedestrian infrastructure and rural roads.
Require all new appliances sold in Canada to meet the Energy Star standard.
Clean, sustainable energy and conservation for jobs and our economy
Jack Layton and the New Democrats will work to: Provide financial incentives for energy production from solar, wind, water, biomass and other renewable sources for electricity production and from industrial co-generation and small-scale community facilities.
This area has potential for significant job growth.
As the union representing energy workers says, meeting Kyoto can create 3,000 net new energy jobs.
But if Canada doesn’t start investing in this century’s energy we will see those jobs created in countries that are thinking ahead.
Exercise federal government leadership and provide financial support for the establishment of an east-west power grid to assist provinces dependent on non-renewable energy to reduce their fossil fuel consumption and fight smog.
Ensure federal commitments to energy sustainability.
– Retrofit 75% of all buildings used by the federal government and its agencies between 2006 and 2010.
– Establish a common purchasing agency for alternative fuel vehicles for federal agencies.
Provincial, territorial and local governments and their agencies would be eligible to participate.
Phase out subsidies for non-renewable energy production and consumption,
and invest these public dollars into renewable energy sources all within a revenue-neutral framework.
Provide no new federal financial support to nuclear power production.
Protect the moratorium against drilling for oil off the coast of British Columbia, and oppose drilling for oil in the Great Lakes.
Adopt a just transition strategy for good jobs and an energy-efficient economy.
– Establish a made-in-Canada policy for renewable energy developments.
– Work with communities and workers to foster the development of a viable and sustainable economic base.
– Provide income, education and training support for up to three years to workers affected by environmental change.
– Ensure that the transition is gradual and well-planned, with early advance notice and support for workplace and community-based adjustment initiatives.
Transparency and respect in food labelling
We favour respecting consumers’ right to knowthrough mandatory labelling of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
Protecting our natural heritage
All nations today are being challenged to protect their share of the world’s wilderness and wildlife habitats.
It’s a responsibility we have not only to our citizens but to those with whom we share our planet.
What we’ve seen from the Liberals though, is a striking gap between their commitments and their record, as the long-promised completion of the national parks system remains unfulfilled.
Jack Layton and the NDP will work in the next Parliament to make sure Ottawa gets serious about protecting Canada’s natural heritage by:
Working to complete the system of national parks, beginning with the expansion of Nahanni National Park Reserve
and establishing new marine conservation areas from coast to coast to coast.
Setting up a National Conservation Fund that will include $250 million from the federal government and leverage another $750 million from other orders of government, NGOs, community groups and other sources.
This fund will help ensure the preservation of national wildlife areas, involve the full participation of Aboriginal peoples and engage Canadians in on-the-ground conservation efforts.
Reassert strong leadership on Great Lakes protection issues,beginning with a strong position on the re-negotiation with the United States of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.
Commit to sustaining Canada’s ancient forests for future generations.
The NDP will work with provincial and territorial governments, stakeholders, forest communities, First Nations, and environmentalists to protect Canada’s large intact forests (such as the Boreal Forest) and include adequate preserves, and that sustainable forest management be practiced.
Improve Canada’s environmental rules regarding endangered species so that politics does not trump best available science when it comes to our responsibility for species that are at risk.
Honour Canada’s obligations to First Nations, Métis and Inuit people
People from the Original Nations of Canada can and do make prominent contributions to a better Canada and a better world: in the arts, media, science, government, business, health and education.
However, years of accumulated neglect deny hundreds of thousands of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit people the opportunity to realize their potential, to live in decent housing in healthy environments, to receive a high standard of services and to enjoy health and well-being, both on and off reserve.
We cannot afford a Canada that does not provide space for these Original Nations to exercise their rights and share their talents and energies.
It is time for a genuine commitment to be made and fulfilled.
Despite the hope for the future envisioned in the recommendations of the report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, Liberal policy about Original Peoples has been bogged down in endless processes that go nowhere.
It’s more of the status quo, more broken promises, more litigation – more denial of rights.
Costly negotiations with no results, self-government discussions that go nowhere, round tables that just go round and round, First Ministers’ Meetings to make commitments without mechanisms to guarantee delivery and accountability, and lofty promises in Speeches from the Throne that await budgets and lead to meetings and more promises.
Everything but concrete results.
We must give life to existing recommendations by developing strategies to implement the recommendations of the Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples and the 1983 Penner Report on Indian self-government.
We must ensure that commitments, like the ones made in Kelowna, are delivered in a timely fashion.
Canada cannot afford to maintain a colonial system that seeks only to keep communities in dependency and denies more than a million people the opportunity to contribute to their own well-being and Canada’s prosperity.
Not addressing outstanding issues, not meeting acute needs and failing to settle Canada’s lawful obligations means continued uncertainty and future liabilities.
In the last Parliament, Jack Layton and the NDP got results for Aboriginal people by including dedicated funds for Aboriginal housing and education in the NDP budget.
In the next Parliament, Jack Layton and the NDP will work with First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Peoples on issues important to them and to Canada, including 12 high-priority matters:
Recognizing Canada’s responsibilities for residential schools abuse by quickly implementing lump-sum compensation, a Truth and Reconciliation process and an apology by the Prime Minister in the House of Commons.
Jack Layton and the NDP will stop the federal government from wasting millions of dollars challenging legitimate claims and painting victims as liars.
Accepting responsibility for efficient resolution of claimsby respecting the 1998 Joint Task Force report that recommends an independent, effective system to resolve land claim disputes.
Jack Layton and the NDP will establish an Independent Claims Commission to decide on specific claims and a comprehensive claims policy that respects Treaty-based settlements, so that Canada can meet its legal obligations.
Developing community economies with people as the priority by providing infrastructure for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples to fully participate in Canada’s prosperity.
This will include legislating financial reforms to provide enhanced access to capital for community economic development
and increasing management of natural resources and sustainable development.
Supporting First Nations, Métis, and Inuit initiatives to improve health.
– Provide adequate housing, water, and infrastructure.
– Respect traditional healing,
working together with western medicine to provide quality care.
– Respond to the unique health needs of northern and remote communities.
– Encourage traditional nutrition, fitness, and breastfeeding practices.
– Work with First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples to develop comprehensive and holistic mental health and wellness strategies with special focus on healing, addictions and suicide prevention.
Creating approaches to justice that heal and provide opportunityby giving indigenous youth better opportunities than those provided by gangs
and by encouraging healing facilities and systems of restorative justice that also assist victims of crime.
Ensuring First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities have infrastructure, sustainable housing, water and other services equal to those that are enjoyed by Canadiansby respecting community decisions and knowledge, by training local people to maintain and operate systems and by making clean drinking water and sustainable waste treatment a top priority.
Respecting implementation of the inherent right to self-governance by creating legal space and recognition for the legitimacy and jurisdiction of indigenous governments with a properly compensated and trained public service
and by promoting supporting systems of government that have the support of communities and nations, including their instruments for accountability, recourse to appeal, human rights, audits, matrimonial property and encouraging the restoration of civil society and community-based non-governmental activity.
Restoring the health of languages by strengthening First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities and culture by supporting their efforts to restore – in this generation – the health of indigenous languages.
Jack Layton and the NDP will develop a corps of trained second-language teachers and provide positions for them.
Making Canada safe for First Nations, Métis and Inuit women,wherever they are, by taking immediate action on the recommendations of the Amnesty International’s Stolen Sisters Report and by supporting efforts of native women to develop healing centres and educational and training opportunities.
Emphasizing education and training of children, youth and adults by encouraging the participation of public and private sectors with the federal government in the development of programs that will move tens of thousands of persons into employment in health, education, social services, sciences, commerce, engineering, trades and entrepreneurial opportunities.
Ensuring equitable participation of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples and governments in Canada’s stewardship of air, water and lands.
– Encourage environmental career choices.
– Provide specific space on boards, commissions and international delegations.
– Ensure equitable participation in environmental projects and activities, especially those related to climate change.
Keep governments accountable for their promises and obligations by appointing a Parliamentary Commissioner to use international and mutually-acceptable standards as the basis for regular public report cards on government conduct.
The Commissioner will receive and investigate complaints about government actions or omissions, negotiate their resolution, and report to Parliament when recommendations are not accepted and implemented.
Clean up Liberal corruption and hold politicians accountable
During the past months, Canadians have witnessed the spectacle of almost-daily revelations of the abuse of public trust by the Liberal Party.
Hundreds of millions of dollars of public money, wasted.
Tens of millions missing and misappropriated by corrupt officials, Liberal Party operatives and well-connected friends of the Liberals in what Justice Gomery described as a kickback scheme.
A casual blurring of the lines between the interests of the government and those of the Liberal Party, between the roles of Liberal activists and lobbyists, between lobbyists and public servants and between politicians and lobbyists.
Despite Paul Martin’s declaration of an end to the “politics of cronyism,” a seemingly unending succession of appointments of former Liberal politicians, candidates and political aides.
Numerous instances of Paul Martin ignoring majority votes of Parliament, including proceeding with a bill defeated by Parliament.
Justice Gomery’s report on the Liberal sponsorship scandal should be a wake-up call.
A wake-up call to focus on the broader culture of rewarding the well-connected friends that permeates today’s Liberal Party.
A culture that needs to be cleaned up.
Let’s look at Paul Martin and the Liberals on the accountability front
His rules for political staff are voluntary.
He’s ignored all-party, unanimous recommendations from House committees on scandal prevention.
He broke his word on democratic reform.
And he owes too much to well-connected corporate lobbyists to accept the urgent reform required.
Paul Martin has already promised to act and there is no doubt that he will make the same promise over again.
But we cannot trust Liberals to respond to Liberal corruption.
Jack Layton and the NDP have responded to this crisis of confidence in our government with a plan of action to clean up the corruption and make our government truly accountable to Canadians.
It began in October 2005 when Ed Broadbent introduced the first-ever Ethics Plan by a federal political party aimed at restoring ethics and accountability to politics in Canada.
In the next Parliament, Jack Layton and the NDP will work to make this plan law in Canada.
Take power out of the hands of lobbyists and ensure all decisions are made in the open by:
– Obligating lobbyists to file annually a declaration of their political work.
– Toughen penalties for violations of the Lobbyists Registration Act.
– Ensuring lobbyists’ fees are disclosed and profit-based contingency fees banned.
– Prohibiting businesses (including their owners, partners, employees or subsidiaries) from providing consulting advice to a government agency or department while simultaneously engaging in lobbying activity.
Make appointments on merit, not on political connections.
Ensure that prior to the appointment of Supreme Court Judges, an independent committee would provide the House of Commons Justice Committee with criteria for examination and debate.
Judicial appointments would be measured against public criteria.
End abuses in the appointment of other public officials by:
– Converting more Governor-in-Council (GIC) appointments to normal public service positions.
– Establishing an independent advisory committee to develop criteria for GIC appointments and to act as a central clearing house for appointment recommendations to the Prime Minister and responsible Ministers.
– Requiring approval by Parliamentary Committees of appointments of senior officers and board members of government agencies and Crown Corporations.
Improve Canada’s freedom-of-information legislation by:
– Extending the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Actto Crown Corporations and agencies now excluded, including incorporated not-for-profit organizations that receive at least two-thirds of their funding from the federal government.
– Making cabinet ministers and their staff subject to the Act.
– Removing unreasonable financial and time barriers to access.
– Specifying which cabinet records must be disclosed or not disclosed.
– Improving public access to third-party contracts and free access to public opinion polling.
Pass a new Protection of Whistleblowers Act, applicable to both the private and public sectors that:
– Provides legal protection from reprisal for those who disclose wrongdoing internally or externally, including imposing fines and jail sentences against individuals who engage in reprisals.
– Establishes a whistleblower officer selected by, and reporting to Parliament who has broad powers of investigation and reporting.
Pass a new Accountability to the Electorate Act that makes MPs accountable to their electors when they switch parties.
This will require MPs to resign their seats and seek election again if they want to switch parties, or to join a party after being elected as independents.
Members would, however, be permitted to leave their parties and sit as independents without triggering a by-election.
Pass a new Fixed Elections Act to end the power of the governing party to control election timing by establishing fixed election dates.
Pass a new Leadership Accountability Act to shed the bright light of accountability onto party leadership contests.
Jack Layton and the NDP would pass laws to put strict spending caps on party leadership contests to keep them fair, democratic and free of corruption.
Introduce an Every Vote Counts Act to change Canada’s federal electoral system to a mixed electoral system that combines constituency-based MPs with proportional representation.
Ninety percent of the world’s democracies – including Australia, New Zealand, Scotland, Ireland and Germany – have abandoned or significantly modified their electoral systems to address exactly the same kinds of problems of regional, ethnic, gender and political balance that Canada now faces.
As the Canadian Law Commission recommended, fairness requires a mixed electoral system that combines individual constituency-based MPs with proportional representation.
The Liberal government, on the other hand, has stonewalled.
On a motion presented by Ed Broadbent, a Standing Committee called for a citizens’ consultative process to work in parallel with a parliamentary initiative on electoral reform, beginning in the fall of 2005.
Nothing has happened.
So much for Paul Martin’s concern about the “democratic deficit.”
It may be in the interests of the Liberal Party of Canada to block progress towards electoral reform.
It is not in the interests of Canadians.
Our changes will make sure each Canadian’s vote counts.
Getting More Done For People
The Liberals are out of steam – and their list of neglected commitments is evidence of that.
They’ve become so mired in the corruption scandal and so concerned about trying to talk their way out of their broken promises that they are doing nothing on the priorities on which people expect action.
Jack Layton and the NDP are providing practical, workable ideas on the issues that are important to families here at home and that reinforce our position internationally as a caring, compassionate country dedicated to world peace and security.
In the next Parliament, we will also work to deliver on the following priorities: jobs, child care, housing, new Canadians, seniors, ending violence, renewal and peace and security.
These priorities are important to families, important to women and children.
Our proposals address the challenges women and families face through practical solutions.
Jack Layton and New Democrats are committed to addressing gender equality, providing fairness, respect, and dignity for all citizens – one practical step at a time.
Jobs
Canadians are looking for evidence of a strong economy that brings direct benefits to them and their families.
The Liberals’ answer is to take credit for the drop in Canada’s unemployment rate, while ignoring the dangerous loss of manufacturing jobs and failing to respond to George Bush’s attack on forest workers and businesses.
The reality is they fall far short on the many other measurables that determine how well our economy is working for families.
Across the country, people are seeing Canada lose control of its own economic future as foreign ownership of Canadian businesses and resources reaches historic highs.
In some cases, such as Terasen Gas in British Columbia and Alberta, the Liberals oppose even public hearings as to whether takeovers are in communities’ and Canada’s interests.
Rural, industrial and resource communities are seeing plants and entire industries shutting down and workers forced into unemployment.
They’re being gouged at the pumps by oil companies.
And they have less and less ability to save for a rainy day.
Jack Layton and the NDP know our country’s economic priority must be to put the needs of Canadian families first, providing security for them in the months and years ahead.
While there are issues at work in the global market economy that concern the NDP, we understand that if we want a seat at that table then there are rules we will need to use.
Ultimately, it is how we organize our economy, the investment we make in ourselves as we build a wealthy and just society that will distinguish our country, and from which others may learn.
The NDP is as serious about prosperity as it is about social justice.
Here are some key principles we bring to the economy and jobs:
First, we are committed to annual balanced budgets.
Second, we are committed to creating a competitive tax regime by maintaining the GST,
reducing income taxes on lower income Canadians,
and targeting carefully managed, monitored and enforced incentives to encourage investment
and the development and production of leading edge environmental and other technologies.
Third, we favour a comprehensive investment strategy focusing on cities and on regional economic development.
In particular, a twenty-year programme of infrastructure development.
Fourth, we strongly favour the steady reduction of provincial trade barriers.
These commitments along with our continued emphasis on health and education investment are a powerful expression of the NDP’s commitment to wealth creation.
In keeping with these principles, in the next Parliament, we will work on the following key initiatives.
Transforming NAFTA in order to achieve a fair trade policy.
Deeper economic integration with the United States is not working for Canada.
In light of recent and on-going trade disputes, the time has come for the parties to NAFTA to take a new look at the treaty, and to find ways to make it work in the cause of fair trade.
We favour elimination of Chapter 11 (which, in our view, unreasonably limits Canada’s sovereignty in regulating investment).
We also favour changes to address the serious shortcomings of the treaty provisions on energy and water.
These issues require a broad consensus – and there is a striking consensus emerging about them across Canada.
To build on this growing consensus, we favour a public review of every aspect of the impact of NAFTA on the Canadian economy and Canadian public policy including tariffs, dispute resolution, energy, corporateregulation and ownership and culture.
Achieve fairness for Canadian workers, communities and businessesby indicating Canada is prepared to impose export duties on gas and oil exports to the United States to ensure the Bush Administration respects NAFTA rulings in Canada’s favour on softwood lumber.
Bring balance to the Canadian International Trade Tribunal to include the interests of workers and communities as well as businesses.
Develop priority industrial sector strategies in sectors such as auto, aerospace, steel, tourism, forestry and shipbuilding.
Sector strategy development will involve government and stakeholders.
Revitalize and modernize infrastructure at all levels of government by:
– Creating a new national public infrastructure financing agency, co-managed by the federal, provincial, territorial and municipal governments.
This would enable governments at all levels to take advantage of the federal government’s borrowing costs, which are the lowest in Canada.
Our plan provides for a significant federal contribution to this agency.
– Establishing a permanent Border Infrastructure Initiative, automatically reviewed annually to make projections on the changing needs for physical infrastructure to our vital economic border crossings and points of entry.
Federal spending on transportation infrastructure fell 46% through the Chrétien-Martin era (1991-2001).
Under Liberal governments, communities such as Windsor, whose four crossing points service 42% of Canada’s trade with the United States, are paid lip-service with no real action to get international truck traffic off city streets to improve the quality of life of residents.
Stabilize income for family farms, based on the fundamental principle that farmers in Canada and the United States should be able to compete on an equal playing field.
Initiatives include: – Overhauling the Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization program to enhance its effectiveness and overall coverage in protecting and stabilizing incomes for family farms.
We will abandon the present “one size fits all” approach and work with producers and the provinces to develop a program that meets the needs of the various farm sectors.
– Ensuring there is a permanent stand-by capacity to deliver assistance to farming industries and communities by establishing a permanent farm communities’ emergency support fund.
This fund would provide assistance in addition to normally budgeted assistance.
– Supporting Canada’s system of orderly marketing.
We will resist efforts to weaken the integrity of the system,
and will strengthen Canada’s position in support of that system in international trade negotiations.
– Working toward sustainable agriculture outcomes that will help reduce input costs for pesticides, herbicides and fuel,
which are largely paid by Canadian farmers to multinational corporations.
– Ensuring fairer price competition in the Canadian marketplace by working to develop producer- run co-operatives.
These co-operatives are essential to restoring fair prices in a market dominated by a few corporate agri-giants.
– Working with farmers to ensure the right to save and reuse seed.
The right to reuse seed will be a fundamental principle of Canada’s international aid development.
– Standing behind the right of Canadian farmers to use single-desk marketing for western wheat, and over-quota tariffs to maintain the health of our domestic supply management sectors.
These tools provide fair prices to consumers and producers alike.
Take the lead in developing resource management strategies,
and funding a national response to the pine beetle infestation.
Work with provinces, territories, communities and Aboriginal people on a sustainable forest management strategy
and a community economic diversification strategy.
A priority of these strategies must be to increase value-added production in all forest resource development,
with policies, programs and incentives to encourage local transformation of raw materials into marketable products for Canadian and international consumption.
We support implementation of the interim forestry package announced in November.
Adopt a community-based, co-management approach to maintain fish resources
and a sustainable fishing industry that includes:
– An overall approach based on transparency and locally derived science, that makes the community, industry and DFO accountable for the maintenance of the resource.
– Working with provincial governments to ensure that aquaculture is developed in a responsible manner that protects adjacent waters and communities to the highest environmental standards, with an aim in particular of protecting wild salmon stocks.
– Supporting a moratorium on dragging in international waters and within the 200-mile limit until all sensitive ecological areas are identified with the assistance of industry and scientists.
Ensure fair wages and working standards,including:
– Increasing the minimum wage to $10 an hour for workers under federal jurisdiction.
– As an important step towards fairness for women, implementing the recommendations in the Pay Equity Task Force Final Report.
– Implementing federal laws to outlaw replacement workers in strikes or lockouts in areas of federal jurisdiction, something the Liberals oppose.
Re-establish Employment Insurance as a core of Canada’s system of income security for working women, men, and their families.
We will: – As finances permit, reserve all revenue generated by Employment Insurance premiums for unemployment insurance benefits.
– Implement changes in the system to increase the percentage of unemployed Canadians covered by the program from the current level of less than 40% to a target of 80%, by phasing in an increase in the qualifier to 360 hours.
– Reflect the realities of seasonal workers by using the best 12 weeks of employment to determine EI benefit levels.
– Support an expanded caregivers program where caregivers would receive up to one year of Employment Insurance while caring for a sick or elderly family member.
Introduce legislation to create an independent watchdog on oil and gas prices that will report to Parliament, to help protect against future gouging by the big gas and oil companies.
Strengthen the status of Canada’s artists by:
– Introducing a system of tax averaging to provide fair and equitable tax treatment for Canadian artists.
– Building on a model in Quebec, introduce an exemption for the first $30,000 on copyright and certain royalty income.
– Protecting children in the arts with minimum standards and trust fund rules for income earned as performers.
Strengthen the arts in Canada by:
– Providing increased funding for the Canada Council for the support of artists.
Strengthen Canada’s homegrown film and television production by:
– Directing the CRTC to require clear, binding, monitored and enforced performance standards for broadcasters,
including a significant and permanent increase in the production and broadcast of Canadian drama.
– Reviewing and restructuring the CRTC to avoid the mixed mandates and conflicts of interest that undermine the role of the commission in promoting and protecting Canadian cultural industries.
– Ensuring that Canadian television networks remain Canadian owned.
– Providing sustained funding for the Canadian Television Fund and Telefilm Canada.
– Enhancing federal film incentives to encourage film and television production.
– Establishing a forum with film distributors to agree on targets and a strategy to screen and distribute domestic films in Canada.
Jack Layton and the NDP will help small businesses create jobs and prosperity by:
Improving small business access to loans.
Banks, a main provider of capital for small business activity, are currently unaccountable for their performance.
The NDP supports performance requirements for bank loans, information on fees and service charges.
We would add protections to ensure that access to loans is not denied because of the size of a business.
Redesigning federal government programs to improve small business access to venture capital.
Modifying the regulation of credit cards to address small business concerns over increasing fee levels charged for credit card acceptance.
Streamlining the interaction between small businesses and government by promoting a ‘single gateway’ or ‘one-stop-shopping’ approach wherever possible.
Developing, in consultation with stakeholders, a strategy to minimize the impact of the increasing cost and decreased availability of property and casualty insurance on small businesses.
Introducing a package of “Smart Incentives”
We do not agree that at this point the broad-based, general corporate tax cuts being proposed by the Liberals and Conservatives are necessary.
Today, corporate profits as a percentage of national income have never been higher.
In the four years following deep cuts in corporate taxes, there is no evidence this has had a positive impact on productivity.
In fact, Canada’s productivity has slipped dangerously.
Nevertheless, there are some changes to corporate taxation that could increase investment, encourage new environmental technologies, and promote fairness.
In addition, the NDP will support incentives to promote training with specific targets.
All of these changes can help improve growth, income, and employment critical for Canada to compete in the global marketplace
and ensure that the world’s best jobs and companies can be found in Canada.
The NDP will support a careful review of federal tax policies to assess the utility and timeliness of “smart incentives”, including: accelerated depreciation rates for capital investment; incentives to develop environmental technologies; harmonization of the federal capital tax rate; harmonization of federal and provincial tax and regulatory policies; and incentives to promote workforce training.
Children
We could say it, but these people say it better: “Child poverty is a special concern for governments and communities.
No one can ignore the evidence from the multitude of studies that have documented the dreadful effects of poverty on children...
Canada’s high rate of child poverty is shocking for a country ranked among the wealthiest in the world.
Canada ranks bronze on childhood poverty, with a rate almost six times that of Denmark!”The Conference Board of Canada, 2005.
“More than 1.2 million children – one child out of every six in Canada – still lives in poverty.”– Campaign 2000, 2005 Report Card on Child Poverty in Canada.
In his last days as Leader of the New Democratic Party, Ed Broadbent introduced a motion in the House of Commons proposing that Canada dedicate itself to the goal of eliminating child poverty by the year 2000.
The motion was adopted unanimously.
And – as just another example of the lack of respect of the Liberal government for Parliament – this unanimous motion was ignored.
Earlier in this campaign, Stephen Harper’s Conservatives proposed that the federal government spend over $4 billion on a 1-point reduction in the GST.
There can be no clearer example of the difference in priorities between New Democrats and Mr. Harper’s Conservatives.
We believe Canada should look after its people – beginning with our children – before investing in lower-priority measures like broad-brush tax cuts.
In lieu of Mr. Harper’s GST cut the NDP will: Increase the Child Tax Benefit by $1,000 per child above the currently scheduled increases and inflation adjustments.
This improvement will be directed to the first tier of the benefit, which is not subject to clawback of provincial social assistance benefits.
Enact legislation to establish an independent Children’s Commissionerto monitor, advocate and recommend on behalf of the rights and welfare of Canada’s children.
The Children’s Commissioner shall report annually to Parliament.
Child Care
A 2001 Swiss study determined that publicly funded child care results in: A doubling of the hours mothers were able to work.
Higher productivity and earnings due to maintaining productive workers.
Higher contributions to social security and savings.
Less dependency on social assistance during both the productive and retirement ages.
The study further showed that the public investment in child care was offset more than 200% in additional tax revenues and reduced public spending on social assistance.
Yet in Canada, a 2004 OECD study found there had been no significant expansion of public child care in a decade, outside of Quebec.
Despite Liberal promises of action, less than 20% of children aged 0-6 years find a place in a regulated, public child care facility – compared to Belgium (63%), Denmark (78%) and the U.K. (60%), as examples.
The NDP has fought for years alongside women, early childhood education experts and parents for a national commitment to quality child care.
Funding was promised in the very first Liberal Red Book of campaign promises in 1993.
We had to wait for 12 years and four elections until a minority Parliament forced the Liberals to put that promise into practice.
New Democrats celebrate the fact that NDP governments in Manitoba and Saskatchewan signed agreements to ensure the non-profit delivery of child care.
But the Liberals are still failing Canada’s families by allowing precious federal dollars to be diverted to profits for commercial child care companies.
Jack Layton and the NDP have tirelessly pressed the government to direct its funding to building a comprehensive system of high-quality, licensed, non-profit child care.
A great deal more must be done if we are to have the early childhood education system Canada needs to succeed in the 21st century.
Jack Layton and the NDP will work in the next Parliament to: Introduce a National Child Care Act, legislation that will firmly establish a framework for a national child care and early learning system with a permanent commitment for the federal government.
It will establish standards for a network of high-quality, licensed, non-profit care for our children.
Invest $1.8 billion in the first year, and then increase this sum by $250 million a year over the following three years.
At an average of $9,000 per space, this commitment means we will be providing 200,000 spaces for children, with an additional 25,000 children finding care in each of the next three years.
Housing
In his 1996 federal budget, Paul Martin abolished Canada’s internationally recognized affordable housing program created by New Democrats and Pierre Trudeau in the 1970s.
In 1998, the Liberals gutted the National Housing Act, eroding the role of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation in solving the nation-wide affordable housing crisis.
Since then, Liberals refused to build affordable housing, and even recent announcements left housing unbuilt due to onerous requirements for provincial matching funds.
In October of 2005, the Liberals joined with the Conservatives to defeat a plan to reinvest part of the billion-dollar national housing surplus in new homes.
In the last Parliament, Jack Layton and the NDP got results.
In the NDP budget, $1.6 billion was allocated for affordable housing construction with no requirement of provincial or territorial matching funds.
The NDP budget bill also allocated $100 million for energy conservation in affordable housing.
In the next Parliament, the NDP will continue to get results for the 1.7 million Canadians who don’t have adequate shelter.
We will: Restart a 10-year national housing program to build 200,000 affordable and co-op housing units(including homes for aboriginal people, seniors, people with disabilities and students), renovate 100,000 existing units, and provide rent supplements to 40,000 low-income tenants, many of whom are single mothers who pay a large percentage of their income in rent.
Underwrite low-interest mortgages for affordable housing– using the large profits generated by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation –
and renew and refocus CMHC’s responsibility for social housing funding, specifically making it easier for community-based housing organizations to get funding.
New Canadians
Canada is a nation, largely, of immigrants.
Our cities are powerful magnets for talented and creative people from around the world who look to Canada for economic opportunity, social cohesion and political freedom.
The Liberal Party for the past 12 years has created hardship for new Canadians and their families by : imposing landing fees for all immigrants for the first time in Canadian history, cutting funds to the Immigration Department resulting in less support for immigrants attempting to settle in Canada, and reducing staffing in Canada Immigration Centres overseas.
The subsequent delays for families wanting to re-unite in Canada are currently up to ten years in some places.
The Liberals have not told the truth to talented immigrants hoping to build a new life for their families here in Canada.
Without supports, their claims are “False advertising”.
Immigrants have been badly served by the Liberals.
Unfortunately, this is no longer the party of Trudeau.
As the rate of natural population growth has declined, Canada has become more and more dependent on immigration to maintain our labour force and continue to prosper.
The diversity of our largest cities is an enormous advantage for Canada in the competitive environment of the global economy.
Canada’s respect for diversity and the opportunity it offers to immigrants often sets this country apart in the eyes of potential immigrants.
But we benefit from this source of economic strength and social enrichment only to the extent that we provide the support that immigrants need to become full participants in Canadian society
and enable immigrants to contribute the skills and education to Canada that qualified them to come here in the first place.
That’s why Jack Layton and the NDP will work in the next Parliament to: Improve the immigration and refugee system to make it speedier, fairer and more accountable.
Immediately increase federal funding for immigrant settlement by 20%.
Provide support in major centres across Canada to assist immigrants in gaining recognition for their credentials and qualifications.
Amend the Immigration Act to enact a once-in-a-lifetime provision to enable Canadian citizens and permanent residents to sponsor one relative to help reunite families
and investigate how to amend current immigration laws and practices to make family reunification real.
Allow people without status who already call Canada home the opportunity to apply for legal status,in the context of humanitarian and compassionate relaxation of the rules.
Allow annual immigration levels to rise to the equivalent of 1% of the population.
And, adequately staff immigration offices to reduce the unacceptable delays in processing family and tourism applications in many parts of the world.
Abolish Paul Martin’s punitive and unfair head tax on immigrants.
Issue a full apology to Chinese Canadians for the Chinese head tax and the Chinese Exclusion Actand establish compensation to individuals and their families beginning, on an urgent basis, with those still living.
Restructure the immigration appeal process to remove the discretionary power of the minister to settle final appealsand to substitute for that power an appeal to a politically independent, expert national appeal panel, and implement the provisions of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to establish the Refugee Appeal Division.
Seniors and Pensions
It has been 40 years since the last major, comprehensive reform of Canada’s income security system for the elderly.
Our economy and our labour market have changed a great deal since then.
Fewer employees work for one employer long enough to earn a pension.
The proportion of the workforce covered by a pension plan continues to shrink.
The gap between rich and poor is growing.
And while living standards for seniors generally have improved, thanks largely to the Old Age Security and Guaranteed Income Supplement programs and the CPP,
poverty among elderly women continues to be a major problem.
As our population ages, these problems will only become more acute.
The time to deal with them is now – and Jack Layton and the NDP will deliver on these issues in the next Parliament.
Protecting pensions by: – Implementing a pension benefits insurance system for employees under federal jurisdiction,
and invite provincial and territorial governments to join the system.
– Working to end the clawback of military and RCMP pensions when pensioners receive CPP benefits.
– Building on the success of the NDP’s Wage Earner Protection Act(Bill C-55)
and introduce amendments to Canada’s bankruptcy laws to put the economic interests of workers first.
This would give both severance pay and unfunded pension liabilities priority in the allocation of corporate assets in bankruptcy.
Initiating an annual review of seniors’ income needs, looking forward 10 years to determine the adequacy of income support programs.
Such reviews will be built into all income support planning, and will be reported annually to Parliament.
Ensuring that workers’ pensions are protected by introducing changes to eliminate the practice of employer-contribution holidays and to tighten the rules to prevent employer underfunding of pension plans.
That pension funds exist for the sole purpose of providing benefits to plan members is a principle reinforced by the courts.
Fighting to enact the NDP’s Seniors Charter we introduced in Parliament in the fall of 2005 and to create a minister for seniors.
Like all Canadians, seniors have fundamental rights and freedoms that deserve protection.
Sadly, too often, too many seniors still get the short end of society’s stick.
The NDP’s Seniors Charter outlines the rights of all seniors to “a fulfilling life with dignity, respect and security.”
It highlights fundamental needs like secure pensions, secure housing, secure public health care, opportunities for self-fulfillment and timely access to all government services.
Amending the Canada Pension Plan benefit formula to permit time spent caring for the elderly or people with disabilities to be credited when determining benefit entitlements.
Supporting an expanded caregivers program where caregivers, usually women, would receive up to one year of Employment Insurance while caring for a sick or elderly family memberand where caregivers are recognized and not penalized when CPP/QPP benefits are calculated.
Abandoning Paul Martin’s appeal of the Supreme Court decision extending retroactive CPP Survivor benefits for same-sex couples.
Ending Violence
While Canada’s overall crime rate has held steady and declined over the last few years, there are serious crime issues that threaten the security each of us feels in our own community.
Violent crime overall is 35% higher than it was 20 years ago, while Canada’s homicide rate rose 12% in 2004.
In some urban areas, particularly in Toronto and increasingly in Greater Vancouver, gun violence has reached crisis proportions.
Firm, balanced and urgent action is needed without delay.
We are concerned that the Liberal administration has ignored recent trends and has failed to mobilize new responses to new threats to community safety.
There are three pillars to the NDP approach.
Firm punishment and deterrence through legislation,
regulation and much stronger targeted sentencing provisions for crimes involving guns, form the first pillar.
Enhanced resources for enforcement
combined with a political commitment to fostering collaboration between law enforcement agencies is the second.
The third pillar will incorporate overdue and essential investments in crime prevention, communities and youth.
The goal of these investments is to counter the stereotyping, inequality and discrimination all too often felt by people, especially young people of colour, living in communities where poverty and despair fuel the negative forces of gang life, exploitation and violence.
As outlined in other parts of this document, we support investments in affordable housing, childcare, education and training, apprenticeships, employment and training, and youth programs.
To be most effective, these should be provided in a community-based effort to promote healthy, strong and respected neighbourhoods and individuals.
In many urban areas, disputes are increasingly being settled by gunfire, as guns are often seen as a status symbol.
This normalization of gun culture needs to be changed, and illegal guns – many of them imported from the U.S. or stolen from homes – must be taken off the street.
Hand guns have no place in our cities.
Violence against women, as well, remains a crucial concern, as we are reminded every December 6th.
We must continue to strengthen programs to reduce and to prosecute domestic violence.
To make Canada’s communities safer, Jack Layton and the NDP will introduce an omnibus Safe Communities Act, including:
Arm officers at border locations.
“The federal government should arm border officers if it is not prepared to station and maintain an RCMP presence at all crossings”, as recommended by the Senate Committee on National Security and Defence.
Increase the mandatory minimum penalty for possession, sale and importation of illegal arms such as hand guns, assault rifles and automatic weapons.
Place each of these minimum penalties at four years, up from current one-year penalty.
Add mandatory minimum sentences to other weapons offences.
Place a four-year minimum sentence on all weapon offences, such as “possession of a concealed weapon”.
Amend the Youth Criminal Justice Actso youth offenders 16 or older who commit a crime using a gun will be tried as adults, except in the case of exceptional circumstances.
Strengthen the RCMP’s Federal Witness Protection and Support Programs.
With additional support, the program will encourage witnesses to step forward to put violent offenders behind bars.
Such support is necessary to provide the security witnesses and victims need to see cases through the justice system effectively and secure convictions of violent offenders.
Target the selling of illegal weapons via the Internet by increasing resources to allow the RCMP to crack down on the use of the Internet for sale of illegal weapons,
making the sale of illegal weapons through the Internet a specific criminal offence;
and establish a Parliamentary task force on other pro-active methods for discovering and eliminating internet sales.
Provide federal support to multi-level task forces in communities facing heightened violence, understanding that they will include broad community representation and youth involvement and ensuring a focus on all aspects including root causes, enforcement, and prevention priorities.
Support a reverse onus on bail for all gun-related crimes,
and make sure bail conditions are strictly enforced.
Support legislative, regulatory and sentencing initiatives to embody the principle that handguns have no place in cities, except in the hands of law enforcement officials.
Return a significant portion of the proceeds of crime back to local communities and neighbourhoods, as requested by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM).
Form integrated enforcement task force units to unite the RCMP with municipal and provincial police forces to share information and intelligence gathering techniques.
Help prevent youth from becoming involved in gangs in the first place, with more funding for community programming outside school hours and other targeted educational programs, thus helping to restore hope to core communities affected by gang violence.
Another significant threat to security in our communities is major drug offences.
One of the most worrisome is the rise in production, sale and use of “crystal meth”.
To address the impact of crystal meth on the safety of Canada’s communities, Jack Layton and the NDP will cut it off at the source:
Enact import controls on bulk ephedrine and pseudoephedrine,
and limit access to the precursors necessary for legitimate uses, such as cold medications.
These ingredients should be placed behind counters and purchases of abnormally large quantities should be tracked.
Create a new offence for possession of precursors for the purpose of meth production.
Increase funding to programs for addressing drug addictions in general,
and study new and more effective and targeted forms of treatment for meth addiction.
Respect. Renewal.
The Canadian federation is not working well.
For many years, the Liberal Party of Canada sold itself as the party that could be relied on to address the aspirations of the people of Quebec within Canada – keeping our country together.
The revelations of Liberal corruption from the Gomery Inquiry have destroyed that role – perhaps for a very long time.
In the process, our country’s symbols have been sullied in the minds of many citizens, and the federation is more gravely threatened within Quebec than it was when the Liberals came to office.
On unity, the Liberal Party has made things worse – much worse.
In the meantime, after helping to lead the creation of key national programs in housing, health and income security – and in support of provincial priorities in post-secondary education and public infrastructure development – the federal Liberal government walked away from its responsibilities in the mid-1990s.
The result was a fiscal catastrophe for provincial governments and a disaster for many Canadians who depended on those shared-cost programs.
Standards and services deteriorated as funding cuts were passed on down the line to communities and service providers.
The federal government’s disengagement in the 1990s was a monumental mistake.
And recovering from that mistake has proven to be extremely difficult, because of the depth of the fiscal hole created by the cuts in the 1990s,
and because of the federal government’s record as an unreliable funding partner.
Rather than attempt to develop consistent and credible systems for federal-provincial cooperation and revenue sharing,
the Martin Liberals have adopted what has been described as a ‘fiscal cafeteria’ approach.
Every province gets its own deal.
And every deal is different.
Thus, the Liberal Party of Canada has gravely damaged the federation within Quebec due to its conduct,
while gravely damaging the effectiveness of the federal government in the rest of the country – without the apparent intended benefit of building unity.
The ad-hoc series of deals cut by the Prime Minister in recent months has done little to address either challenge.
Sometime, somehow, in a manner broadly acceptable to all of its citizens, our federation will need to re-address itself to the need for a positive act of national reconciliation.
Our ultimate goal is that all citizens of Canada exercise their right to choose – to stay with Canada, because it is a good country that together we can make better.
Jack Layton and Canada’s NDP favour: Developing a framework for national standards in areas of provincial jurisdiction that fully respects the autonomy of the people of Quebec and of their National Assembly, within its jurisdiction.
For example, the Quebec Pension Plan; the province’s childcare network; its network of public community clinics; and its prescription drug program are national models – not targets for federal interference under our plan.
Committing the federal government to long-term consistent funding of shared cost programs with the provinces, territories and local governments,so that the federal government’s funding partners do not face the threat of arbitrary and abrupt changes in federal policy.
Restoring fairness to equalization with a level playing field for all Canadians within the equalization system.
In the short term, for example, the ad-hoc adjustments implemented by the Martin government have produced a gross anomaly in Saskatchewan that needs to be addressed.
For the long term, we favour working with provincial and territorial governments to develop a consistent rules-based system of fiscal equalization designed to equalize basic services rather than simply revenue-raising capacity.
The 2004 tsunami disaster exposed a glaring gap between the Liberal government’s response to international disasters and that of individual Canadians.
Peace and Security
Through their unprecedented generosity, Canadians demonstrated their understanding of the obligations of wealthy countries to the developing world.
Regrettably, the budget that followed failed to reflect the willingness of Canadians to meet our long-promised overseas development assistance, putting Canada even further behind the target of 0.7% of GDP than we were at the time of the disaster.
In fact, the Liberal government reduced Canada’s level of foreign aid from the levels we saw when Brian Mulroney was Prime Minister.
And despite supporting more than 50 United Nations resolutions at the General Assembly and other votes in favour of the 0.7% target, after 12 years of Liberal government of Canada has yet to keep our promise to the world – or even have a timeline to do so.
As a result of strenuous efforts by NDP foreign affairs critic Alexa McDonough, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade followed by the House of Commons itself, adopted unanimously an NDP motion calling on the government to honour its 0.7% commitment.
Meeting these commitments is not a matter of altruism.
It is the most practical response Canada can offer to reduce global economic inequality – the single-most important contributor to political instability and insecurity.
It’s been more than two years since the government introduced the Pledge to Africa legislation to send drugs to developing countries to support the fight against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
Today, not a single drug approved for export is in production.
Not a single pill has reached Africa.
Each and every day through the delay, 6,000 people in Africa alone die from AIDS.
In this Parliament, Jack Layton and the NDP ensured Canada took tangible steps towards keeping this crucial promise to the world and its people.
We stopped the billions in tax reductions for large corporations, and instead diverted $500 million to help the world’s poorest and most needy people.
In the next Parliament, Jack Layton and the NDP will continue to work to restore Canada’s traditional leadership role in the world.
We will: Honour the Millennium Development Goals and commit immediately, through a plan, to increase Canada’s aid budget to 0.7% of Canada’s GDP by 2015,
and to develop an aggressive debt cancellation strategy for eligible countries.
Improve our aid effectiveness by strengthening the partnership with civil society, both in Canada and overseas.
Introduce legislation before the next federal budget that establishes poverty reduction as the priority for Canada’s Official Development Assistance (ODA).
Ensure the increased funding is reflected in the 2006-2007 federal budget.
Jack Layton and the NDP would establish two clear priorities for Canada’s defence policies: the assertion and protection of Canadian sovereignty, including the protection of Canada’s offshore resources;
and the promotion and protection of international peace and security through participation in peacekeeping, peacemaking and humanitarian and environmental support operations.
Our foreign and defence policies must reflect Canadian values,
rather than becoming an interchangeable part with the U.S. military.
Jack Layton and the NDP will: Insist Parliament review important defence agreements such as the 2006 NORAD renewal agreement and Canadian Forces’ integration with the United States military.
Reorient Canada’s defence procurement to support the priorities of peacekeeping, peacemaking, humanitarian and environmental support operations.
Total defence spending would not be reduced.
Good pay, family support, and good basic equipment are priorities.
Commit Canadian troops to overseas operations only under the auspices of international peace and security organizations.
Speed up the identification, location and cleanup of all DND chemical dumpsites (both on land and at sea).
Speed up the investigation and compensation of military and civilian personnel exposed to Agent Orange/Agent Purple.
Immediately implement the Pledge to Africa legislation to send drugs to developing countries to support the fight against HIV/AIDS.
The impacts of the Air India bombing, which was the largest terrorist attack against Canadians, and the tragic events of September 11, 2001, have brought Canadians face-to-face with the fact that we aren’t invulnerable to threat.
We need to be vigilant in today’s world — vigilant in a manner consistent with our values, and ina manner that respects civil liberties.
Jack Layton and the NDP will: Establish a victims of terror fund that will support and compensate Canadians who are victims of terrorist acts.
Scrap the draconian Anti-Terrorism Act, written by Liberals and opposed by the NDP, which has already impeded media freedom in Canada.
We will replace it with legislation that respects civil liberties, ethnic communities and freedom of the press.
Introduce legislation to ban racial profiling from federal departments and jurisdictions.
Respect the right of those accused of a crime to know the evidence against them by banning the use of security certificates.
Provide training for security guards and first responders such as police officers, ambulance attendants and firefighters.
Restore a national ports police to combat organized crime, smuggling and illegal weapons importation in our port communities,
and ensure adequate funding and training for Canada’s ports police.
SECURING CANADA’S SUCCESS
“I see Canada as a success, a nation with tremendous potential. I see a Canada I’m proud of, a nation I believe to be a model to the world. I see a Canada we can build on, improve on, move forward. ” – Paul Martin, 3 January, 2006
Canadians live in an immensely successful country.
Over the past decade, our economy has been one of the world’s top performers.
Our record of growth in living standards, combined with job creation and debt reduction, is unmatched by any other major country.
With more and better jobs, rising incomes and lower interest rates, Canadians have been able to invest in their families, skills, homes and businesses.
At the same time, the Liberal government of Prime Minister Martin has made significant investments to strengthen the country’s social foundations, including bold long-term initiatives in public health care,
early learning and child care,
and post-secondary education.
The government initiated a New Deal to make Canada’s cities and communities even better places to live.
We have launched Project Green to ensure a healthier environment.
We have invested heavily in Canada’s defence forces and acted to increase Canada’s influence in the world,
working to foster hope and development in the poorest countries.
These initiatives by the Martin government speak to Canada’s values.
Taken together, they support a growing standard of living and most importantly, a richer and more broadly shared quality of life.
New forces of change
The world does not stand still.
So we must understand the forces influencing our country and our world – the tectonic plates moving beneath the surface of our daily national life.
Some – such as Canada’s relationship with the United States;
the impact of new technologies;
the threats to our security and unity – are long-standing and familiar, though always evolving.
But there are two new forces at work that are of tremendous consequence for Canada’s future.
One is the changing demographics of the Canadian population.
We are getting older.
The second is the stunning rise of China and India.
These giants are home to almost 40% of the world’s population and are rapidly taking their place as global economic and political heavyweights.
How we react to these new forces will, in large part, determine the contours of Canada’s future.
It will be the mission of a Paul Martin government to keep Canada ahead of the curve so that 15 years from now – even with an older population; even in a world in which much larger nations are competing for political and economic power – our standard of living and quality of life will continue to be among the world’s highest.
Our country and our confidence will be strong.
The objective of a Liberal government is a united and influential Canada, rich in opportunity.
Our vision
Liberals believe in the good that government can do.
We believe that the highest purpose of the Government of Canada is to understand the shared aspirations of Canadians and to champion national endeavours that respond to those aspirations.
That is what the Paul Martin government has done throughout its two years of office.
Great progress has already been made to secure the social foundations of Canadian life,
to build a 21st century economy,
and to ensure for Canada a role of pride and influence in the world.
This platform recounts that progress because the track record of the Paul Martin government matters.
Our promises made and kept reflect both our values and our competence.
These are very relevant to the choice voters will make on January 23rd.
That choice matters.
It matters because much is left to be done to carry on what the Paul Martin government has started, in order to:
Safeguard human and minority rights through steadfast commitment to Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms
Ensure that the commitments of all Canada’s First Ministers to deliver more timely, patient centred public health care are actually delivered
Make the Liberal plan for early learning and child care a permanent element of the national fabric
Ensure that access to college or university education is not denied by reason of income
Create a truly accessible and inclusive Canada so that persons with disabilities and others who may be disadvantaged do not want for equal opportunity
Close the gap in life chances for Aboriginal Canadians
Make Canada’s cities and communities genuine partners in a mission to build global economic competitiveness and to provide living environments that are culturally rich, respectful of diversity, and secure
Demonstrate how economic prosperity and environmental sustainability can be united through innovative technology and smart regulation
Extend Canada’s positive influence in the world through actions and financial commitments to promote peace and security, democracy and human rights, elimination of poverty, and respect for the rule of law in economic and political affairs
Forge an even stronger and more productive economy by implementing the Martin government’s Plan for Growth and Prosperity, tabled in November and supported by measures outlined in the accompanying Economic and Fiscal Update;
and Assure Canadians that government finances stay in the black;
that taxes move lower;
and that the debt burden continues to become lighter, further securing Canada’s future.
While we cannot anticipate every contingency that may arise in the years ahead, we can, and we must, prepare for demographic change in Canada,
and for the new world that is emerging with the rise of China, India, Brazil, Russia and others as major new actors on the world stage.
Preparing Canada to prosper in the face of these forces has been at the core of much of what the Paul Martin government has already begun and what we are seeking to achieve as we go forward.
We invite Canadians to review the distance we have come, and then look forward to the challenging but opportunity-filled horizon ahead and ask themselves: Who can best lead this country to the kind of future Canada I want for myself, my family and my community?
MEETING CANADA’S DEMOGRAPHIC CHALLENGE
The Canadian population is growing older – first, because our birth rate for the past three decades has been below replacement rate.
And second, because the post-war baby boom is about to hit retirement age.
The implication of this is significant – fewer workers supporting more seniors.
By 2015, Canada’s domestic labour force will actually start to shrink, so all of the net growth will need to come from immigration.
This transformation entails everything from increased demands on health and other public services
to potential skills shortages in key sectors across the country.
Internationally, surging population growth is concentrated in the poorest countries, straining their capacity to provide even the most rudimentary opportunities.
This means there will be more pressure from migration, more fertile ground for the seeds of terrorism to take root, more pleas for development assistance.
Meanwhile, the rest of the developed world will be facing the same demographic challenges as our own – so there will be increasingly fierce competition for workplace skills.
The following sections outline the key elements of a multi-faceted Liberal strategy to meet the demographic challenge.
We will: Keep the national fiscal balance sheet strong so that we do not pass a debt burden to the next generation
Strengthen our public health care system to deliver timely, quality care as our population ages
Address the concerns of Canada’s seniors and help to seize the potential inherent in rapidly growing numbers of talented and vigorous people over the age of 65
Attract and integrate growing numbers of new immigrants into Canada’s communities and economy
Create greater opportunities for Aboriginal peoples – now the fastest growing component of Canada’s population, but facing a significant gap in life chances compared with other Canadians.
BUILDING ON FISCAL STRENGTH
The Liberal government’s successful war on the deficit and commitment to steady debt reduction are readying Canada to meet the demographic challenge.
In 1997, the Liberal government with Paul Martin as Finance Minister, working with Canadians, brought the federal budget into surplus after 27 consecutive years of deficit.
This initiated a remarkable turnaround in the economic fortunes of Canada from which Canadians will reap ongoing benefits.
Among highlights of the economic record: Canada has recorded the strongest growth in living standards among G-7 countries since 1997.
Canada has had the highest rate of job growth in the G-7 over the past decade.
Unemployment is at a 30-year low.
The Canadian dollar has strengthened by 35% against the US dollar since early 2002, making foreign goods and travel cheaper.
Our trade surplus has nevertheless remained exceptionally strong.
Reforms to the Canada and Quebec Pension Plans (CPP/QPP) have ensured their financial soundness for at least the next 75 years, giving Canadians one of the world’s most secure public pension plans.
We have recorded eight straight budget surpluses, the longest string of surpluses in Canada’s history.
Canada is the only G-7 country in surplus.
As a result, Canada’s debt burden – which as recently as the mid-1990s was the second highest among G-7 countries – is now the lowest.
This extraordinary fiscal turnaround has yielded benefits for all Canadians.
Sustained low interest rates have made homes and other big ticket items much more affordable.
Lower debt charges have permitted significant and steady tax cuts.
A climate of confidence and low inflation has boosted investment and helped create more than three million new jobs over the past decade.
The reduction of the federal debt, combined with strong economic growth, has resulted in a significant decline in the size of the federal debt relative to the scale of Canada’s economy (the debt-to-GDP ratio).
Federal debt reached a peak of close to $563 billion in 1996–97.
Since then, under Liberal government, we have reduced it by $63 billion, resulting in permanent annual interest savings of more than $3 billion.
Federal debt as a percentage of the economy, once almost 70% and growing, is now 38% and shrinking.
A vicious circle has been transformed into a virtuous circle.
For Liberals, the debt burden is not only an economic issue.
We believe that government has a moral responsibility not to pass the debt incurred by one generation onto the backs of the next, particularly since in the years ahead a relatively smaller workforce will have to support much larger numbers of Canadians in retirement.
That is why a Liberal government will maintain unwavering commitment to continued debt reduction.
A new debt target – 20 by 2020: To ensure that the federal debt burden continues to fall, a Paul Martin government will be committed to reduce the ratio of federal debt-to-GDP to 20% or less by 2020, bringing it down to the low levels last seen in the early 1970s.
Dealing with unplanned surpluses: A Liberal government will be committed to posting balanced budgets or better.
To guide the use of any possible unplanned surplus funds in future years, the Martin government introduced new legislation in the last Parliament which provides that a budget surplus in excess of the $3 billion Contingency Reserve (which if not needed is used to pay down debt) will be divided in equal thirds among personal tax cuts, new investment, and further debt repayment.
This is a contract with Canadians ensuring that any federal surplus funds are returned or deployed for the benefit of all Canadians.
It is also a balanced approach that will permit Parliament, for the first time, to debate government proposals for spending year-end surpluses.
STRENGTHENING PUBLIC HEALTH CARE
Protecting and strengthening Canada’s health care system has long been a fundamental priority of the Liberal government.
Canadians remain deeply attached to the principles at the heart of Canada’s publicly-funded, single-payer system, where access is guaranteed by your health card, not your credit card.
The core values of that system – fairness, equity and collective responsibility – have remained steadfast.
The Liberal government’s commitment to preserve and improve Canada’s health care system has also remained steadfast.
Our ageing population makes this all the more important.
The Supreme Court of Canada recently ruled that where governments have opted to make publicly-funded health care the policy of choice, they have an obligation to get it right.
Liberals agree.
Our response is to strengthen the public system, not abandon it and not dilute it.
Just over a year ago, in September 2004, all of Canada’s First Ministers made a commitment to Canadians to improve the performance of the public health care system and thus build confidence in it.
Highlights included: Agreement to establish before year-end 2005 “benchmarks” for medically-acceptable waiting times, beginning with cancer, heart disease, sight restoration, joint replacement, and diagnostic imaging.
Specific benchmarks in these areas have been agreed by provinces and territories (see Box) and now represent the first pan-Canadian standards against which progress can be assessed by all Canadians.
To accelerate concrete progress on cutting wait times, the Paul Martin government created a $5. 5 billion Wait Times Reduction Fund, to help provinces and territories hire more health professionals, clear backlogs, and build capacity for regional centres of excellence.
Provinces and territories will report annually to their citizens on their progress in meeting wait time targets and other indicators of health system performance.
This high degree of transparency will translate into greater accountability for results.
Canadians will be able to assess, from the patients’ perspective, the job their governments are doing in managing the health care system.
The Martin government put federal support for public health care, for the first time, on a predictable long-term footing by guaranteeing that health transfers to provinces and territories will grow by six percent each year for the next 10 years – a total of $41 billion of new support for public health care.
We have already seen solid, tangible progress.
Together with the provinces and territories, the Liberal government’s commitment to quality, public health care is already making a difference.
A few examples, among many, include: In British Columbia, the median wait time for starting cancer radiation treatment is now less than a week.
In Alberta, the number of people waiting for open-heart surgery has declined by 55% over the past two years.
In Saskatchewan, the Saskatoon Health Region’s waiting list for MRI tests has been cut by 45% over the past year.
In Ontario, funding for an additional 42, 000 medical procedures has been allocated under that province’s wait times strategy.
In Quebec, the number of patients awaiting cataract surgery has been significantly reduced by redistributing the surgeries to a much smaller number of more specialized facilities.
In Nova Scotia, a website has been established that provides a transparent view of provincial wait times for tests, treatments and services.
Initial Pan-Canadian Wait Time Benchmarks
Responding to the commitments of First Ministers in the September 2004 health accord, the provinces and territories agreed on December 12, 2005 to the following benchmarks based on medical evidence as to maximum appropriate waiting time.
The set of benchmarks will be extended and updated as further medical evidence is gathered and assessed.
Provinces and territories will collaborate in this regard with the federal government, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and clinical experts.
Cancer: Radiation therapy to treat cancer within four weeks of the patient being ready to treat.
Heart: Cardiac bypass surgery within 2 to 26 weeks depending on urgency.
Joint Replacements: Hip fracture fixation within 48 hours Hip replacements within 26 weeks Knee replacements within 26 weeks
Sight Restoration: Cataract surgery within 16 weeks for patients who are at risk.
Diagnostic Procedures: Breast cancer screening for women aged 50 to 69 every two years.
Cervical cancer screening for women aged 18 to 69 every three years after two normal tests.
Each government has promised to establish multi-year targets to achieve the benchmarks by no later than the end of 2007.
Liberals believe that the best way to defend the values enshrined in the Canada Health Act is to ensure that publicly-funded, quality health care is there for all Canadians when they need it.
Building on the solid foundation already established, a Paul Martin government will do even more to make quality care a reality for all Canadians.
Assuring timely care: Canada Health Care Guarantee – Now that we have the first wait time benchmarks, governments need to take the next steps to ensure that timely treatment is in fact delivered in Canada’s public health care system.
We need to meet the test established in the Supreme Court’s Chaouilli decision.
A Liberal government will work with the provinces, territories and health care practitioners to implement a Canada Health Care Guarantee(see Box).
Ensuring Timely Access to Care – A Canada Health Care Guarantee
Canadians have a right to a health care system that is responsive to their needs – that is there when they need it and that keeps them informed throughout the different stages of care, thus providing peace of mind.
The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that the policy decision to have a publicly funded health care system carries an obligation to ensure that care is delivered in a timely fashion.
What is a reasonable standard of timeliness?
This has begun to be provided with the announcement of evidence-based “benchmarks” for medically-acceptable wait times in five key treatment areas – heart, cancer, sight restoration, joint replacement and imaging.
Liberals believe in a patient-centred philosophy and will work with provinces and territories to create a Canada Health Care Guarantee based on a strengthened foundation of the five existing principles of the Canada Health Act;
a right to timely care of high quality;
and accountability to the patient for the appropriate management of care.
Timely care means that care should be delivered within a medically acceptable time – i. e. , within a “benchmark” time once evidence-based benchmarks have been established for the condition in question.
To ensure that timely care is in fact available, a Liberal government will:
Share with provinces and territories the cost of creating new capacity in regional centres of specialized care in strategic locations across Canada.
Support for regional centres of excellence is included among the purposes of the federal $5.5 billion Wait Times Reduction Fund agreed with provinces and territories in the 2004 health accord.
We will augment this with one-time additional support of $300 million to be made available for regional centres of specialized care in university teaching hospitals.
Because it is important to have access to care in one’s own language, we will ensure that these investments help to accommodate the needs of Quebecers by working with the provincial government to increase capacity to reduce wait times within the province.
Work with provinces and territories to ensure that the Canada Health Act principle of “accessibility” includes provision of “timely access” to health care services, consistent with the Supreme Court’s Chaouilli decision.
Create a Health Care Guarantee Fund of $75 million to assist patients and a family member with travel and accommodation costs to a public facility in another province if needed to obtain timely care.
Accountability means that Canadians have a right to understand their course of treatment and how their care will be managed.
In practice this means having readily available information as to how long they can expect to wait;
where they can get more information;
and what treatment awaits them.
To give concrete meaning to the accountability principle in the Canada Health Care Guarantee, a Liberal government will:
Provide $50 million to Canada Health Info way to accelerate the development of wait list management technology such as registries, booking systems and electronic health records.
Improvement of wait times will depend critically on the availability and effective use of information technology.
Support a national research agenda through the Canadian Institutes for Health Research for the development of future wait time benchmarks and for research on the management of wait times and better patient-centred access.
We will also provide funds to foster training programs in patient management for health professionals.
1, 000 new family doctors – Despite investments that governments are making to increase medical school enrolment, it is clear that too many Canadians cannot find a family physician.
To help ensure Canadian families have the care they need, a new Liberal government will invest $100 million over the next five years to bring on stream 1, 000 new family doctors – a number that will provide front-line medical care for two million Canadians – by: – Adding to the $75 million already invested in Budget 2005 to integrate internationally trained health professionals.
We will provide new resources to help to assess, train and place international medical graduates who wish to work in Canada in family medicine.
– Raising the federal contribution to health human resource planning with provinces and territories to increase the number of residency places in family medicine and public health.
This will increase not only the supply of family doctors, but also the numbers of nurse practitioners and other professionals dedicated to family and community practice.
Special attention will be given to Aboriginal students and those pursuing remote and rural practice.
– Providing further support for current federally-funded family medicine initiatives, such as the Family Medicine Interest Group.
National Cancer Strategy
– Cancer is the leading cause of premature death in Canada, responsible for more potential years of life lost than any other group of diseases.
The Liberal government has long been on the front lines on the battle against cancer.
In the September 2004 health accord, Prime Minister Martin and other First Ministers identified cancer as a priority area to be supported by the $5.5billion Wait Times Reduction Fund provided by the federal government to the provinces and territories.
The Liberal government has also made significant on-going investments in cancer research, and recently provided funding of $60million for the Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control.
But more needs to be done.
A common Canadian vision for cancer control is required, one that is linked directly to reducing wait times and translating the latest results of cancer research into prevention, early-detection, patient treatment, and ideally a cure.
To this end, working with provincial and territorial governments and stakeholders, a Liberal government will develop a comprehensive, pan-Canadian plan to make a new assault on cancer.
The National Cancer Strategy will be supported by a new five-year investment of $300 million by the federal government and will have as key elements: – $125 million to support creation of the Terry Fox Research Institute in Vancouver, a new centre of excellence for cancer research.
The Institute would be linked to the internationally renowned B.C. Cancer Agency;
–$50 million to support “translational” and discovery-based cancer research by leading-edge Canadian organizations to help translate research knowledge more quickly into clinical practice.
This investment would build on current CIHR-funded cancer research programs, among others;
– $100 million of additional support for the Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control to further assist national information and knowledge transfer coordination efforts, and to ensure the sharing of best practices and leading edge techniques in the treatment of Canadians suffering from cancer;
– $25 million to establish Terry Fox Cancer Research Chairs at Canadian universities to ensure that Canada continues to attract and retain leading cancer researchers who can tap into leading-edge advances from around the world to enhance our understanding of cancer – its origins, diagnosis, treatment and eventually a cure.
Linkages will be established between the Chairs and the Terry Fox Research Institute.
Canadian Mental Health Commission
– Mental illness and addictions have a profound impact on Canadians, affecting one in five during his or her lifetime. Almost one million Canadians currently live with a severe or persistent mental illness.
Indeed, mental illness is responsible for one-third of the total number of days Canadians spend in hospital, and the estimated cost of mental illness and addictions to our economy is about $18 billion annually.
The time has come to take bolder steps to prevent and cope with this major source of suffering and disability.
The Liberal government has recently committed significant new resources to research on improving mental health in the workplace and to lay the groundwork for a pan-Canadian strategy on mental health.
The government has also provided $65million for the National Aboriginal Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy with a specific focus on Aboriginal mental health.
A Liberal government, in co-operation with provinces and territories, Aboriginal leaders, and stakeholders, will establish a Canadian Mental Health Commission.
The Commission will be a focal point for collaboration on mental health and mental illness to help inform development of sound mental health policies.
It will contribute to information and knowledge exchange and will work to increase public awareness in order to reduce the stigma attached to mental illness and addictions.
The Commission will be at arm’s length from government, but with representation from all levels of government and mental health stakeholders.
The creation of the Commission is an important step in a long-term Liberal commitment to bring those suffering from mental illness much more fully into the mainstream of Canadian society.
A Senate Committee, chaired by Senator Michael Kirby, has completed an extensive study of mental health in Canada and will report in early 2006.
A Liberal government will look forward to that report and to consultations regarding action on the report’s conclusions with stakeholders, provinces and territories.
Building a healthier Canada
– Canada’s ageing population poses a significant challenge for our health care system.
It is clear that the adoption of healthier lifestyles will both improve quality of life and diminish the future demands on our stretched health care resources.
The old adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” was never more apropos.
That is why the Liberal Government created the Public Health Agency of Canada.
The Agency focuses on priorities related to health promotion and chronic disease prevention and control.
The Agency also provides national leadership and international collaboration in preparing Canada to prevent, and otherwise to respond quickly, to public health emergencies such as SARS or possibly an influenza pandemic.
A re-elected Liberal government will continue to implement with provinces, territories, and municipalities, a national strategy to promote a healthier Canada, key elements of which are summarized in the box below.
A National Public Health Strategy
Bolstering public health
– The Liberal government has committed almost $700 million in initial funding to strengthen Canada’s public health system.
This will enable:  Increased front-line public health capacity;
Support for new vaccine programs, improved surveillance systems, and purchase of antivirals;
Heightened preparedness against infectious diseases and creation of emergency response teams;
A replenished national emergency stockpile to provide supplies quickly to provinces and territories;
Increased investment in federal laboratories;
and Establishment of six National Collaborating Centres for Public Health.
Promoting healthy lifestyles
– Recently, the Paul Martin government launched the Integrated Strategy on Healthy Living and Chronic Disease.
With five-year funding of $300 million, the strategy is aimed at healthy eating, physical activity and healthy weights – all key factors for some of the leading preventable chronic diseases.
It will be balanced by complementary investments to help prevent cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes.
Protecting against a pandemic
– Having learned the lessons from SARS, Canada is now taking steps to protect the health and safety of Canadians at home and to contribute to international efforts to combat infectious diseases before they arrive on our doorstep.
For example, the spread of the avian flu virus is causing serious concern worldwide, since mutation of the bird virus could make it highly infectious among humans and trigger a devastating global pandemic.
The Liberal government recently demonstrated international leadership on the issue by convening a meeting of Ministers of Health from more than 20 nations to improve international preparedness for global pandemics and other potential infectious diseases.
The Martin government has also invested heavily in preparation for a possible influenza pandemic by building up a national stockpile of antivirals like Tamiflu and securing a contract with a Canadian manufacturer for the development and testing of a prototype pandemic vaccine.
Protecting Canada’s universal public health care system
– Liberals are committed to high quality, publicly-funded health care for all medically-necessary treatments – no extra billing; no queuejumping; no “second-tier”standard of care in the public system.
To ensure these objectives are met, a Liberal government will implement a Public Health Care Protection Initiative.
As a result, the government will: – Consider it a violation of the Canada Health Act if a physician provides the same medically-necessary services to some patients on a privately paid basis and others on a publicly-insured (medicare) basis, if such “dual practice” undermines access to publicly-insured services.
– Ensure that any new dedicated federal funding for health care must be spent within the public system, if private involvement threatens the integrity of the single-payer (medicare) system.
– Request that the Health Council of Canada and the Canada Institute for Health Information (CIHI) report on the interface between public and private delivery of health care in Canada and also on the allocation by provinces and territories of health transfers from the federal government.
- Continue to enforce the compliance provisions of the Canada Health Act which entitle the federal government to withhold transfer payments to a province or territory provided there is recourse first to the Dispute Avoidance and Resolution procedure established formally in 2004.
ADDRESSING THE CONCERNS OF SENIORS
Canada’s support for seniors is one of the major success stories of government policy in the postwar era.
For example, Canada is unique among nations in terms of the effectiveness and sustainability of its retirement income system.
Thanks to reforms in recent years, the Canada Pension Plan and Quebec Pension Plan are actuarially sound for at least the next 75 years, something very few nations can claim.
Canadians can count on their public pensions.
But today, new challenges are emerging as seniors live longer, healthier and more vigorous lives.
Since the concept of “retirement” may have a very different meaning in the future than in the past, seniors want greater flexibility to choose how they spend their time and how they arrange their finances.
Older people have so much to contribute, whether as volunteers or members of the paid workforce.
Canada needs to harness their talent and energy.
A Liberal government will help to seize this opportunity.
Increased income support: The Paul Martin government increased the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) benefits for 1. 6 million low-income seniors by $2. 7 billion over five years.
Half of the increase takes effect on January 1, 2006, and the remaining instalment on January 1, 2007.
Meanwhile, under the new tax relief plan outlined in November 2005 by the Martin government, some 240, 000 seniors will be removed from the income tax rolls altogether.
Home care and pharmaceuticals: As the ranks of Canada’s senior population swell, the need for high-quality health care at sustainable cost – including much more widespread home care services – will be more important than ever.
That is why the Martin government pushed for new home care standards in the health accord agreed with provinces and territories in September, 2004.
To support this objective, the Liberal government has provided an additional $500million to provinces and territories to deepen progress on home care services and catastrophic drug coverage.
Because affordable access to drugs is critically important, especially for seniors, a Liberal government will develop in partnership with provinces and territories a National Pharmaceuticals Strategy.
The first steps are due to be reported by June30, 2006.
Accessing the value of home equity: The MEANS Program
– Many seniors today have the capacity to stay in their own homes but often find that the rising costs of property taxes and maintenance outstrip increases in their income.
While the equity in their homes can be used to provide a valuable income supplement via a commercial “reverse mortgage, ”many find the interest cost to be too high.
A new Liberal government will therefore introduce legislation to create a new program – Mortgage Equity Access Now for Seniors (MEANS) – to allow more seniors to access the equity in their homes.
Current commercial reverse-mortgages only allow for lump sum payments.
We will work with the private sector and Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) to develop a program to allow seniors the option of receiving these funds through a monthly payment, based upon the equity value of their home.
We will also introduce a CMHC-backed mortgage insurance program for private-sector reverse mortgages.
This could mean real savings for seniors by reducing interest costs of reverse mortgages by as much as two percentage points below current rates.
The MEANS program will be one more step in the Liberal government’s continuing effort to provide ways for our growing seniors population to maintain active and dignified lifestyles.
Facilitating work past 65: Older workers who wish to remain in the workforce will represent an ever-increasing source of experience and skills.
A Liberal government will work with the provinces and territories, unions and employers to remove disincentives that could discourage those who would otherwise want to keep working.
Helping seniors remain active: With their income security needs better assured, increasing numbers of seniors want to use their energy and vitality to continue to make important contributions to Canadian society and their communities.
In 2004–05, the Liberal government provided funding to more than 330 senior’s groups across the country under the New Horizons program to promote volunteer activities by and for seniors.
The program has been hugely successful.
In response, the Liberal government’s last budget more than doubled funding for these activities, increasing annual funding to $25million by 2007–08.
A Paul Martin government will increase support for New Horizons by a further $50million over the next five years, enabling new capital investment and community-based capacity building.
WELCOMING NEW CANADIANS
In light of Canada’s history, values and impending demographic challenge, our immigration policy – particularly as it relates to the selection, integration and regional distribution of new immigrants – is of key importance.
Ten years from now immigration is expected to account for the entire net growth of Canada’s workforce.
We need to attract skilled immigrants and ensure they are able to reach their full potential so as to sustain economic growth, promote innovation, and keep city and regional economies strong.
Over the past six years Canada has welcomed 1.4 million new permanent residents from around the world.
Clearly we need more immigrants, and we need them to succeed.
Too often, today’s new Canadians, despite higher levels of education on average, are not achieving economic success as quickly as in previous generations.
A Liberal government will keep Canada’s doors open to immigrants of all classes and refugees from around the world.
But as the numbers increase we also must be more active in identifying immigrants who meet Canada’s evolving workforce needs – needs that are determined in consultation with provinces, communities and those in labour and business.
At the same time, we need better social and economic integration of new Canadians, including language training, the upgrading and recognition of their professional and technical credentials, and critically important first job experience in the Canadian work environment.
A Liberal government’s commitment to equality of opportunity applies to all Canadians.
Our approach to immigration can and must be something that distinguishes Canada – a central component of the Canadian advantage in the world.
To seize the potential of new Canadians, a Paul Martin government will implement the following plan.
Helping immigrants to integrate and succeed
– Settlement and integration programs are the link to participation in Canada’s labour force and society.
A Liberal government will provide $1.3 billion over the next five years to enhance these programs.
This initiative builds on and incorporates the recent $920million Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement, and assures that federal financial support of social and labour force services for immigrants is equitable right across Canada.
Fixing the system
– Virtually all developed countries are facing a demographic challenge similar to Canada’s.
As a result, we face an increasingly fierce competition for skills.
So we need smart and efficient immigration procedures.
A Liberal government will commit $700million over the next five years to streamline the system and reduce the backlog of applications.
In doing so, our system will be more responsive to the needs of the labour market – for example, through close co-operation via the Provincial Nominee Program – and will allow those who would choose Canada as their new home to come here more quickly.
Creating an “In-Canada” class
– Cities and communities across Canada agree on the need for increased regionalization to spread the benefits of immigration nationwide.
Many potential immigrants have made Canada their destination of choice and are already studying or working in communities across the country.
Because of this experience, they are particularly well positioned to integrate successfully into Canadian society and the economy.
Current rules prevent them from applying while they are here.
We will change this.
We will make the immigration system more proactive and in doing so, will welcome about 16, 000 foreign students and resident workers annually by 2007.
Succeeding in the workforce
– Even if highly educated, many immigrants face challenges in reaching their full potential in the Canadian labour market – whether perfecting their language skills or overcoming barriers due to complex credential assessment and recognition requirements in their field of expertise.
To overcome these barriers, we will invest an additional $260million over six years to speed the assessment and recognition of the credentials of internationally trained workers, and assist new Canadians with job-specific language instruction and workplace literacy training.
In particular, we have provided $75million to accelerate the integration of 2, 300 internationally trained doctors, nurses and other health professionals, including lab technicians, occupational therapists and pharmacists.
We will add further resources in support of our new initiative to bring a thousand additional family doctors into Canadian practice, many of whom will have been trained abroad.
Bringing families together – Family re-unification is a fundamental objective of Liberal immigration policy.
We will continue to improve re-unification efforts, in particular taking steps to ensure that children adopted overseas become Canadian citizens upon the completion of their adoption process.
Eliminating the “landingfee”
– For many Canadian families with immediate relatives overseas, one of the challenges that they have faced is the $975 “right of permanent residence” fee.
The time has come to remove this barrier.
A Liberal government will eliminate the fee, cutting it immediately to $600, then to $300 after 12 months, and finally to zero within the next two budgets.
CREATING OPPORTUNITY FOR ABORIGINAL CANADIANS
Aboriginal Canada presents the reverse image of Canada’s demographic picture.
The Aboriginal population is young and dynamic – fully a third are under the age of 14.
These young people have the potential to make a significant contribution to Canada’s society and economic growth
but must first have the opportunity to acquire the education and skills needed for success.
Today, far too many Aboriginal students are not completing high school, especially on reserves.
And while very encouraging progress has been made with respect to post-secondary education, young Aboriginal Canadians are still much less likely than other Canadians to hold university degrees or college diplomas – e. g. , among 18–29 year olds, only 23% of Aboriginal Canadians have completed post-secondary education, about half the completion rate of the population at large.
This gap does not occur in isolation from other social factors – serious problems in health, housing and the community environment.
The Paul Martin government is determined to get to the root of these problems.
It was in this spirit that Canada’s First Ministers and Aboriginal leaders agreed in November 2005 on a 10-year plan of action with respect to education, health care, housing and infrastructure, and economic opportunities.
A Liberal government will do its part to implement this action plan to close the gap in the life chances of Aboriginal Canadians.
Our plan recognizes the needs of Aboriginal women.
We understand that conditions in the far north are different from those on reserve, and that conditions on reserve differ from those in our cities.
The plan also recognizes the very different issues facing First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.
The details and implementation of the 10-year action plan will be developed in collaboration with Aboriginal people, provinces, territories and municipalities.
Following are the key elements:
Closing the gap in education
– Giving young Aboriginal Canadians the chance to realize their potential will be the foundation for everything else we do.
The goals: – Increase the annual number of high school graduates by a cumulative 22, 000 in five years and by 110, 000 in 10 years;
– Increase the number of post-secondary graduates by 14, 800 over the next five years, and by 37, 000 within 10 years.
This will reduce the participation gap relative to the non-Aboriginal population by 50%.
To accomplish these challenging goals, we will: – Begin with the youngest children, making new investments in early childhood development and addressing deficiencies in the K-12 system;
– Promote education innovation on-reserve and establish a network of First Nations school systems;
– Provide more scholarships to encourage young Aboriginal women and men to go to college and university;
– Work with the private sector to develop apprenticeship programs that will help Aboriginal Canadians compete for high-paying jobs and help to fill the severe labour shortages that threaten to hamstring many resource development projects over the next 15 to 20 years.
A Health Blueprint – At the September 2004 Special Meeting on Aboriginal Health, Prime Minister Martin secured agreement from provincial, territorial and Aboriginal leaders to an Aboriginal Health Blueprintand announced $700 million in new funding for Aboriginal health.
The Blueprint, endorsed at the First Ministers Meeting in November 2005 and supported by an additional $1. 3 billion investment, is a comprehensive 10-year plan for the delivery of reliable, quality health care – on reserve and off.
Aboriginal health is a national priority,
but the care itself must be delivered by local health professionals.
The goals: – Double the number of Aboriginal health professionals in 10 years from the present level of 150 physicians and 1, 200 nurses;
– Improve access to the full range of public health services that non-Aboriginal Canadians currently enjoy;
– Work to close the gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians in key areas such as infant mortality, youth suicide, childhood obesity and diabetes.
Housing and clean water
– Housing is about more than having a roof over one’s head.
It is also about dignity, pride of place, and a stake in one’s community, as well as one’s single most important investment in the future.
Despite building and renovating tens of thousands of homes over the years, there is not enough housing available for those that need it, and most Aboriginal communities still lack the capacity to build the units themselves.
The shortfall is particularly acute north of 60°.
The goals: – Close the housing gap on First Nations reserves by 40% within five years and by 80% in ten.
We will take similar action in the far north and off reserve.
– Improve the capacity of First Nations for water treatment training, and accelerate the certification of water systems and operators.
To accomplish these goals, we will: – Encourage a culture of home ownership in Aboriginal communities.
– Expand the skills of Aboriginal people and their governments to manage their land, infrastructure and financing.
– Build up a trained labour force to keep home construction jobs in local communities.
This housing program promises to generate the equivalent of 15, 000 jobs over the next 10 years.
– Continue to build new clean water facilities.
The Liberal government established a comprehensive program in 2003 to bring clean drinking water to all reserves by 2008 and has allocated $1. 6 billion toward achieving that goal.
The capital installation is proceeding well.
The larger challenge has been to train sufficient numbers of Aboriginal water technicians to operate and maintain the facilities.
While we have significantly increased the number of certified technicians, more and better training will be a priority going forward.
– Develop a regulatory regime for drinking water on reserve that will provide comparable water quality to that enjoyed by other Canadians.
This regime will establish new legislation, regulations and enforcement mechanisms.
Economic opportunity
– The next decade promises tremendous economic expansion in Canada.
This is particularly true for northern and other resource-rich regions as new oil and gas and mining projects are developed,
together with the infrastructure to support them.
Aboriginal Canadians must be significant beneficiaries of the high-paying jobs that will result.
Our goal is to increase Aboriginal employment levels by 30% over the next five years and by 50% within 10 years.
The plan depends on the improvements in education and training noted above, complemented by:
– Regulations for complex commercial and industrial development projects on reserve that will provide greater certainty for investors and will improve First Nations’ prospects for attracting major capital investment.
– Connecting rural and remote communities to the world by bringing broadband Internet access to 250 more communities in the next five years.
– Legislation that will enable First Nations to assume jurisdiction and control of their oil and gas and related revenues.
A Paul Martin government will commit more than $5 billion over the next five years to achieve the foregoing targets in education, health, housing and clean water, and economic opportunity.
By so doing, we will go far to bring about positive change in the lives of Aboriginal Canadians.
Healing and reconciliation
– The Martin government has worked hard to build a new relationship with Canada’s Aboriginal people based upon responsibility and accountability.
But it is also important to remember those times in the past when this respectful relationship was not the norm.
The trauma experienced by many students of Indian residential schools has left a sad legacy in many Aboriginal communities.
Building upon earlier initiatives to heal these wounds, a Liberal government will implement the recently concluded agreement in principle to provide compensation to eligible former students.
Broader efforts – including commemoration activities and healing programs – will be taken to promote public education and awareness of the experiences of those who attended residential schools.
A Liberal government will commit more than $2billion toward a fair and lasting resolution of the legacy of Indian residential schools.
SUCCEEDING IN A NEW WORLD OF GIANTS
Today, the United States accounts for more than 20% of the world economy and is the only superpower.
But Europe has now become a united and affluent market of some 450 million people.
And Asia – already a technological and export powerhouse – is poised to be the global growth leader for decades to come as China and India become economic juggernauts.
In this emerging world of giants, Canada’s economic partnership in North America is of fundamental importance.
Our trade relationship with the United States is the world’s largest, making Canada’s economic performance closely linked with that of the US.
That is why we need to help build an even more prosperous and secure North America.
But Canada cannot afford to have all its eggs in one basket.
We need to reach out to seize vast new opportunities in China, India, Latin America and elsewhere.
These huge emerging markets include a rapidly growing middle class – potential new consumers of Canadian beef and softwood lumber.
Our rich endowment of resources – energy, minerals, agricultural, forestry and fisheries products – will be much in demand, promising new prosperity for Canada’s regional economies.
So too will be the products of our human ingenuity – education services, engineering and finance, environmental technologies, and cultural exports that reflect Canada’s diverse communities from all parts of the world.
But these tremendous opportunities are not Canada’s simply for the asking.
We need to join the fray, and succeed by dint of preparation, persistence and talent.
A Liberal government will work to ensure that we do.
The following sections outline key elements of the strategy that a Paul Martin government will bring to that purpose.
We will: Build the capabilities of people from early childhood, through post-secondary education, and throughout working life – equipping Canadians to seize their full potential.
Promote innovation, since this is the way by which human ingenuity gets translated into the things that people need and want.
Innovation drives competitiveness, growth, jobs and progress.
Ensure that Canada’s cities and communities are great places to live, able to take their place among the world’s best – attracting entrepreneurial talent and investment and providing an environment where creativity thrives.
Build on the strengths of every region in Canada – in particular on our resource-based and major manufacturing sectors for which the new world economy presents some challenges but even greater opportunities.
Work toward a more globally-competitive North America while expanding Canada’s trade horizons to take full advantage of markets in China and other new areas of rapid growth.
BUILDING THE CAPABILITIES OF PEOPLE
The key to success in today’s global economy is education – quality education that begins early in life and prepares people to thrive in a competitive world.
China and India, once known primarily for cheap labour, are now in the race to the top.
They are putting up dozens of new universities and training and equipping millions of students who have both a great thirst for knowledge and a desire to compete in the world.
The Liberal plan will focus on Canada’s most important renewable resource – the skills of Canadians.
Well-honed skills, combined with innovation and investment, are the basic drivers of better jobs, higher incomes, and an improved quality of life.
Liberals are committed to putting in place conditions in which Canadians can fully seize their potential throughout a lifetime.
That is why we focus on early learning; better access to higher education; and improved adult literacy and workplace skills.
We are investing in lifelong learning so that Canadians can keep ahead of the curve as technology progresses and as the demand for specialized skills evolves.
We need to ensure that all Canadians have access to the tools to succeed so that everyone has more choice and greater opportunity to share in this nation’s prosperity and to build Canada’s future.
The plan of a Paul Martin government has three main components – early learning and child care;
broader access to university and college;
and enhanced workplace skills.
Early learning and child care
In Canada today, there are over two million children under the age of six.
These early years are the most crucial years of their lives – when practically every second brings a new experience, a new chance to learn and grow.
This is when much of a child’s future is decided.
Parents are at the centre of their children’s lives, and no one else can do what they do.
But not all parents can – or should feel they have to – do it all on their own.
The Government of Canada provides a wide range of supports to all families.
Each year more than $13 billion is invested through transfers to provinces and territories;
income support programs and tax reductions available to individual families;
education savings grants;
supports for a stay-at-home parent;
special measures for children with disabilities;
and community-based programs for children-at-risk.
To provide a vitally important additional measure of support for families, 18months ago the Liberal government made an election commitment to make early learning and child care a national reality
– a great national endeavour on the same scale as the creation of Canada’s public health care system.
The practical need for a publicly supported early learning and child care program is clear:
1. 3 million of the two million children under the age of six in this country have a mother in the paid labour force.
A majority of parents – whether they are employed in the workforce, in school, or at home – want to expose their young children to positive learning and socialization experiences.
Parents in the paid labour force, or attending school, want assurances that their young children are in safe, nurturing and high quality early learning and care environments.
But only about one in five of the two million young children in Canada have access to a regulated early learning and child-care space.
And regulation is important, because it reassures parents of quality and safety.
The Martin government responded to this clear need by committing $5 billion over five years for a pan-Canadian early learning and child care initiative founded on the QUAD principles – Quality, Universally inclusive, Accessible and Developmental.
These principles speak to early learning and child care that is open to all children, without discrimination;
that is accessible and affordable for all parents;
and that is of high quality in supporting a child’s development.
All ten provinces have now signed agreements with the federal government based on a nationally shared vision.
The agreements identify principles and goals for early learning and child care;
establish clear and measurable objectives;
detail eligible areas for investment and funding levels;
ensure accountability and identify how governments will report to Canadians;
and commit governments to collaborating on knowledge and best practices.
Under these agreements, provinces will invest federal funds in regulated early learning and child care programs for children under six.
Each province will nonetheless have the flexibility to implement programs that address their specific needs and objectives, so long as they are consistent with the QUAD principles.
A national system of early learning and child care will provide parents, no matter where they live – in communities large and small, rural and urban – with real options.
Our goal is to ensure that parents will be able to find high quality, affordable child care – whether it be for just one morning a week in a nursery school program, three days a week in a child-care centre, full-time in a family day care, at certain times of the year, or just for emergencies.
Together, we will move the vision of a national early learning and child care system from being an ideal into being a permanent and tangible component of our national social fabric.
A permanent commitment
– With agreements covering 10 provinces now in place, a Liberal government will make permanent its commitment to early learning and child care.
This will allow provinces, territories and stakeholder groups to make long-term plans.
– Currently budgeted funding is $5billion through 2009–10.
Over the subsequent five years through 2015, federal support will total at least$6 billion.
It is anticipated that this amount of $1. 2billion per year will be increased, with the amount and profile of the increase to be determined in light of the scheduled evaluation of the program in 2009.
– To provide further assistance for the capital cost of early learning and child care facilities, a Liberal government will make “not-for-profit” facilities eligible for the next funding phase of the Canada Strategic Infrastructure Fund and the Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund.
– A National Quality Framework will be developed as the basis for guidelines and evidence based benchmarks for future programming.
Broader access to university and college
In this age of emerging economic giants, all scaling the ladder to higher education, Canadians need access to post-secondary education (PSE) of the highest quality.
Liberals are committed to creating the opportunity for every Canadian to succeed.
That is why we will continue to work closely with provinces and territories to reduce financial barriers to post-secondary education through a range of grant, loan, tax and savings supports.
The federal government already contributes almost $9 billion annually to support PSE through programs and transfers to students, institutions, provinces, and researchers.
A Liberal government will increase this very substantial commitment and will invest more than $4 billion of new resources over the next five years to ensure that Canadians of all incomes have access to first class education opportunities.
Increased federal funding will be allocated primarily as follows:
Enhanced student financial assistance:
The 50/50 Plan
– If elected, a Liberal government will pay one-half of an undergraduate’s first year and graduating year tuition (to a maximum grant of $3, 000 in any year).
– This new 50/50 Planwill be available to any student pursuing a first degree or diploma from an accredited university, community college or other post-secondary program in Canada.
– Qualifying students will be those who commence their undergraduate educations beginning in 2007–08.
– Students will have the choice either to opt in to the new plan, or to draw benefits from the existing Tuition Tax Credit and Education Expense Deduction.
– The Plan will be delivered through the Canada Student Loan Program (CSLP).
Currently, the governments of Quebec, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut do not participate in the CSLP, so we would work with them to arrange alternative payments.
By providing a first payment at the beginning of a student’s post-secondary education, the 50/50 Plan provides families and students with the incentive to begin undergraduate studies.
The second payment provides an additional incentive for students to complete their programs.
Since the 50/50 Plan will be available only for study in Canada it also gives young Canadians a further incentive to support schools in this country.
The 50/50 Plan is expected to have a net cost of roughly $1. 9 billion through 2010–11 and of $600 million per year when fully phased in – by which time it will support an estimated 750, 000 students each year.
This bold new initiative is testament to the overall commitment of a Liberal government to improve Canadians’ preparation to succeed in a world where advanced skills and learning will be of ever greater importance.
Expanded Canada Access Grants – In the 2004 Budget, the Martin government created the Canada Access Grant to make post-secondary education more accessible for children from low income families – generally, those with incomes below $35, 000.
The Grant paid half of first-year tuition, capped at $3, 000.
This benefited more than 20, 000 students.
A Liberal government will extend the Canada Access Grant to be available for up to the full four years of undergraduate study.
This extension will cost approximately $550 million over the next five years and will benefit a further 55, 000 students.
(A student qualifying for a Canada Access Grant cannot also receive the new 50/50 grant. )
Comprehensive review of student assistance
– A Liberal government will review Canada’s system of student financial assistance, in collaboration with the provinces and territories and other partners, to ensure its continued success in making post-secondary education accessible.
We will identify areas where support is needed, and ensure that students from middle-income families and students with dependents do not face insuperable financial barriers.
The review will examine a range of potential measures such as grants, loans, and ways to improve debt management, including reduced interest rates.
Post-secondary Education Innovation Fund
– A Liberal government will provide $1 billion to help modernize and improve post-secondary infrastructure, including in teaching hospitals.
The fund will, for example, support acquisition of equipment; improve access for students with disabilities; enhance learning environments in northern and Aboriginal institutions.
Provinces and territories will have the flexibility to draw down these funds on a per capita basis.
International study
– To create new opportunities for Canadians to study abroad and for more foreign students to come to Canada, a Liberal government will provide $150 million over five years to assist with the extra financial cost that international study entails.
This initiative will contribute to our objective of positioning Canada at the heart of global networks.
Canada graduate scholarships
– A Liberal government will increase by 50% the support currently being given to the most promising master’s and doctoral students in science, engineering and other disciplines.
More students with advanced degrees will be needed to keep Canada at the cutting edge of innovation.
Enhanced workplace skills
A Liberal government will work with provincial, territorial, business and labour partners to ensure that all Canadians have the opportunity to develop their skills so that they can obtain meaningful and enduring employment.
We will negotiate new Labour Market Partnership Agreements with provinces and territories that will include clear objectives, performance measures and public reporting.
Workplace skills strategy
– A Liberal government will invest $3.5 billion over this fiscal year and the next five to implement partnership agreements focusing on six priority areas – apprenticeship; literacy and essential skills; workplace skills development; enhanced workforce participation of Aboriginal people; labour market integration of immigrants; and enhanced workforce participation of persons with disabilities and other under-represented groups.
Examples of possible initiatives include bridge-to-work programs for recent immigrants; partnerships with employers to promote literacy in the workplace; internships for Aboriginal Canadians and persons with disabilities; and the development of a national strategy for apprenticeship training based on consultation and objective-setting with provinces, territories, businesses and unions.
Supporting apprenticeship training
– As part of a pan-Canadian apprenticeship strategy, a Liberal government will work with the provinces and territories to increase, over the next 10years, the number of apprenticeship graduates to 75, 000 annually from the current 37, 000.
As an interim goal, we will work to increase the number of apprenticeship graduates by more than a third to 50, 000 by 2012.
To encourage greater apprenticeship completion we will eliminate the two-week waiting period before becoming eligible for EI benefits for those who collect EI while away from work on a National Red Seal Apprenticeship Program, provided the course is successfully completed.
This measure is expected to cost $15 million per year once it is fully phased in, and will complement initiatives in the Workplace Skills Strategy outlined above.
Enhancing the contributions of older workers – Older workers are particularly vulnerable to industrial adjustments due to international competitive pressures.
They nevertheless bring valuable experience and expertise to their positions, and most depend both financially and psychologically on being able to continue working.
Recognizing this, Liberal governments have invested $55million through to 2006, along with provinces and territories, in pilot projects that help older workers adjust financially, to find a new job in their field,
or to receive training for new kinds of work.
Based on the lessons learned from those projects, a Liberal government will develop a pan Canadian strategy for older workers that incorporates skills upgrading, flexible work environments, and community-level partnerships that combine training with job placement services.
ADVANCING AN INNOVATIVE ECONOMY
Innovation contributes to Canada’s economic growth by increasing efficiency and creating new products.
Countries at the forefront of innovation will be the best positioned to develop the high value-added sectors that can provide new sources of growth and high-paying jobs.
A Liberal government will build on Canada’s innovation performance by fostering a strong environment for investment and a competitive tax system
and by promoting of domestic competition and liberalized international trade.
These fundamentals will be complemented by maintaining Canada’s exceptionally strong commitment to basic research which is the foundation for new discoveries and for training the highly-skilled people needed to power a 21st century economy.
Leadership in university-based research
The Liberal government has focused its investments at the earlier stages of the innovation process where the private sector tends to under-invest.
Since 1997, Liberal governments have committed $12 billion in new funding to support basic research.
As a result, Canada is now far and away the G-7 leader in terms of university R&D (expressed as a share of GDP).
We are determined to maintain this leadership and, if re-elected, a Liberal government will increase support in the following ways.
Keeping Canada’s researchers at the leading edge
– The federal government provides the base support for individual researchers at Canadian universities, colleges and research hospitals.
Since 1997, Liberal governments have more than doubled the budgets of the research Granting Councils – NSERC, CIHR, SSHRC – to a total of $1. 6 billion in this fiscal year.
We will increase the budget of the Councils by at least $425 million over the next five years.
Covering the indirect costs of research
– Research excellence requires not only direct funding for researchers themselves,
but also a supportive environment of well-maintained facilities, good information systems,
and support for the commercialization of research results.
The Liberal government has been contributing to these indirect costs of university research and will almost double its support by allocating $1. 2 billion to research-performing institutions over the next five years.
This will bring federal support for indirect costs to a target level equal to 40% of direct federal research funding.
Maintaining world-class research facilities
– The creation of the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) by the Liberal government in 1997 triggered a renaissance in basic research in Canada.
Over the past eight years, the federal government has contributed $3. 7 billion to the Foundation to fund leading-edge research facilities in universities and research hospitals.
This investment has stimulated more than twice that amount in matching investments from provinces, the institutions themselves and other stakeholders.
The CFI has been one of Canada’s great success stories.
Now that more than 80% of the federal contribution to date has been committed, a Liberal government will invest a further $500 million to sustain its activities over the next five years.
Accelerating the commercialization of new technologies
Improving the diffusion of discoveries from university and public research facilities like the National Research Council (NRC) will raise the innovation performance of Canada’s private sector.
Our strong foundation in basic research should give Canadian firms a leg up in developing new products and services.
A Liberal government will build on our established foundation of support for commercial innovation – including, for example, NRC’s Industrial Research Assistance Program for small businesses; a variety of supports for venture capital investment; Genome Canada; Sustainable Development Technologies Canada, among many others.
New initiatives will include:  Connecting students and businesses – By exposing graduate students in engineering and the natural and health sciences to private sector R&D they will get a realistic appreciation of the process by which academic research gets converted to marketable products.
At the same time, Canadian businesses can gain better access to the latest research knowledge from universities.
To stimulate this process, a Liberal government will support 3, 500 R&D Internships with private firms over the next five years.
We will also create a scholarship program to support those who already have graduate degrees in engineering and the natural and health science to also acquire business and management training via MBA studies at Canadian universities.
Knowledge-based clusters
– Integrated facilities that bring together innovative firms and university researchers will promote collaboration and enhance private sector access to discoveries.
One such example is the Medical and Related Sciences (MaRS) discovery district which has taken advantage of Toronto’s concentration of medical research facilities by bringing together start-up firms with business service providers, venture capitalists, and laboratories.
A Liberal government will provide $160 million over the next five years to support the creation of large scale integrated facilities that bring together university and private sector researchers to accelerate the commercialization of university-based discoveries.
Supporting innovation in automotive and aerospace
The automotive and aerospace-defence sectors are major engines of the Canadian economy.
But both face fierce global competition, not only in the marketplace but also for new investments in these technology-intensive mainstay industries.
A re-elected Liberal government will continue to support innovation in the sectors, and champion their products in national trade and export strategies.
Sustaining Canada’s automotive excellence
– Our auto industry is the world’s eighth largest, and provides more than 170, 000 well-paying jobs in assembly and parts manufacturing.
Innovation, state-of-the-art plants, and a highly skilled work force have positioned Canada at the leading edge of new automotive processes and technologies.
To build on this foundation, the Liberal government has recently contributed more than $400 million, joining with the government of Ontario and the auto companies to support major investments in Ontario that will see new assembly facilities and enhancements to existing assembly plants in several communities.
These initiatives will not only promote new jobs and skills development
but, crucially important for the long run, will also provide major R&D investments,
environmental advances and
new partnerships with our universities and technical colleges.
Keeping aerospace/defence industries globally competitive
– Canada is the world’s fourth-largest global producer in the field of commercial aerospace and is a world leader in many market segments such as regional and business aircraft.
The aerospace and defence sector is a high-tech bulwark of Canada’s economy.
The sector is at a critical juncture where substantial investments in R&D, new-generation technology, and product development are needed to compete in an extremely demanding international marketplace.
In the past year alone, the Martin government committed investments of more than $1billion in several parts of the aerospace industry as part of a long term strategy to support the growth of Canada’s aerospace and defence sector from coast to coast.
A new Liberal government will continue to invest to ensure that Canada remains home to a growing, innovative and diversified aerospace/defence industry.
Transformative technologies
Transformative technologies are those like biotech, information and communications technologies, and advanced and nano-scale materials, that have a vast range of applications and thereby influence the broad course of technical innovation and of society as a whole.
These transformative technologies are already revolutionizing the development of drugs and medical treatments; new environmental technologies; and the performance and efficiency of virtually all industrial processes.
Canadian businesses need to be at the cutting edge of the development and adoption of these new technologies.
That is why a Liberal government is determined to stimulate greater private sector investment in R&D, technology adoption, and improved commercialization performance.
We will pursue these objectives through the new Transformative Technologies Programby sharing the risks of innovation, and providing greater access to leading-edge technologies for small and medium-sized companies.
CANADA’S CITIES AND COMMUNITIES – A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
The New Deal for Cities and Communities was proposed by Paul Martin and backed up with substantial financial commitments for sustainable infrastructure in the Liberal budgets of 2004 and 2005.
The New Deal is about more than roads, water treatment plants, and modern transit systems.
It is also about developing a vision that gives Canada’s municipalities a seat at the national table as partners in our country’s economic, cultural and social development.
It is about ensuring a sustainable quality of life for all Canadians.
The New Deal is also a key component of the Liberal strategy to keep pace with the leaders in the global economy – to ensure that Canada is a winner in the worldwide competition for talent and investment.
Statistically, economic performance is usually judged on a nation-to-nation basis.
But today, competition is being waged increasingly among major metropolitan centres.
In a world in which talent, capital and ideas are globally mobile, it’s Toronto and Montreal vs. Shanghai and Bangalore, Calgary vs. Houston, and Vancouver vs. San Francisco.
In fact, virtually every program of every level of government is manifested in a community – programs that provide shelter to the disadvantaged; that support culture; that help the integration of new immigrants; that make our streets safer.
The federal government contributes very significantly in these and other areas.
To be most effective there must be close co-ordination among the federal, provincial, and municipal governments.
So the New Deal is also about making this happen – about replicating the kind of practical co-operation illustrated by tripartite agreements pioneered in Vancouver and Winnipeg.
A Liberal government will build on its substantial set of existing financial and program commitments to ensure that the New Deal becomes a central component of our strategy to secure Canada’s success.
To support environmentally sustainable infrastructure, the Liberal government committed to provide $5 billion to municipalities over five years.
By 2009–10, this strategic investment in our cities and communities will be $2 billion, equivalent to half of the 10 cents per litre of the federal excise tax on gasoline.
To date, agreements in respect of “gas tax” sharing and guidelines regarding eligible use of the funds have been reached with 12 provinces and territories.
This long-term commitment was recently bolstered by one-time spending of $800 million over two years to fund public transit systems in Canadian cities.
The gas tax transfer is complemented by the full rebate of the Goods and Services Tax which will deliver more than $7 billion over 10 years to municipalities of all sizes.
Maintaining vibrant communities
In 2004, the Liberal government accelerated funding under the Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund, committing $1billion over five years rather than 10, essentially doubling the amount available for infrastructure projects,
primarily in smaller communities and rural areas.
We have ensured that 60% of these projects are “green”.
A complementary initiative is the Green Municipal Funds, endowed with $550million from the Liberal government and managed by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
The funds have been able to attract well over $1 billion of municipal, provincial and private sector investment in a very broad range of environmentally sound infrastructure projects.
There is an emphasis presently on the cleanup of abandoned, often contaminated sites – urban “brownfields”.
The on-going transfer of “gas tax” revenue and the GST rebate are important not only for their value, but also for their predictability.
Infrastructure investments represent large commitments over long time periods and thus require extensive planning and lead time.
The Liberal government has established three other major infrastructure support programs and, if re-elected will ensure they continue to be funded separately from the “gas tax” amount.
Supporting affordable housing
Liberals believe that adequate and affordable housing is an essential contributor to strong communities and to individual dignity.
Good housing is a foundation for good health, employment, financial security, and social cohesion.
That is why the Liberal government created the Affordable Housing Initiative in 2001 to stimulate the construction of rental housing that would be within the means of low-income families, particularly in major urban centres.
We have expanded the Affordable Housing Initiative to include rent supplements.
We have also extended successful programs that ensure essential community supports for the homeless (SCPI) and that assist low-income families, including those with disabilities, in making critical housing repairs and accommodations (RRAP).
In partnership with the provinces and territories, a new Liberal government will develop a long term Canadian Housing Framework that will establish new benchmarks for reducing both core-housing need, and the number of homeless across the country,
as well as a strategy to achieve those benchmarks.
We recognize the importance of the co-operative housing sector,
and will ensure that federal housing programs developed within the Framework are available to new and existing co-ops.
STRENGTHENING CANADA’S REGIONS AND RESOURCE SECTORS
The emergence of new powerhouses like China and India is for many nations a double-edged sword of promise and predicament.
For Canada, although the competitive challenge is real, our wealth of resources, scientific and technical expertise and significant export capacity have placed tremendous opportunities within our grasp.
Liberals are committed to the development of every region of Canada.
In so doing we recognize the realities of today’s global competition.
That is why a viable plan for economic development must build on the inherent strengths of different regions and sectors.
Today those strengths are abundant.
Our approach is to take advantage of Canada’s human potential and research excellence, to improve our commercial and value-added performance,
and to position Canada at the centre of global trade networks.
Canada has perhaps the world’s richest combined endowment of energy, forests, fish, and minerals.
This abundance of natural resources has allowed Canada to be a world-leading resource producer and exporter – e. g. , second in oil reserves (including the oil sands); first in hydroelectricity production; third in natural gas production; the largest exporter of forest products; and in the top five for the production of over a dozen minerals and metals.
The Canadian agricultural and agri-food industry is among the most innovative in the world; is the third largest employer in this country; and has market receipts of more than $31 billion.
We have one of the world’s most valuable commercial fishing industries, and export 75% of our production to more than 80 countries.
The Paul Martin government is committed to building the future of rural Canada by focusing on these resources and supporting further innovation and value-added production.
Agriculture
Since taking office in December of 2003, the Martin government has unstintingly supported Canada’s farm families.
Our objective is to work with Canadian producers to position them for long-term sustainable economic success
while securing an enhanced quality of life in rural Canada.
Canada’s agricultural producers have been facing a difficult combination of disease outbreaks, trade impediments, unusually poor growing conditions, rising input costs, and weak commodity prices.
To help producers face these challenges, the Liberal government has provided more than $3.3billion in special payments to bolster farm incomes, especially in the cattle sector and for grains and oilseed producers.
We are investing in rural and local community infrastructure through a variety of infrastructure programs, substantially augmented by new funds for all municipalities through the $5billion “gas tax” transfer and 100% GST rebate.
The Liberal government has also fought hard to ensure that Canadian producers are treated fairly in the on-going WTO trade negotiations, seeking an end to export subsidies, improving market access for Canadian products, and preserving the ability of Canadian farmers to maintain domestic marketing systems of their choice.
The recent WTO Ministerial declaration in Hong Kong is less ambitious than we would have liked but it gave Canada the scope to continue to argue for flexibility in how countries provide market access improvements, a key objective for our supply-managed sectors.
Keeping Canadian Agriculture Strong
A Liberal government will implement an agriculture and agri-food policy focused on strengthening the fundamentals of the sector.
We will:  Advance rural development by supporting greater value-added to farm production, including:
– Support for export market promotion of Canada’s agri-food products through our new CAN-Trade international strategy.
– Investment in food safety and food quality initiatives to ensure a safe food supply for Canadians and to assist the export marketing of our products.
– Amendments to the Agriculture Marketing Programs Act (AMPA) which will extend spring and fall advances to the livestock sector, increase advances from $250, 000 to $300, 000 and increase the interest-free portion from $50, 000 to $60, 000.
– Patient capital investments via Farm Credit Canada.
– Renewal of the Municipal Rural and other infrastructure funds.
– New funding for access to broadband services.
As a key part of the upcoming review of the Agriculture Policy Framework, we will work with farm leaders and the provinces to continue to improve the farm income support system based on lessons from the current business risk management experience and specifically to address improved methods of assistance in times of income disasters.
Explore ways to help producers earn a greater share of the total value of agri-food products, drawing on the well-received “Easter Report” on Empowering Canadian Farmers in the Marketplace.
Use the increasing demand for environmental stewardship to strengthen farm enterprises in creative ways.
To this end, we will: – Establish a National Renewable Fuels Standard that will call for minimum of 5% mix of renewable fuels in gasoline and diesel by the end of 2010.
This measure will create new economic development opportunities for farmers and rural communities,
as well as advancing the government’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and smog.
– Continue to fund conservation and green cover incentives, after the current program expires in 2007–08.
– Develop domestic “offset credits” for farmers who adopt low-till or zero-till practices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions using the government’s new Climate Fund.
– Enhance the services provided by the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA) to promote a sustainable rural economy.
Increase by 50% the lifetime capital gains tax exemption for all small businesses, including farmers, from $500, 000 to $750, 000 and index the exempt amount thereafter.
Fisheries
The Liberal government has taken a strong stand in support of Canada’s fishing communities and oceans-related industries.
We have put in place measures – e. g. , a $275 million vessel-replacement plan for the Coast Guard;
and sharply increased surveillance and on-board inspection of foreign fleets – which, combined with stock recovery initiatives and sustained diplomatic and legal efforts, will eventually reverse the environmental damage that has been wrought.
A Liberal government will aggressively promote a much more effective international management regime, particularly for fish stocks that straddle the 200-mile limit.
A more constructive tone in recent international gatherings is cause for optimism.
But the bottom line is that overfishing must stop.
So if progress falters, a Liberal government will take whatever action is needed, including direct enforcement, to protect the straddling stocks on the Grand Banks.
Protecting a fisher’s legacy
– Fishing enterprises are family businesses and often have been so for generations.
Our tax laws should recognize this.
Therefore, a Liberal government will: - Amend the Income Tax Act to make the transfer of a fishing enterprise from one qualified fisher to another, eligible for the lifetime capital gains exemption for small business (which will be increased from $500, 000 to $750, 000).
We will do this by adding fishing to the list of eligible enterprises, to be treated the same way as farms and small businesses;
- Allow the tax-exempt transfer of a fishing enterprise from one generation to another.
As is currently the case with farms and small businesses, this inter-generational transfer will not be subject to a maximum limit.
Forests
Forestry is one of Canada’s founding industries, and continues to employ 360, 000 people directly while supporting nearly one million jobs across the country.
While Canadians are familiar with the softwood dispute with the United States,
the industry also faces a number of other trade barriers and competitive challenges that are causing significant restructuring and consolidation.
Future opportunities are bright but require the application of advanced technology and management innovation to enhance the industry’s competitive position,
improve its environmental performance,
and take advantage of the growing bio-economy.
The Liberal government has recently committed $1. 5 billion to help Canada’s forest industry make the transition to competitive strength and sustainability.
Building a competitive forest industry
– A Liberal government will implement a comprehensive plan to enhance the competitiveness of Canada’s forest industry
and to support the communities that rely upon it.
We will: – Support pre-competitive research in such emerging technologies as biotechnology, nanotechnology, and innovative building systems,
and provide new incentives for commercial-scale application of transformative technologies.
– Expand the existing incentives for thermal cogeneration of power and accelerate the capital cost allowance for forest bio-energy to encourage energy conservation and lower greenhouse gas emissions.
– Promote export opportunities for wood products into growing markets such as China.
– Provide loan insurance to enhance the creditworthiness of firms affected by the softwood lumber dispute.
– Support economic diversification and capacity-building in communities affected by recent job losses.
Energy and mining
Canada’s energy and mineral endowment is one of our greatest competitive advantages, and becoming more so as China, India and others multiply global demand.
A Liberal government will join forces with the provinces, territories and industry to support the development of Canada’s energy resources.
We have enormous opportunities in the oil sands, offshore oil and gas, hydro and nuclear.
Investment in the oil sands alone is projected to be $45 billion over the next 10 years, making it by far the largest attractor of private sector investment in Canada.
Canada also aims to be in the vanguard of exciting new green technologies ranging from carbon sequestration and clean coal to wind power and biomass.
We just have to get moving faster.
Meanwhile, Canada is a giant in the global mining industry with annual production value of about $60 billion.
The industry, including smelting and processing, employs directly some 390, 000 in Canada.
Mining also helps maintain Canada’s sovereignty by putting people, equipment and activity on the ground in our northern frontier.
Mining’s positive contribution is not limited to rural and remote areas.
It also creates high demand for high-tech consultancy, equipment and supplies.
And this frontier industry is responsible for Toronto and Vancouver becoming the mining equity investment capitals of the world.
While recognizing provincial resource ownership and jurisdiction,
all levels of government must ensure the competitiveness of the energy and mining sectors.
To support their long-run economic and environmentally sustainable, a Liberal government will:
Maintain a strong fiscal and investment climate by ensuring an internationally competitive tax system, especially relative to the United States,
and promoting transparent and efficiently regulated capital markets ;
Reduce overlapping and disjointed regulatory requirements
– i. e. , make regulation “smarter” and more efficient without compromising social and environmental goals;
Invest heavily in science and technology to develop new knowledge and technologies that support sustainable natural resource exploration, extraction and use in Canada;
Improve market access and address ongoing trade disputes and barriers.
Enhancing Canada’s Northern sovereignty and development
The North is woven through Canada’s history and our collective imagination.
It is part of how we Canadians define ourselves.
The Liberal vision of the North is a place where self-reliant individuals live in healthy, vibrant communities, and where northerners manage their own affairs
– a place where northern traditions and respect for the land and the environment are cherished, and actions and decision-making are anchored in the principles of sustainable development.
A Northern Strategy
– Canada’s North is at a critical juncture.
There is unprecedented opportunity related to oil, gas, and diamond development.
At the same time, northern communities are facing tremendous challenges with respect to infrastructure, housing, skills development, preservation of Aboriginal languages and culture, and the environment.
To address these great opportunities and challenges, the Paul Martin government developed a Northern Strategy, the initial elements of which include:
– Foundations for economic growth – e. g. , support for major resource developments like the proposed MacKenzie Valley gas pipeline
and the education and training of Aboriginal people whose skills are essential to resource development.
– Safeguarding the fragile Arctic environment – e. g. , the Martin government has allocated $4billion to clean up contaminated sites, many of which are former federal facilities in the North.
We also made strong representations in Washington as part of a concerted, and thusfar successful, campaign to prevent drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, home to many species, including a major caribou herd, that migrate between Alaska and the Yukon.
– Increased northern science and research – The Liberal government has pledged $150million of new money to bolster Canadian participation in the International Polar Year, including a targeted research program on climate change impacts and adaptation.
– Affirming Canada’s Arctic sovereignty – The impact of climate change is already far more pronounced in polar regions than elsewhere.
As shrinking ice cover leads gradually to a commercially viable North-West passage, Canada must establish a strong presence in its North through economic development,
an enhanced defence presence and the increased surveillance of our northern frontier.
To that end, under a Liberal government, the Canadian Forces will acquire 10 to 20 medium-altitude, long-endurance Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to greatly increase our capacity for northern surveillance.
We will also increase the frequency of Aurora aircraft patrols in the North.
This greater surveillance capability will be complemented by the planned launch in 2007 of Radarsat 2, an advanced imaging satellite that will also enhance our ability to monitor ship movements and detect pollution in our waters.
We will do more to increase our direct defence presence in the North.
We will base four of our soon-to-be-acquired new search and rescue aircraft – two in Yellowknife and two in Iqaluit.
We will also create Arctic Search and Rescue Patrols made up of specially trained Canadian Rangers (members of the Canadian Forces reserves, many Aboriginal, who live and patrol in remote areas of Canada).
Regional innovation and economic development
The Liberal approach to regional development in Canada is to build on underlying strengths – e. g. , a particular resource base, or concentrations of special skills, or clusters of expertise.
Our focus is increasingly on developing advanced skills and innovation capacity since these are the fundamental drivers of sustainable economic success in a sophisticated economy like Canada’s.
Through programs such as the Atlantic Innovation Fund, the Liberal government has spurred the growth of knowledge-based industries by building stronger linkages between universities and the private sector.
We will continue to make investments in life sciences, information and communications industries, and ocean technologies among other research sectors.
Our aim is to strengthen community-based clusters of innovation and entrepreneurship across the country.
To that end, the Paul Martin government has committed more than $1. 3 billion over the next five years to strengthen support for innovation and local economic development through the regional development agencies (ACOA, CED-Q, FedNor, and WD) and the National Research Council.
The regional development agencies are also uniquely positioned to help deliver federal programs and facilitate our national priorities – for instance, initiatives related to the New Deal for cities and communities.
A Liberal government’s approach to regional innovation and economic development extends well beyond this substantial investment in the regional development agencies.
Liberal programs to support infrastructure; to assist small businesses; to fund environmental clean-up; and the on-going activities of the Department of National Defence and of departments such as Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and Natural Resources Canada, among others, all contribute to regional development.
Two further specific initiatives are particularly significant in upgrading the innovation capacity of our regions.
Building research capacity in regional universities – We are accomplishing this by targeted investments in leading-edge equipment and facilities through the Canada Foundation for Innovation;
by Genome Canada support for research at universities and hospitals;
and by developing a worldclass research faculty at smaller universities through the Canada Research Chairs.
High-speed access to the information highway – Broadband technology is one of the genuinely transformative technologies of our generation and Canada boasts among the world’s highest penetrations of broadband service.
High-speed Internet access is increasingly an essential gateway to economic opportunities, education and even the latest in health care.
Since 2002, the Liberal government’s Broadband for Rural and Northern Development (BRAND) pilot program has helped accelerate the deployment of broadband services in close to 900 rural and remote communities.
A re-elected Liberal government will invest a further $100 million in support for high-speed access in rural, remote and First Nations communities.
Supporting small business
Small businesses are the thread of Canada’s economic fabric, employing almost half of the private sector workforce and accounting for the majority of new job creation.
The Liberal government has acted to strengthen small business by helping owners retain more of their earnings, and by providing incentives for investment in small business.
Specifically, the Paul Martin government in the past two years has:
Improved the tax environment for small and medium businesses and entrepreneurs by: – Ramping up the maximum contribution rates for RRSPs and eliminating the foreign property restriction;
– Reducing personal taxes by raising the basic personal amount, cutting marginal rates, and eventually increasing the threshold when the top rate kicks in to $200, 000;
– Reducing general corporate tax rates and scheduling phase out of the corporate surtax;
– Accelerating the increase of the income threshold (from $200, 000 to $300, 000) below which the 12% small business tax rate applies;
and – Improving access to the credit for scientific research and experimental development (SR&ED).
Continued to reduce EI premiums, which have now been cut for twelve straight years from $3. 07 per $100 of insurable earnings in 1994, to $1. 87 in 2006.
This represents a saving for workers and employers of more than $11 billion each year.
Provided new resources for the Business Development Bank and Farm Credit Corporation specifically for venture capital investments, including at the earliest stages.
Renewed and increased support for the 300 Community Futures Development Corporations which provide, among other services, loans to small local businesses in rural and small communities throughout Canada.
Committed to streamline the business regulatory framework, particularly the burden of “formfilling” which falls especially heavily on the limited resources of small businesses.
To tackle this problem, the Martin government has established an Advisory Committee on Paperwork Burden Reduction, co-chaired by a representative of the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses.
New support for small business – A new Liberal government will continue to strengthen support for small business.
We will: – Increase the lifetime capital gains exemption for small business from $500, 000 to $750, 000 and index this amount thereafter.
– Provide $90 million of financial support over five years for information services of real value to small and mid-sized business,
including: – BizPaL, a web-based service that allows easy access to a customized list of permits and licences required from all levels of government for specific business activities.
This will harmonize permit and licence requirements to reduce regulatory complexity.
– Canada Business, a primary source of business information, advice and referrals for entrepreneurs.
The dynamic nature of the small business sector is evident in the success of women entrepreneurs.
Women currently own more than 800, 000 businesses in Canada, and now account for more business start-ups than men.
In this respect, the fastest growing segment of self-employed professionals is women aged 55 and up.
Women entrepreneurs face three challenges in particular: financing, information and skills development, and networking.
The Liberal government has been addressing these issues – e. g. , the Business Development Bank has created a $25 million fund specifically to help women expand their businesses and to seek new market opportunities outside Canada.
The regional economic development agencies (ACOA, CED-Q, WD and FedNor) all provide services targeted to assist women entrepreneurs including counselling and help with financing.
Industry Canada’s Network for Women Entrepreneurs in Ontario provides web portal access to a wealth of business information for women, in addition to personalized mentoring services.
Maternity and parental benefits for the self-employed – Women business owners still face challenges, particularly balancing work and family responsibilities.
As self-employed entrepreneurs, small business owners typically do not pay into the Employment Insurance program and therefore do not qualify for EI maternity and parental benefits.
Interest among the self-employed is growing, as the majority have indicated that they would be willing to pay premiums to have access to maternity and parental benefits.
A Liberal government will immediately begin consultations with organizations representing the self-employed toward designing a maternity and parental benefits program that best suits their diverse need.
We will look to international models – e. g. , that of the UK –
and we will also closely monitor the launch of maternity and parental benefits for the self-employed in Quebec.
With the help of Liberal initiatives like the Early Learning and Child Care program, and in light of the preponderant proportion of women in current university and college enrolment, we can look forward to a future where the economic disadvantages faced by women will be a thing of the past.
BUILDING A MORE GLOBALLY-COMPETITIVE NORTH AMERICA
By virtue of history and geography, Canada is an integral part of the North American economy.
While this is among Canada’s enduring advantages, it is increasingly clear that Canada, the United States and Mexico need to work better together to build a more competitive continent – a North America able to rise to confront the challenge, and especially to seize the opportunity, inherent in the growth of China, India, Brazil and other potential economic giants.
The Security and Prosperity Partnership launched in 2004 by Prime Minister Martin, US President Bush and Mexican President Fox is our collective answer.
The Partnership seeks to achieve a common approach to protect North America from both external and internal threats, and to ensure the efficient movement of legitimate goods and services across our shared borders.
The Security and Prosperity Partnership is an agenda for good jobs, safer communities, and a better quality of life.
In the past two years, the Martin government has taken a number of other noteworthy steps to strengthen Canada’s relationship with the United States.
We have: Established a special secretariat in Washington to better support parliamentary and provincial/territorial activities in the US capital;
and Opened seven new consulates in the US, thus extending our ability to advocate for Canadian interests on issues such as softwood lumber, BSE, energy, and the environment.
Considerable integration of the North American economy is simply a fact – so we are all strengthened when we cooperate.
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was intended to facilitate increased trade by establishing clear rules and due process to resolve disagreements.
Despite our impressive trade figures and our strong relationship – for example, more than 95% of Canada’s trade with the US is trouble-free – it is inevitable that disputes will emerge from time to time.
That is why we need a dispute settlement procedure that works and is respected by all parties, in letter and in spirit.
In Canada’s on-going dispute with the Americans over softwood lumber that obligation has been ignored by the US government.
Despite having lost every step of the way through the arduous NAFTA dispute resolution procedure – most recently, by a unanimous decision of NAFTA’s “extraordinary challenge” tribunal where two of the three judges were American – the US government has refused to play by the rules of the game and accept the referee’s ruling.
As Prime Minister Martin said in New York in October, 2005: “The problem is that, instead of honouring this decision, the United States has decided to ignore it.
. . . It’s a breach of faith.
Countries must live up to their agreements.
The duties must be refunded.
Free trade must be fair trade. ”
This issue goes beyond the particular case of softwood lumber because it calls into question the willingness of the US to put the rule of law above the pressure of domestic lobby groups.
Insisting on respect for NAFTA – NAFTA continues to be of enormous benefit to businesses and consumers in Canada, Mexico and the US.
It is one cornerstone of North American competitiveness, all the more important in a world of super-regions like the European Union and Asia.
But for NAFTA to work, its rules simply must be respected and enforced.
A Liberal government will continue to use every available means to pressure the US to abide by the letter and spirit of NAFTA and its dispute resolution procedure.
Standing Up for Canada on Softwood Lumber
The Government of Canada has led numerous legal challenges on behalf of our softwood industry for years.
In addition to challenges at the World Trade Organization and under NAFTA, Canada has also taken action in the US Court of International Trade.
The Martin government has raised the issue persistently and forcefully at the highest levels of the US Government and has taken the case to the US media and public.
Canadians have remained united and resolved on this issue.
Throughout it all, the Liberal government has provided assistance, most recently to help bridge the industry until the unfairly withheld duties are returned, and to help communities adjust.
Now, as a result of new investment and a shared commitment by both management and labour, Canada’s softwood industry is more competitive than ever before.
The continuing priority of a Liberal government will be removal of these unfair and illegal duties and the repayment of duties collected.
On December 6, 2005 the United States Department of Commerce partially relented and reduced punitive duties on Canadian softwood lumber by close to half.
While the reduction will bring some welcome relief to Canadian softwood lumber exporters, this positive development remains insufficient.
The recent string of NAFTA decisions in Canada’s favour continue to be valid and must be respected
– the United States remains legally obligated to revoke the tariffs and refund, with interest, all duties collected, totalling more than $5 billion.
A Liberal government will continue to wage a vigorous legal and political fight with the US government and industry
and will continue to consult with the provinces and Canadian industry on the best way to achieve a final and lasting solution.
EXPANDING CANADA’S TRADE HORIZONS
Canada is one of the world’s most successful trading nations.
We export more, as a percentage of our economy, than any other G-7 country.
Canada’s success in the global marketplace has spurred much of our economic growth, with estimates suggesting that rising exports have accounted in recent years for two out of every three new jobs.
This success also means that Canada is the most trade-dependent nation among G-7 countries.
That is why Liberals are so strongly committed to a comprehensive, rules-based international trading regime.
It is why we have been pushing hard for an ambitious outcome as the WTO’s “Doha Round” of trade liberalization negotiations comes down to the crunch in the wake of the recent ministerial meeting in Hong Kong.
Globalization brings both an opportunity and a challenge.
The opportunity comes from the vast new markets now opening up – for example, China and India will eventually bring two billion new consumers into the global economic mainstream.
Their development is a tremendous new source of potential demand for Canada’s resources, our technology and know-how.
The challenge is presented by the huge increase in both the number and the sophistication of competitors.
We know that the American market will always be critically important for Canada.
At the same time, our recent frustrations with softwood lumber and BSE have shown how important it is for Canada to develop other options as well.
The opportunity to do that is greater now than it has been at any time since the end of the Second World War.
Positioning Canada in Global Business Networks – The Liberal government will invest almost $500 million over the next five years to implement CAN-Trade, a comprehensive network of services and programs.
This new trade promotion strategy will better position Canadian firms, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, in China, India and other priority markets.
Highlights include: – A $250 million Global Success Fundt o assist smaller companies to link to global supply networks;
– Expanded trade officer representation in key markets, including China, India and Brazil;
– ACorporate Social Responsibility Centrewhich, in partnership with the private sector, will help ensure that Canadian activities in emerging markets foster social and environmental as well as economic goals;
and –TheSustainable Cities Initiative, which links Canadian companies to opportunities for improving the sustainability of major cities in developing nations.
Gateways to the World
As Canada broadens its trade horizons, significant new investments are needed to upgrade and expand the infrastructure that connects us to major growth markets.
That is why the Martin government announced in October, 2005, a Pacific Gateway strategy.
A federal financial commitment of up to $590 million will support investments in transportation infrastructure, secure and efficient border services and deeper links with the Asia-Pacific region.
The initiative will reinforce British Columbia’s position as a transportation gateway and will have major benefits throughout western Canada, enabling entrepreneurs to access huge emerging Asia-Pacific markets.
The Pacific Gateway Act, introduced by the Liberal government on October 20, 2005, establishes a Pacific Gateway Council to promote consensus among a full range of public and private sector stakeholders and advise decision-makers on priorities for developing the Pacific Gateway.
A Liberal government will use the Pacific Gateway strategy as a model for elaborating a national policy on strategic gateways and trade corridors.
The St. Lawrence, historically the gateway to the industrial heartland of North America, and the magnificent port of Halifax are natural channels, the further development of which will strengthen Canada’s position in global commerce.
At the same time, the volume of Canada-US trade is destined to keep growing, putting increased pressure on north-south corridors like the Windsor-Detroit crossing – the world’s busiest.
A Liberal government will replenish the Border Infrastructure Fund and will continue to co-operate with governments, shippers and stakeholders on both sides of the border to plan the long-term investments needed to keep trade flowing freely.
THE NEW LIBERAL PLAN FOR GROWTH AND PROSPERITY
In November, 2005, the Paul Martin government put forward a comprehensive blueprint for Canada’s economic future – A Plan for Growth and Prosperity.
That plan will guide a re-elected Liberal government.
It is a plan to enhance not just Canada’s standard of living, but more fundamentally, Canada’s quality of life.
Many of the promised initiatives outlined in the previous sections of this platform – e. g. , building the capabilities of people; advancing an innovative economy; expanding Canada’s trade horizons – represent the concrete actions that will implement the Plan for Growth and Prosperity.
The Liberal tax reduction commitment
A key part of that plan is also to build the right investment environment, since investment is a fundamental driver of productivity, growth and jobs.
Among the many factors that make for an attractive investment environment, a competitive tax system, for both persons and businesses, is particularly important in light of the intense and growing global competition for talent and capital.
At the same time, an appropriate tax system must reflect more than simply competitive factors.
First and foremost, taxes need to be fair.
Those of lower incomes should pay proportionately less.
Taxes should be efficient.
For example, studies have demonstrated conclusively that reducing taxes on personal income– as Liberals have proposed – does far more to promote economic growth than reducing taxes on consumption(e. g., GST)
– as the Conservatives have proposed.
Taxes should be “smart. ”
When properly targeted, tax cuts can encourage desired forms of investment – e. g. , in environment-friendly technologies
– or desired forms of savings – e. g. , for a child’s education or to support a family member with a disability;
or can increase the incentive to work.
Liberal governments have followed each of these common sense principles, first in providing a $100 billion tax cut over five years beginning in 2000 – a tremendous dividend from the fiscal turnaround led by Paul Martin as Finance Minister.
The Liberal government’s 2005 budget included a further $22 billion tax reduction (through 2010–11).
New Tax Relief for Canadians
A reduction in personal income taxes is the best way to deliver a given tax cut to individuals since it gives people complete freedom to choose how to use the extra dollars.
Nonetheless, it is hard for people to translate the abstract description of a personal tax cut – based on marginal rate reductions, etc. – into a meaningful picture of dollars saved on one’s year-end tax bill.
The following examples, drawn from the November 2005 Economic and Fiscal Update, illustrate the benefit of the Martin government’s tax reduction plan for three typical taxpayers.
The tax reductions will eventually remove 860, 000 lower-income Canadians from the tax rolls altogether, including 240, 000 seniors.
This is in addition to one million Canadians who no longer pay income tax as a result of the Liberal tax cuts announced in 2000.
Meanwhile, the Martin government’s Energy Cost Benefit will immediately provide $250 for families receiving the National Child Benefit supplement and a similar amount for a senior couple receiving the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS).
While the great majority of the tax reductions are going to individuals, the Liberal government will also maintain Canada’s corporate tax advantage relative to the US.
This is essential to encourage strong business investment in Canada.
And investment is a key factor in promoting job creation, competitiveness, and growing incomes.
A Liberal government’s tax commitments also include an innovative “smart” reduction that will be of great benefit to those working on very low incomes.
Working income tax benefit– A person receiving social assistance will typically have his or her benefits reduced if their income increases.
This can be a strong disincentive to taking a job since the loss of benefits – both cash and services – can offset, or even more than offset, the new income.
This “welfare wall” is an inherent problem with all income-tested assistance programs and it has the perverse effect of trapping people on social assistance when it would be better for them, and for society, if they were able to re-enter the workforce.
That is why a Liberal government will create a working income tax benefit (WITB) to supplement the earnings of low-income workers to help “make work pay”.
The effect of a WITB is to encourage individuals to move from social assistance to the labour force by allowing them to keep more of the money they earn.
Benefits under a WITB will be determined as a percentage of an individual’s earnings (to a maximum benefit amount).
The precise structure of a WITB would be the subject of consultation to ensure that provincially-administered programs and benefits are compatible.
To illustrate one potential design among many, the WITB might be phased in at a rate of 30% of annual earnings in excess of $3, 000.
It would be reduced, say, by 10% of net family income in excess of $18, 000.
In this particular example, a single parent earning $10, 000 per year would receive a WITB of $1, 000 per year.
Securing Canada’s success
The Plan for Growth and Prosperity is about taking the excellent performance of Canada’s economy to the next level.
It is about giving a major boost to productivity by equipping Canadians with the best technology, skills and work opportunities.
Ultimately, productivity growth is the key to overcoming Canada’s demographic challenge – because as relatively fewer workers must support greater numbers in retirement, those who are working will be called upon to create more output.
That is why innovation, investment and skills are so vitally important.
Taking Canada’s economic performance to the next level is also the way to seize the opportunity and to meet the challenge of China and the other emerging giants.
That is because only a globally competitive economy, and the businesses that comprise it, will be able to capture the new markets and withstand the new competitors.
So the Plan for Growth and Prosperity provides a new Liberal government with a winning response to both new forces that are shaping Canada’s future.
It is, in fact, even more than that.
We also know that only a strong economy can ultimately generate the financial resources to sustain and build our social foundations.
Only a dynamic, innovative economy will allow us to continue to create the Canada we want, and to secure Canada’s success.
BUILDING THE CANADA WE WANT
The Values Liberals Bring to Government Speaking to the senior ranks of the Public Service on September 20, 2005, Prime Minister Martin stated his view – the Liberal view – of the values that motivate the Canada we want to build.  “At the very core of the idea of Canada is our particular fusion of the values of social justice and economic opportunity – values that will be essential to Canada successfully meeting the challenges of the 21st century. Our values bring us together. They make our country the choice of people the world over. They guide the government in fulfilling its duties as guardian of our unity, security and sovereignty.  We value individual freedom. So we seek to give people the tools to succeed. We believe in our responsibility towards our fellow citizens and for future generations – a responsibility that we express through public undertakings, robust social foundations and an enduring commitment to human dignity.  Canada is at the vanguard of nations committed to the protection of human rights.  We celebrate diversity in pursuit of common purpose and aspire to embrace inclusion and equality of opportunity; those things that define a shared citizenship. These values are codified in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, a document that has for more than 20years now played a pivotal role. It will continue to do so as we grow as a nation and advance as a society.  Our unique blend of values helps to define who we are, and how we will act to achieve our goals as a nation. These values endure even as time passes and circumstances change. They give shape to the idea that is Canada – a nation determined to leave no one behind; a nation with the ambition to be the standard against which others judge themselves. ”
The successes that Liberals cherish today – the creation of our public health care system; bilingualism; multiculturalism; the Charter of Rights and Freedoms; the restoration of fiscal order – did not come about by chance.
They are an extension of the values that set us apart from our political opponents and that guide our actions.
Liberals have always believed in the importance of respect for individual rights and freedoms, equality of opportunity for all, inclusiveness, compassion and honouring our differences.
Indeed, it is these values that motivated the founders of Canada to create a country in which two languages and various cultures and religions co-exist peacefully.
Because of the presence of francophones throughout Canada, their attachment to their language and culture, and the determination of Quebecers to affirm a distinct identity, Canada learned early on to handle diversity positively and constructively.
Canada thus developed a unique vision and a unique social blueprint, and by welcoming successive waves of immigrants to our plural society, paved the way for the multicultural Canada of today.
This perspective is the foundation of the Liberal approach to the federation – an approach based on the twin principles of flexibility and accountability.
In the interests of meeting national objectives, the provinces and territories are able to offer services geared to their particular realities while reporting on results to their own populations in a transparent and comparable way so Canadians can see that results are truly being achieved.
This approach has proven effective in the history of Canadian federalism and more recently with the health accord;
with agreements on early learning and child care;
and with the New Deal for cities and communities.
Liberals believe that diverse approaches to meet common objectives encourage innovation, which in turn fosters progress and strengthens our nation.
The whole of Canada really is much greater than the sum of its parts.
All provinces benefit greatly from membership in a larger entity.
More concretely, all benefit from Canada’s fiscal stability and the federal government’s “triple A” credit rating on international markets.
And the prosperity that is shared among Canada’s provinces and territories through our constitutional commitment to Equalization reflects our values, but also adds stability through good times and bad.
Of course, the value of Canada is much more than the concrete and quantifiable benefit of belonging to one of the world’s richest and most favoured nations.
Less tangible, but perhaps even more important, is the bond of commitment to the ideal expressed in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
This year marked the 20thAnniversary of the coming into effect of Section 15 of the Charter which states: “Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability. ”
This section has become a fundamental expression of Canada’s commitment to a society in which the equality of all persons is affirmed.
A Liberal government will build upon our strong record of defending rights of Canadians.
The landmark Civil Marriage Act – which extends civil marriage to same-sex couples right across Canada – came into force in July 2005 and now stands as testament to the Liberal government’s unwavering commitment to fundamental equality rights.
The sections that follow are not to be read apart from those that have preceded in this platform statement.
All are part of building The Canada We Want.
All reflect the Liberal perspective on what Canada should stand for.
What follows is particularly illustrative of the values that Liberals bring to government:
A compassionate determination to create a more accessible and inclusive Canada so that no person with a disability is left behind.
A commitment to safe, tolerant communities in which racism, old world animosities and violence can have no part.
A celebration of cultures that comprise Canada’s portrait to itself and to the world.
A responsibility for stewardship of the environmental treasure that is Canada and for the contribution we can make to meet the global challenge of sustainability.
And the values that motivate our role in the world as promoters of justice, security and prosperity.
AN ACCESSIBLE AND INCLUSIVE CANADA
“I believe that social policy, the things we do to help each other out and help each other up, is a window on the kind ofcountry we are, and the kind ofcountry we want to be. I believe we give ourselves the best chance to succeed as a nation when we rally behind the conviction that we must leave no one behind. ” – Paul Martin, 3 January, 2006
Twenty-five years ago, when Canadians celebrated the International Year of Disabled Persons, the Liberal government of the day took a bold position in favour of equality rights and participation for Canadians with disabilities.
We made Canada’s Constitution the first in the world to protect people with disabilities from discrimination.
Since the adoption of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, equality for people with disabilities has become the way that Canadians think – the way that we see ourselves and value one another.
Today, people with disabilities are in schools, workplaces, and contributing to the vitality of Canadian communities.
All governments in Canada, and all sectors of society, have worked to make this happen.
And all have benefited.
Close to 3. 6 million Canadians – almost 12 percent of the population – experience disability in some way because of their physical, psychological or health conditions.
The incidence of disability is particularly severe among Aboriginal Canadians.
Despite a great deal of progress over the past 25 years, Canadians with disabilities and their families still face daunting barriers.
Too many still do not experience the same Canada as those without disability.
Access to education continues to be difficult.
Early learning and care for children with disabilities continues to be very limited or to segregate children from their peer group.
Working age people with disabilities suffer more than twice the poverty rate of other Canadians.
People with disabilities are more likely to be unemployed or working on the margins.
And when they are employed, earnings are almost 20% lower than for people without disabilities.
Liberals want to ensure that all Canadians can participate as full and active citizens – with dignity, respect, and hope.
This is the Canada we want.
The Liberal vision for people with disabilities is therefore a vision of a truly Accessible and Inclusive Canada – accessible and inclusive not just for persons with physical disabilities, but also persons with psychological and other invisible disabilities.
A Canada where – thanks to adaptation, technology and supports – all Canadians can live full lives with adequate opportunity, income, and economic security.
We have a ways to go.
But the Liberal vision for an accessible and inclusive Canada is clear.
Ten years from now, Canadians with disabilities will live in a country that has succeeded in providing access to disability supports and services so that Canadians with disabilities will enjoy the same Canada as other Canadians enjoy – where the only difference between Canadians with disabilities and those without will be the disability itself, not the quality of life.
The Paul Martin government has already made a significant start and will do more: Supporting inclusion: The Liberal government is committed to increasing educational and employment opportunities for Canadians with disabilities.
We will: – Substantially increase – by $150 million over five years – support for employability assistance programs of provinces and territories under Labour Market Agreements for Persons with Disabilities.
– Improve access to post-secondary education facilities by earmarking $135 million from the new $1 billion Post-Secondary Education Innovation Fund to enhance access to advanced education for students with disabilities.
– Include, as a priority area in new Labour Market Partnership Agreements with provinces and territories, workplace-based skills development for persons with disabilities.
Tax assistance: In Budget 2005 and the November Economic and Fiscal Update we have undertaken to implement all the recommendations of the Technical Advisory Committee on Tax Measures for Persons with Disabilities.
Committing new funding of $675 million over five years, we have extended eligibility for the Disability Tax Credit and increased the maximum Child Disability Benefit by almost $600, or 37%.
We have also increased the maximum amount of the refundable medical expense supplement (RMES) to $1, 000 from $750 annually.
A Liberal government will build on the foregoing foundation a ten-year national strategy to realize our vision of an Accessible and Inclusive Canada.
Key elements of the Liberal plan include: A Registered Disability Savings Plan(see Box) so that family members and others can help Canadians with disabilities save for the future.
The RDSP will operate on the same principle as the Registered Retirement Savings Plan, in that savings will grow tax-free until they are accessed – giving Canadians with disabilities a new tool by which to achieve for themselves financial security.
Sustained investment in disability supports and services.
We recognize that Canadians with disabilities are too often excluded from participating in the full life of their communities.
To make Canada truly accessible and inclusive requires a national effort to provide supports and services.
A Liberal government will work with the provinces and territories to develop and implement a national plan to make it so.
The investment of an additional $150million in Labour Market Agreements for Persons with Disabilities, noted above, is strong evidence of our commitment.
Disability dimension in federal initiatives.
The New Deal for Cities and Communities, for example, will place new emphasis on inclusion.
The 2010 Winter Games will be the most accessible ever staged in the history of the Olympics.
Federal procurement policy will ensure the appropriate treatment for consumers and contractors with disabilities.
And our government will continue to improve as a model employer.
Combating stigma and raising awareness.
A Liberal government will work with the disability community and with provinces and territories, municipalities, business and voluntary organizations to eliminate stigma and to promote an understanding of disability.
We will create, for example, a national employer network modelled on the highly successful Greater Vancouver Business initiative.
Safeguarding an accessible and inclusive Canada – A Liberal government will review and strengthen existing legislative standards and expected outcomes through monitoring, enforcement and reporting.
These actions will complement the Charter, the Canadian Human Rights Act, and other federal laws that already provide strong guarantees of equality and freedom from discrimination.
We will also consider whether a Canadian Inclusion and Accessibility Actmay be required to close any gaps in existing laws and to reinforce current legislative measures to enhance the protection of rights and to eliminate barriers.
A Registered Disabilities Savings Plan
A Liberal government will implement a Registered Disabilities Savings Plan to fulfill a public policy objective to encourage and mobilize the savings of those who are caring for family members with disabilities.
This is an important and innovative component of our vision of an Accessible and Inclusive Canada.
It recognizes the modern demographic reality that even severely disabled persons can often expect a long lifetime and, increasingly, will outlive their parents.
The Registered Disabilities Savings Plan (RDSP) will be built on the model of the Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP).
Persons caring for a disabled and financially dependent family member will receive a tax deduction for contributions, up to a certain annual limit, to the new RDSP.
Income from these invested contributions will be tax-sheltered, as in an RRSP, and could be transferred for the benefit of the disabled dependent after a specified holding period – say, five years.
Based on a detailed analysis performed for the Vancouver-based Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network, it is estimated that an RDSP, with an annual contribution limit of $4, 000, could eventually attract approximately $230 million of yearly contributions on behalf of roughly 400, 000 Canadians with disabilities who are both financially dependent and eligible to receive the Disability Tax Credit.
This would be a very cost-efficient way for government to help to mobilize significant long-term family support for financially-dependent members with disabilities.
The precise design of the RDSP will be worked out with the disability community as well as with provinces and territories to minimize the claw back of income-dependent benefits for persons with disabilities.
It is estimated that the program will cost $100 million over the next five years.
Supporting Canada’s family caregivers
The Liberal vision of an inclusive and accessible Canada encompasses not only those who must cope with disability or a mental or physical illness, but also those friends and family members who provide care.
Caring for an elderly parent, a disabled child, or an infirm friend is happening everyday in households all across our country.
Canadians are giving generously of themselves to care for those they love, respect and admire.
Caregivers nonetheless face the challenge of balancing work, their own health needs and caregiving responsibilities.
The resulting stress and fatigue can often reach the point where caregivers become care receivers themselves.
The implications of our ageing population are nowhere more evident than in the area of unpaid caregiving.
More and more women, our traditional caregivers, are in the workforce and families are smaller and more dispersed.
It has been estimated that up to three million unpaid caregivers provide more than 80% of all the care needed by people with disabilities, long-term health problems and age-related infirmities.
Approximately a quarter of middle-aged Canadians are providing informal, unpaid care to seniors.
These voluntary commitments make an enormous contribution to Canada’s social fabric and assume a large responsibility that would otherwise have to be borne by publicly-financed social and health care services.
For these reasons, Liberals committed during the 2004 election campaign to invest $1billion over five years toward development of a national caregiving agenda.
Substantial information and experience has been gathered during extensive consultations with Canadians over the past year.
Six priority areas for action have emerged: The need for enhanced respite supports for caregivers to relieve the stress and exhaustion of round-the-clock responsibility;
The need for greater economic security for individual caregivers;
A desire for better employment and workplace supports;
A desire for improved information and navigation tools to assist caregivers to access available resources;
A need to strengthen community caregiving organizations; and
The need to build awareness and recognition of caregiving within our society.
Our $1 billion commitment will be maintained.
The plan will be developed in concert with provincial and territorial governments and we will maintain the original 24-month timeframe for completion of negotiations.
While these negotiations are under way, a Liberal government will act immediately in the following areas within the identified priorities.
Family Leave Program – We will introduce a new program within the Employment Insurance framework to provide two months of benefits to care for a seriously-ill loved one.
The leave can be taken in intervals, up to the two-month maximum, at any time during a person’s working life.
This is in addition to the existing EI Compassionate Care Program.
The leave will be available to those qualifying for EI benefits.
As well, we will immediately begin consultations with provinces and territories and groups representing the self-employed to examine how these measures might be extended.
Eligibility for Family Leave will be based on a doctor’s certificate as to the severity of the care receiver’s condition.
The cost of this new program is estimated to be $1. 2 billion over five years but will be dependent on take-up.
The cost will be covered by EI revenue.
EI Compassionate Care Benefit – This program, introduced in 2004, provides EI benefits for those caring for a gravely ill close relative.
Its objective and criteria are complementary to, but different from, those of the proposed Family Leave.
Both will co-exist.
A number of shortcomings have been identified in the existing program.
These will be corrected.
For example, we will expand the definition of family member beyond the current list of parents, spouses and children to include siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, in-laws, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, foster parents, wards and others considered like family by the gravely ill person.
We will take measures to significantly increase the public awareness of the program,
and undertake consultations with stakeholders and provinces to improve the program’s accessibility by extending the current benefit to meet the needs of part-time workers.
These modifications will be cost neutral since the program was significantly undersubscribed in its first year of application.
Caregiver tax credit – We will increase the maximum amount that can be claimed under the credit from $10, 000 to $15, 000.
To recognize the importance of reaching those individuals who are low to moderate income we will make the credit refundable.
This will cost approximately $10 million annually.
Community Caregiving Canada – We will provide $25 million over five years to encourage community-based solutions to caregiving challenges.
The program will be modelled on the highly successful New Horizons for Seniors program.
Accessing resources for caregivers – We will provide $25 million over the next five years to assist in the development and improvement of information and navigation tools that will enable caregivers to locate community resources; to become aware of tax-based support; and to connect with others in similar circumstances.
Model employer – We will ensure that the federal government, as an employer, is at the vanguard of human resource practises with respect to employees engaged in unpaid caregiving.
ENSURING A SAFE, SECURE AND TOLERANT CANADA
Canadians enjoy one of the safest, most secure and tolerant societies in the world.
Because we want to keep it this way, we cannot be complacent.
In 2004, the homicide rate in Canada jumped 12%.
Since 2001, handguns have accounted for roughly two-thirds of firearms-related homicides, double the proportion prior to 1990.
A significant percentage of gun homicides are directly related to illegal activities such as drug trafficking and gang violence.
It was in this context that Paul Martin unveiled, on December7, 2005, a five-part strategy to make Canada’s communities safer:
Banning handguns– A Liberal government will amend the criminal code to make ownership of handguns illegal.
We will invite provinces and territories – who have the jurisdiction to enforce the ban – to participate so as to make the ban national.
Legitimate target shooters who meet strict requirements will be exempted.
We will implement an amnesty and buy-back program to collect existing handguns.
A national Gunstoppers Program will provide financial rewards for information leading to the removal of an illegal gun from the street.
More law enforcement– A Liberal government will provide $315 million over five years for: – an RCMP Advanced Community Safety and Rapid Enforcement Team, providing 250 additional officers to meet immediate policing needs related to guns and gang activity, as well as organized crime and drug trafficking;
– investments in our Border Services Agency to hire 75 additional officers to stem the illegal smuggling of firearms into Canada;
– a Rural Community Safety Plan to provide resources for crime prevention initiatives in communities with less that 100, 000 residents.
We will also provide an additional $10 million a year for 10 years to increase the number of graduating RCMP officers.
Community-based action– We will provide a $50 million Gun Violence and Gang Prevention Fund, adding to the National Crime Prevention Strategy, to focus on community-based programming for youth at risk,
and skills development programs to engage young people in the workforce.
Over the next five years, new program funding will go to organizations and governments working to reduce gun violence and gang activity in Canada’s urban centers.
Tougher penalties – A Liberal government will re-introduce legislation to crack down on violent crimes and gang violence,
and to double the mandatory minimum sentences for serious gun-related crimes.
These reforms will also prevent courts from using conditional sentences in cases where there was serious personal injury, including all forms of sexual assault; terrorist activities;
and organized crime-related offences.
Waiving re-licensing fees for long guns– This will encourage owners of these firearms to comply with the Canada Firearms Program.
A Liberal government will take further steps to make our communities and streets safer by re-introducing several pieces of legislation that died when the opposition parties forced the January election.
We will bring back Bills to restrict the use of conditional sentences for serious and violent offences;
help implement DNA data bank reforms;
strengthen the law regarding investigation of drug-impaired driving;
and toughen penalties for auto theft;
and more heavily penalize street racing.
In July 2005, Bill C-2 (Child Protection) became law.
This Bill, which was introduced by the Martin government, strengthens the criminal law to provide increased protection to children from abuse, neglect and sexual exploitation, including child pornography.
It also included reforms to make testifying less traumatic for vulnerable victims/witnesses.
Committed to equality and tolerance
Safer communities go hand-in-hand with more tolerant and compassionate societies.
A Liberal government will continue to promote tolerance by ensuring the protection of minorities.
In particular, we will continue to develop justice initiatives – both domestically and internationally – aimed at combating racism, hate speech and hate crimes.
As evidence of this commitment, Canada’s first-ever National Action Plan Against Racism was launched in March 2005.
And in July 2005, Canada signed an important international protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime, which encourages greater cooperation to fight racism and hate-motivated crimes committed through the Internet.
WEAVING AN EVEN STRONGER CULTURAL FABRIC
Liberals attach great importance to the cultural expression that helps to define the Canadian identity.
Through culture we show the world who we are and what things are important to us.
Through culture we discover our origins and our aspirations.
Canadian culture reveals the uniqueness and richness of our society – its linguistic duality, aboriginal traditions and diverse population.
It also shows our openness to the world.
Canada’s authors, filmmakers, musicians and athletes are making a name for themselves internationally and demonstrating the vitality, creativity and innovation that set Canada apart.
It is important to see government support for cultural expression through the arts, television, exhibitions, languages and heritage preservation as an investment and not simply an expense.
As a vibrant sector of the economy, cultural industries create jobs here at home, increasing our prosperity.
The Canadian cultural sector is a vital contributor to the economy, generating more than $40 billion per year and providing jobs to nearly 600, 000 Canadians.
Liberals applaud such excellence and will give their support so that culture can continue to strengthen our country, its unity, and our reputation abroad, all the while adding immeasurably to Canadians’ quality of life.
That is why a Liberal government will continue to strongly support Canada’s culture through a range of programs and policies.
Tomorrow Starts Today– The Paul Martin government demonstrated a clear commitment to culture and the arts by making one of the largest long-term financial investments in our history.
We provided in the last budget new funding of $860 million over five years under the Tomorrow Starts Today initiative, in addition to the $740 million already invested since it was created by the Liberal government in 2001.
This predictable funding will give stability to the arts and culture sector in Canada.
Tomorrow Starts Today supports excellence – promoting arts and culture to the general public and creating tools to help cultural industries flourish.
Canada Council for the Arts– The Liberal government continues to support professional artists and non-profit arts organizations in Canada through the Canada Council for the Arts.
On the occasion of the Council’s 50thanniversary, a Liberal government will double Council funding to reach $300 million by 2008.
Copyright– Following several years of debate and consultation, the Martin government introduced legislation to amend the Copyright Act.
Although this bill died when the opposition forced the election, a Liberal government will reintroduce it to give Canadian creators and their works protection without nullifying the great public benefits made possible by digital technologies.
Cultural diversity– Canada’s idea to create an international body to protect cultural diversity and cultural sovereignty became reality last October when a majority of UNESCO member countries signed the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expression.
A few weeks later, the Liberal government approved the Convention, making Canada the first country to ratify it.
We will now work to persuade as many countries as possible to follow Canada’s example so that the Convention can come into force as soon as possible.
Vancouver 2010– Liberals recognize the importance of Canada’s athletes, their commitment to excellence and their perseverance.
Therefore, the Martin government made significant investments through Sport Canada in the Own the Podium 2010 strategy and in national and international events.
By being well equipped, Canadian athletes will be able to excel when the world comes to Vancouver for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
Commitment to official languages– Canadian linguistic duality is at the heart of our identity, culture and pride in citizenship.
Therefore, a Liberal government will unequivocally support investments to enrich and protect our two official languages.
The centerpiece of our commitment is the Action Plan for Official Languages.
Launched in 2003, and funded with $810 million over five years, the Action Plan supports the development of official language minority communities in the areas of education, community development and excellence in the federal Public Service.
A Liberal government will renew the Action Plan in 2008, and will provide annual funding of $215 million going forward.
ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP – RESPONSIBILITY AND OPPORTUNITY
If every human being consumed as much as the average Canadian or American does today, it would take five planet Earths to provide the necessary resources.
So the emergence of new economic giants like China, India and Brazil starkly emphasizes the need for the world to come to grips with the challenge of making economic development sustainable.
For Liberals, this challenge presents an opportunity for Canadians to become world leaders in a more efficient and planet-friendly economy.
A Liberal government will take the steps necessary to put Canadians at the forefront of technological development, leading the way to solutions to global challenges.
We need to use energy and other natural resources more efficiently, minimizing the waste and pollution that damages our environment and our health.
This is about resource productivity– producing more with less.
With cleaner air, cleaner water, better use of nature’s bounty and concerted action on climate change, Canada will be more competitive in a future global economy that must make the transition to sustainability.
The countries that will succeed are those whose environmental and economic policies point in the same direction.
That is why the Liberal government launched Project Green, an integrated approach to sustainable development that uses the full range of policy instruments – market mechanisms, tax measures, and incentives for businesses and consumers.
It encourages innovation and introduces a balance of regulatory and voluntary measures aimed at supporting both a healthy environment and a competitive economy.
The Liberal Environmental Record
Since 1997, Liberal governments have invested more than $10 billion to promote environmental sustainability.
Our most recent budget, which laid out a comprehensive plan to combat climate change, was the “greenest” in Canadian history.
The Liberal government has invested in a wide range of initiatives to clean up the environment, protect wildlife and natural habitats, and provide environmentally sustainable infrastructure.
We have acted to control invasive species and provided funds to address the mountain pine beetle infestation in British Columbia.
We have moved to establish protected marine areas on all three coasts.
We made targeted investments to encourage the use of new renewable energies, particularly wind and biofuels.
In April 2005, the Martin government released Moving Forward on Climate Change which details an ambitious strategy to meet Canada’s Kyoto protocol commitments by reducing “greenhouse gases, ” like CO2 and methane, that are the main culprits behind global warming.
Key measures include: The Climate Fund – A $1 billion market-based institution will buy “emission reduction credits” from businesses, farmers, and others who invest to cut greenhouse gas generation in their activities.
The Partnership Fund, which will allow us to work with provinces and territories to meet our climate change objectives through support for large strategic projects that result in significant emission reductions.
Funding of $2 to $3 billion will be made available over 10 years.
Regulatory measures that will establish “caps” on emissions by large industries
and a 25% reduction target for automakers.
It is noteworthy that many of the initiatives aimed at reducing greenhouse gases have very important side benefits – e. g. , cutting industrial air pollutants; reducing energy consumption and thus cost.
The Liberal government has also: Committed $4 billion to clean up contaminated sites across Canada.
Invested to improve the ecological health and the physical infrastructure of our National Parks.
Initiated the New Deal for Cities and Communities, which will commit large new ongoing funds to support urban transit and other environmentally sustainable infrastructure.
Announced in October, 2005 almost $1. 2 billion to support a set of energy-efficiency measures for homes and buildings, including Energuide for Low-Income Households and incentives for home retrofits and for energy-efficient heating systems.
The Liberal plan for a sustainable Canada
The Liberal government’s climate change plan was the first instalment of Project Green.
We will build on these efforts, focussing in particular on four areas – clean air, clean water, protecting nature, and clean energy.
CLEAN AIR: Our climate change plan is improving air quality across Canada, with associated benefits for health and quality of life.
A Liberal government will do more to ensure clean air through the following measures:
Monitoring and standards – Expand air quality monitoring and reporting through the new Air Quality Index.
It will provide Canadians with the information needed to protect their health.
We will complement this by developing national air emission standards for smog-forming pollutants and toxic emissions and will work with the US to upgrade our joint air quality agreement.
We will also lead the way in the UN Environmental Program initiative to develop a Global Mercury Reduction Agreement with key countries such as China.
Renewable fuels standard – Introduce in cooperation with provinces and territories, a National Renewable Fuels Standard requiring, within five years, an average 5% renewable fuels content (e. g. , biofuels like ethanol) in all gasoline and diesel fuel sold in Canada.
We will maintain the excise tax exemption for biofuels.
This initiative will contribute to cleaner air
while stimulating a new biofuels industry in Canada
and creating an important new market for farmers.
CLEAN WATER: The National Ecosystem Initiative and Revitalization Plan
: A Liberal government, supported by the provinces, banned the bulk removal of water from Canada’s watersheds.
Those watersheds require our on-going stewardship.
If re-elected, a Liberal government will implement a 10-year, $1 billion National Ecosystem Initiative and Revitalization Plan.
The Plan covers the world’s largest freshwater ecosystem – the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River basin – as well as other key waterways under stress, including the Lake Winnipeg watershed.
It will include actions to identify and restore the significantly threatened ecosystems that incorporate our waterways.
These ecological systems are home to well over half of Canada’s population and generate 75 per cent of Canada’s manufacturing output and 25 per cent of agricultural activity.
The National Ecosystem Initiative builds on federal, provincial, and municipal shared cost programs such as the Great Lakes Action Plan and the St. Lawrence Action Plan.
While these initiatives have made a significant difference in many areas, more needs to be done to deal with key threats to our foremost ecosystems.
The National Ecosystem Initiative will restore the areas contaminated by past actions – such as industrial toxins in the water and sediment, lost habitat, contaminated fish and wildlife –
and keep pace with growth and development by addressing increased discharges from a higher population, intensive agricultural use, and new challenges such as nonpoint source contamination from the use of pharmaceuticals.
The government will continue to address point-source pollution from industrial discharges into the water through federal regulations such as Canadian Environmental Protection Act and the Fisheries Act.
The billion dollar National Ecosystem Initiative and Revitalization Plan will include: Restoring degraded and threatened areas across the entire region of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence, including Montreal’s Technoparc and Hamilton Harbour, at a cost of $500 million over 10 years.
Restoring Lake Winnipeg’s health through a reduction of pollutants, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, at a cost of $120 million over 10 years;
and establishing best practices for other key watersheds, at a cost of $80 million over 10 years.
Identifying and addressing current and growing ecological threats due to population growth, invasive alien species and new substances such as pharmaceuticals that make their way into the ecosystem, at a cost of $100 million over 10 years.
Investing in scientific research to improve our understanding of the dynamic effects of human activity, alien species and climate change on these ecosystems, at a cost of $200million over 10 years.
PROTECTING NATURE: Liberals are committed to safeguard the tremendous natural heritage that is Canada.
We will advance a plan to address the most pressing conservation issues that fall within the federal government’s mandate.
It will include: National parks and protected areas – We will expand Canada’s network of National Parks and Protected Areas to safeguard our most prized natural areas and protect habitat of greatest importance to wildlife.
We will work with provincial and territorial governments to establish or expand National Parks in Manitoba, Newfoundland, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
A Liberal government will invest $150 million over the next five years to support these developments.
CLEAN ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE: At the recent United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Montreal, Prime Minister Martin issued a call to action in the following words:
“The time is past to debate the impact of climate change.
We no longer need to ask people to imagine its effects, for now we can see them. . .
The defining cause of climate change is human activity – primarily how we produce and use energy.
And the simple fact of the matter is that our economies – indeed our societies – cannot sustain our patterns of consumption. ”
The successful Montreal conference produced a call to action that Canada – as next year’s president of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change – will be proud to lead. (See Box)
The greatest challenge in coming to grips with climate change is to break the long established linkage between economic growth and increased greenhouse gas emissions.
Canada’s industrial base is energy-intensive, and energy use is responsible for about 85% of Canada’s greenhouse gases.
Fossil fuels will remain the most important source of energy in the world for the foreseeable future.
Despite the significant environmental impacts, demand for fossil fuels is growing, particularly in China which now accounts for more than a third of the growth in world demand for oil.
Clearly, the world needs technology breakthroughs to reconcile economic growth with a much reduced impact on climate.
A Liberal government will focus on improving energy conservation and efficiency; transforming the energy economy through innovation; and increasing the supply of clean conventional sources of energy, as well as new forms of renewable energy.
The Montreal Action Plan on Climate Change
The Liberal government invited the world to Canada as the host of the recently concluded United Nations Conference on Climate Change: Montreal 2005, because it understands that Canada must assume its international responsibilities if we are to address the environmental challenges that face this country and the world as a whole.
This successful conference brought together over 180 countries to create the Montreal Action Plan, a road map for the world’s future approach to cooperation on climate change.
As Canada’s Presidency of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change continues through 2006, a Liberal government would lead the implementation of this plan.
That means: Improving the Kyoto Protocol and the UN Framework Convention by strengthening and streamlining the mechanisms that encourage projects that reduce greenhouse gases
and that support sustainable development in both developing and developed countries;
Assuring the implementation of effective international initiatives for adaptation to the impacts of climate change,
and for technology development and transfer;
Initiating discussions on the commitments for industrialized countries in the period beyond 2012, when the first period of the Kyoto Protocol ends.
Launching a dialogue on long-term cooperative action on climate change that will allow all countries in the UN Framework Convention – including the United-States – to explore the innovative solutions that will bring the world together to fight climate change.
In taking the lead on the Montreal Action Plan, a Liberal government will seek to strengthen the world’s resolve in addressing climate change,
while at home Canada will push forward with its own initiatives to honour its Kyoto commitments.
BUILDING A MORE JUST AND SECURE GLOBAL COMMUNITY
The world is changing quickly and radically.
We are in the midst of a major rebalancing of global power with nations like China and India rising as economic and military forces.
Many established powers are striving to maintain their influence through regional integration and new alliances.
Canada’s security, prosperity and quality of life will be affected increasingly by global transformations and by the challenges they bring – from the spectre of international terrorism, to the threats of virulent disease, climate change, and disappearing fish stocks.
In a world of traditional and emerging giants, countries like Canada with small populations risk being swept aside, their influence diminished and their ability to compete hampered.
That is why Canadians need a government that is focused and creative in the pursuit of the nation’s interests.
Paul Martin, as Prime Minister, has demonstrated a proactive approach to Canada’s engagement in the world – a commitment to ensure for Canada an even greater role of pride and influence (see Box).
The Martin government’s International Policy Statement, released in April 2005, sets out a comprehensive plan to sustain and guide that proactive momentum.
Canada’s Influence in Global Affairs
A Paul Martin Liberal government will continue to carve out for Canada a role of pride and influence in the world, building on an impressive record of achievement as illustrated by the following examples of Canadian activism and leadership:
A Canadian serves as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Canadians led the International Mission for the January 2005 Iraqi Elections; commanded the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan; led the multinational force in Haiti; and a Canadian General chairs NATO’s military committee.
A Canadian chaired the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency last year, during intense discussions on how to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions;
and in each of the past three years Canada has initiated resolutions, passed by the UN General Assembly, calling on Iran to improve its human rights record.
Paul Martin was instrumental in pushing for a successful international campaign to ease the crippling debt burden of some of the world’s poorest countries.
Canada demonstrated international leadership in combating HIV/AIDS and other diseases in the developing world by becoming the first country to pass legislation permitting generic drug companies to produce patented pharmaceutical products for countries facing health crises.
Canada was among the world’s top seven donors following the December 2004 tsunami and the recent earthquake in Kashmir.
Canada recently demonstrated international leadership on global environmental issues by hosting the UN Conference on Climate Change, in Montreal.
Leadership in diplomacy
Our world has been made smaller by jet travel and instantaneous communications, and made more interdependent through economic, environmental, and security concerns that are global in scope.
In response, the international community has asserted greater collective responsibility for the well-being of the world’s peoples.
In areas ranging from human rights, to civil conflict, to the environment, the United Nations and other international organizations are addressing matters that historically lay solely within the authority of the nation-state.
A Paul Martin government will ensure that Canada plays a leading part in keeping international organizations relevant.
That means going well beyond our traditional role as mediator.
At the UN and elsewhere, Canada under a Liberal government will press proactively to make a real difference – for example:
Prime Minister Martin’s active leadership was key to the recent adoption by the UN of the Responsibility to Protect doctrine, which will allow for humanitarian intervention by the UN in situations where governments are party to, or fail to prevent, crimes against humanity such as “ethnic cleansing. ”
Canada will continue to press for other important UN reform initiatives, such as the creation of a permanent Human Rights Council.
As a demonstration of Canada’s continued commitment to promotion of human rights, a Liberal government will launch a series of initiatives aimed at promotion and protection of human rights.
These will include educational programs, scholarships, research, promotion of dialogue, and support for the planned Canadian Human Rights Museum in Winnipeg and the Global Centre for Pluralism in Ottawa.
A Liberal government will pursue a “new multilateralism. ”
Specifically we will continue to lead the advocacy for a new forum – an L-20 – that would bring together the leaders of twenty or so leading countries from the developed and developing world to deal directly with some of the world’s most pressing problems – for example, related to the environment; to the threat of pandemic disease; to international terrorism; and to reform of multilateral institutions themselves.
The Liberal Government has consistently contributed to the Middle East peace process in many ways.
In the past year alone, Canada has provided over $50 million in funding to assist the Palestinians as they work to establish the institutions of a genuinely independent, democratic state.
A Paul Martin government will stand up for Canada’s values, playing a proactive and constructive role to make the world just and secure.
Ban on weapons in space– Liberals are firmly opposed to the weaponization of space and recognize that the best time to prevent an arms race in outer space is before one begins.
While an existing international treaty explicitly forbids the stationing of weapons of mass destruction in space, there is currently no multilateral agreement banning the deployment of a broader range of weapons.
A Liberal government will build on the international reputation earned through Canada’s prominent initiatives on such issues as disarmament and the landmines convention and will lead an international campaign at the United Nations to establish a treaty banning all weapons in space.
Leadership in international development
The primary goal of development assistance, or foreign aid, is to help people to help themselves.
With assistance from countries like Canada, developing countries have made real progress over the past 40 years.
Life expectancy has increased by more than a third, to 63 years.
Child mortality rates have been cut in half.
Average incomes have doubled.
And literacy rates have risen on average to more than 80%.
Despite this impressive progress, much remains to be done.
Over one billion people still struggle to survive on less than a dollar a day.
Entire generations in some parts of Africa are at risk of being decimated by HIV/AIDS.
Over 100 million children worldwide – two-thirds of them girls – are not in school.
In September 2000, the global community set specific targets – the UN Millennium Development Goals – to reduce poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, discrimination against women, and environmental deterioration by 2015.
A Liberal government will continue to be committed to meeting these goals.
At the same time, we want to ensure that our aid reaches the people who most need it and is not wasted on unnecessary overhead.
The international policy review undertaken by the Martin government concluded that Canada’s annual budget for foreign aid – $3. 6 billion in 2005 – has been spread far too thinly across too many programs in more than 150 countries.
The money we contribute to international assistance on behalf of Canadians has not been accomplishing as much as it could.
That is why the Liberal government decided to narrow Canada’s aid focus to 25 especially needy development partners, of which more than half are in Africa.
Canada’s new aid policy will also concentrate our spending on five key sectors that are the principal drivers of development – health, education, governance, indigenous private sector development, and the environment.
Ensuring gender equality will be a common theme cutting across all five sectors.
A Liberal government, if re-elected, will implement the following specific initiatives:
Extending Canada’s commitment to development assistance– The international community has united around the common objective of poverty reduction.
In 2002, donor countries agreed to support developing countries that commit to poverty reduction and put in place sound policies – what has come to be known as the “Monterrey Consensus.”
The Liberal government committed in that year to double official development assistance (ODA) between 2001 and 2010.
We will keep that commitment which implies that Canada’s ODA will grow by 8% annually on average, the highest rate of sustained increase among major programs of the government.
Pearson Scholarships – No name is more symbolic of the values and independent voice and global vision of Canada than Lester Bowles Pearson.
To commemorate Pearson’s pragmatic idealism and achievements, a Liberal government will establish the Pearson Scholarship.
- Fifty scholarships will be awarded annually to attract the very best scholars from Canada’s 25 development partner countries.
The scholarships will be tenable at any Canadian university; may be for undergraduate or graduate studies and will be unrestricted as to field.
The Pearson Scholarships will be long-lasting Canadian investments in our development partners and will serve over the years to forge strong bonds of co-operation and friendship.
- Twenty-five Pearson Scholarships will also be awarded each year to outstanding Canadian scholars for study abroad in such fields as multilateralism, international development and human rights – areas in which Lester Pearson left such a legacy.
Over time, Canada will thus build an exceptional body of expertise to apply to the challenges of development and building stable democracies.
The scholarships will begin to be awarded in 2007–08 after the identification of a selection committee comprised of academics, international relations experts and foreign service professionals.
The Pearson scholarships will cover the cost of travel, tuition, lodging and study.
The estimated cost of the program is $60 million over five years.
Supporting Canada’s defence forces – New policy and new resources
The first duty of government is to protect its citizens.
Today, that responsibility has been complicated by the emergence of new threats – failed and fragile states, international criminal syndicates, weapons proliferation, and terrorists prepared to act with no concern for the cost in human lives, including their own.
The international policy statement set out the Liberal government’s commitments to defend Canada;
to pull our weight in protecting the northern portion of the North American continent;
and to preserve Canada’s sovereignty, notably in the high Arctic.
This new defence strategy includes the following key elements:
Canada Command – A fundamental restructuring of our domestic military operations under a unified command that will make certain that Canada’s military has a single line of command to more quickly and efficiently act in time of crisis.
Expanded Canadian Forces – Our military strength will be increased by 5, 000 regular troops and 3, 000 reserves, with up-to-date equipment to do the job as safely as possible.
This will enhance our ability to address situations of humanitarian catastrophe in a way that will allow Canada to play a leading role in peace support operations.
New resources – We will provide an additional $13 billion of investments in defence capacity over the next five years – the largest increase in the military budget in two decades.
We will move forward with the procurement of a new tactical airlift fleet for the Canadian Forces.
It will allow for the acquisition of new medium-heavy capacity helicopters, logistics trucks, search and rescue utility aircraft and specialized facilities for Joint Task Force Two, Canada’s elite anti-terrorist troops.
With these investments, the Canadian Forces will be able to do more of what they already do so well.
Commitment to transformation – With the historic increase in defence funding in the last budget, the Defence Policy Statement as part of our international policy review, and the appointment of new military leadership with extensive mission experience abroad, the Martin government has set in motion the most significant transformation of the Canadian Forces since the Second World War.
This transformation will result in a more operationally focused military that is better structured, trained and equipped to contribute to security in Canada while helping establish stability in troubled places abroad.
A Liberal government remains committed to providing the resources necessary to transform Canada’s military.
The best way for Canada to make a difference in post-conflict situations is to pursue a “3D” approach,
undertaking Defence efforts to strengthen security and stability,
pursuing Diplomacy to enhance prospects for nation-building and reconstruction,
and making certain that Development assistance is brought to bear most effectively.
Security and reconstruction in Afghanistan – Putting this integrated approach into action, the Martin government sent a “Provincial Reconstruction Team”to Kandahar in August 2005.
This hazardous new mission is part of sharing the global burden of confronting terrorism in one of its prime breeding grounds.
It will give a fledgling democracy the chance to find its footing and bring hope to the Afghan people.
The integrated team is comprised of Canadian Forces members, as well as officials from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Foreign Affairs Canada and the RCMP.
The goal is to assist the Afghan authorities in providing governance and security, as well as delivering basic services to citizens.
In February2006, Canada will deploy a Task Force and Brigade Headquarters to Kandahar, bringing the number of Canadian personnel in southern Afghanistan to over 2, 000.
In addition to this ambitious mission, Canada has been providing expertise and direct assistance in other areas of conflict, notably in Haiti and in the Darfur region of Sudan.
Pearson Peacekeeping Centre – Canada has a proud history of peacekeeping and is now a world leader in peace support operations.
The Pearson Peacekeeping Centre, with its principal campus on the former Cornwallis military base in Nova Scotia, provides unique expertise and training in peacebuilding and conflict prevention for civil and military officials from many partner countries.
Over the next five years, a Liberal government will provide long-term funding of $20million to ensure the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre can continue to offer training for peace operations that is relevant to the 21st century security environment.
ACCOUNTABLE AND EFFICIENT GOVERNMENT
In order to lead, government must have the informed consent of Canadians.
This requires that government be transparent and accountable in all it does.
The Paul Martin government met that test by dealing directly and immediately to clean up the abuses related to the sponsorship program.
Those abuses were very much the exception in the government and public service of Canada and Prime Minister Martin took exceptional steps to deal with them.
At the same time, the Liberal government adopted the highest standards in creating new laws and procedures to make Canada’s government among the most accountable in the world.
Specifically, the Paul Martin Liberal government: Cancelled the sponsorship program as its first act upon taking office two years ago.
Comprehensively responded to the Auditor General’s report on the sponsorship program by: – creating the independent Commission headed by Mr. Justice Gomery and sending the Commission’s first report to the RCMP for appropriate action;
– appointing a Special Counsel to recover any misappropriated funds; and –repaying all the funds identified by Judge Gomery that went inappropriately to the Quebec wing of the Liberal Party.
Created Canada’s first independent Ethics Commissioner and the Senate Ethics Officer,
and issued clear guidelines regarding the conduct and responsibility of Ministers and other public office holders.
Implemented new proactive disclosure policies for travel and hospitality expenses of senior managers, ministers, and their staff.
Government contracts over $10, 000 are now also published on the Internet.
Introduced the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act – the “Whistleblowers Act”– to protect government employees who come forward to report wrong-doing.
Improved public service management by establishing a stronger Comptroller General function with independent comptrollers in every department,
and a new Internal Audit Policy for the Government of Canada.
Created stronger governance of crown corporations, including a merit-based appointment process for chief executive officers, directors and board chairs.
Strengthened Parliamentary democracy by: – giving more freedom for Government members of Parliament to speak out on behalf of their constituents by allowing more “free votes”in Parliament;
– increasing the opportunities for Parliamentary Committees to propose changes to government bills; and
– implementing transparent nomination and approval procedures for key government appointments, including to the Supreme Court, boards of crown corporations, and agencies.
Mr. Justice Gomery is scheduled to release the second phase of his report on February1, 2006 which will make recommendations based on his investigation of the circumstances that led to abuses in the sponsorship program.
Prime Minister Martin had promised to call an election shortly after the release of Judge Gomery’s recommendations.
But the opposition parties chose to reject that reasonable timetable and have forced an earlier election over the holiday season.
A Paul Martin government will immediately submit Judge Gomery’s second report to a Parliamentary Committee for study and advice to the government and to Parliament.
Democratic reform and renewal – A Liberal government will continue to explore the underpinnings of democratic renewal, following an initial series of successful Parliamentary reforms that began in February, 2004 with the Democratic Reform Action Plan.
The Martin government subsequently established a series or Regional Roundtables with key stakeholders, academics and other groups to probe underlying issues and questions that call for democratic reforms.
Parallel to this, the government commissioned academic research in select fields.
In the coming year, a Liberal government will engage in dialogue with Canadians to define the values and principles they wish to see reflected in their democratic institutions.
INVESTING TO SECURE CANADA’S SUCCESS
The new financial commitments made in this platform are affordable.
They reflect the sound approach to public finances that has been the hallmark of Paul Martin in his twelve years in government – as Finance Minister and Prime Minister.
We will continue to balance the budget and to provide a Contingency Reserve to protect against the unforeseen.
If that annual reserve is not needed, it will go to reduce debt and future interest payments, thus freeing up new resources to finance the priorities of Canadians.
And if there are unanticipated surpluses, we will allocate them equally among tax cuts, investments in priorities, and further debt pay-down.
Summary Fiscal Projections: Table 1
Table 1 below summarizes the full fiscal context of the Liberal platform commitments.
The explanation of the lines in the Table is as follows.
Line 1– the status quo underlying surplus – is the difference between projected revenue and expenditure based on the measures already taken in Budget 2005 and before, but excluding any measures implemented or promised after the February 2005 Budget.
This line is derived from the average of detailed economic and fiscal projections by an expert group of private sector economic forecasters and presented in the government’s Economic and Fiscal Update, released in November 2005 (the “Update”).
The projections are based on tax and spending policies in place as a result of last February’s Budget and are the most authoritative and objective forecasts that exist. (See pages 71–99 of the Update for the details and methodology. )
Line 2 is the Contingency Reserve which is set aside at the beginning of each fiscal year as a hedge against the unforeseen.
We will maintain it at $3 billion.
Given that this fiscal year is now three-quarters complete, we have reduced the Contingency Reserve for 2005–06 to $2. 5 billion.
Any remaining portion of the reserve that is un-needed at fiscal year-end will be used to reduce the government’s debt.
Line 3 summarizes the cost of all the measures implemented by the Martin government after Budget 2005, but before the Update.
These total $10. 8 billion and are detailed in the Update Table 1. 2 (page 13 of the Update).
They include, for example, the government’s response to higher energy costs including payments this winter to low-income families;
the cost of our military’s extended mission in Afghanistan;
a substantial reduction of airport rents;
and an agreement with the Province of Ontario that included significant new funds for immigration settlement, higher education, affordable housing and the environment.
Line 4 is the cost of the measures in the Economic and Fiscal Update, including the personal income tax cuts proposed by the Martin government in the Update and passed by Parliament before dissolution.
These tax cuts are now in effect.
They include steady increases in the Basic Personal Amount – i. e. , the amount every Canadian can earn tax-free – and a reduction of the lowest marginal rate from 16% to 15%, both effective retroactively to January 1, 2005
Line 5 contains $11. 2 billion of measures announced after the Update but before the election writ was issued.
These are summarized in Table 2 below and include commitments made during the November meeting of Aboriginal leaders and First Ministers;
emergency assistance for grains and oilseeds farmers;
funds for forestry industry modernization and community relief;
and improvements to our immigration system, among others.
Line 6 is the difference between Line 1 – the original underlying surplus – and the sum of Lines 2, 3, 4 and 5.
This is the starting point for the platforms of all Parties – i. e. , the fiscal “room” of $18. 3 billion potentially available for the measures they propose.
Any Party not starting from this baseline must explain which of the foregoing measures they would change.
For example, would they roll back legislated tax cuts?
Would they cut programs already approved and up-and-running from past Budgets?
Line 7 contains $4. 1 billion of new initiatives Liberals are committing to in this election campaign through January 7, 2006.
These are summarized in Table 3 below.
Line 8, totalling $14. 2 billion, is the difference between Line 6 and Line 7 and is the amount available for further measures.
A portion of this balance will be allocated to initiatives to be announced later in the campaign.
A final reconciliation will be provided before election day.
Campaign announcements: Table 3
The amounts in Table 3 are six-year cost profiles of initiatives unveiled during the campaign through January 7 – whether in various campaign announcements or in this document.
Where relevant, we have included amounts already set aside in the Update – e. g. , to enhance access to post-secondary education.
At the foot of Table 3 these “Update amounts” have been backed out to show, as the bottom line, the net new funding required – i. e. , $4. 1 billion.
The year-by-year cost profiles have been estimated roughly where that was possible.
In the other cases they have been simply prorated equally over the full five-year commitment.
Future budgets will refine the cost profiles.
The totals in Table 3 are therefore much more significant than the annual profiles, subject only to the proviso that there be no deficit in any year.
Committed to fiscal responsibility
The measures put forward in the Liberal Platform are responsible and affordable.
This can be seen from the charts below that trace government revenue and program spending since 1993–94, measured relative to the size of the Canadian economy.
Projecting these ratios forward – based on the forecasts in the Update and augmented by the new measures in the Platform – shows that revenue is expected to continue to decline as a percentage of GDP, reflecting our proposed tax reductions.
Spending on programs – even if campaign initiatives after January 7th used substantially all of the available “room” in the bottom line of Table 1 – will be flat as a percentage of GDP, at about 12. 3%.
This will allow a Liberal government to maintain its record of fiscal prudence and continue to retire debt,
while reducing the taxes Canadians pay
and making the public investments that will secure Canada’s success.
Stand up for Accountability
People who work hard, pay their taxes, and play by the rules want accountability from their political leaders.
We don’t expect politicians to be perfect.
But we do want to know that our tax dollars – money we’ve worked for – are being spent properly and wisely.
Above all, we want and expect our dollars to be spent legally.
We’ve been let down.
The Liberal Party’s 12 years in power have featured one scandal after another.
And despite Paul Martin’s promises to clean up Ottawa, the scandals just keep happening.
Justice Gomery was right when he talked about the “culture of entitlement” within the Liberal Party.
This culture of waste, mismanagement, and corruption cannot reform itself.
The first piece of legislation to be introduced by a Conservative government will be the Federal Accountability Act, a sweeping plan to clean up government.
Reform the financing of federal political parties
Under the Liberals, money and influence have played far too large a role in Canadian politics.
During the sponsorship inquiry, Canadians learned of envelopes full of cash being used to fund Liberal Party campaigns, and of money from government contracts being funnelled back to the Liberals.
The “pay to play” years in Liberal Ottawa must come to an end.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Limit individual donations to parties or candidates to a maximum of $1,000.
Prohibit all corporate, union, and organization donations to political parties, ridings, and candidates.
Ban cash donations to political parties or candidates of more than $20.
Extend to ten years the period for which Elections Act violations can be investigated and prosecuted.
Toughen the Lobbyists Registration Act Under the Liberals, lobbying government – often by friends and associates of Paul Martin and other Liberal ministers – has become a multi-million dollar industry.
Senior Liberals move freely back and forth between elected and non-elected government posts and the world of lobbying.
Liberal lobbyists have accepted success or contingency fee arrangements where they don’t get paid unless they deliver the policy change their clients want.
The plan
A Conservative government will: Extend to five years the period during which former ministers, ministerial staffers, and senior public servants cannot lobby government.
Ban success or contingency fee arrangements.
Require ministers and senior government officials to record their contacts with lobbyists.
Make the Registrar of Lobbyists an independent Officer of Parliament.
Give the Registrar of Lobbyists the mandate and resources to investigate violations.
Extend to ten years the period during which violations can be investigated and prosecuted.
Ban secret donations to political candidates
While campaign donations are regulated, it is still legal to give unrestricted amounts of money to political candidates during an election campaign, including MPs who are not cabinet ministers.
Thanks to this loophole, some MPs have accumulated large, secret trust funds.
The Chief Electoral Officer estimates millions of dollars may be held in these trusts.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Prohibit nominated candidates or MPs seeking re-election from accepting large personal gifts.
Ban the use of trust funds to finance candidates’ campaigns.
Require that all sitting or elected MPs report the existence of any trust funds or secret accounts, and that such accounts be wound up.
Make qualified government appointments
The Liberals have repeatedly appointed insiders, in some cases completely unqualified, to important public offices.
Liberal candidates and MPs have received appointments as heads of Crown corporations, board members, and ambassadors.
Liberal staffers, including some of those responsible for the sponsorship program, have worked their way into key positions in the public service.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Ensure that all Officers of Parliament are appointed through consultation with all parties in the House of Commons and confirmed through a secret ballot of all Members of Parliament, not just named by the Prime Minister.
This appointment process will cover: - The Ethics Commissioner - The Auditor General - The Chief Electoral Officer - The Information Commissioner - The Privacy Commissioner - The Registrar of Lobbyists
Establish a Public Appointments Commission to set merit-based requirements for appointments to government boards, commissions, and agencies, to ensure that competitions for posts are widely publicized and fairly conducted.
Prevent ministerial aides and other political appointees receiving favoured treatment when applying for public service positions.
Clean up government polling and advertising
The Liberal government commissions some $25 million per year in polling and public opinion research.
Much of this polling is conducted by Liberal-connected polling firms.
The Auditor General revealed that Paul Martin’s Finance department commissioned polling for which there were “only verbal reports” – nothing was written down so there was no paper trail.
Yet the Martin government prevented the Gomery Commission from investigating this part of the Auditor General’s report.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Ensure that all government public opinion research is automatically published within six months of the completion of the project,
and prohibit verbal-only reports.
Ensure that an independent review is conducted of government public opinion research practices discussed in Chapter 5 of the Auditor General’s November 2003 report to determine whether further action, such as a judicial inquiry, is required.
Open up the bidding process for government advertising and public opinion contracts to prevent insider firms from monopolizing government business.
Clean up the procurement of government contracts
Under the Liberal government, abuse of the government contracting process has become commonplace.
Former Liberal cabinet minister Art Eggleton, for example, awarded an untendered contract to a former girlfriend.
He was later appointed to the Senate by Paul Martin.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Review and amend all contracting rules to make the government’s procurement process free from political interference.
Appoint a Procurement Auditor to ensure that all procurements are fair and transparent, and to address complaints from vendors.
Permit smaller vendors and vendors outside of the National Capital Region to receive due consideration for government contracts.
Provide real protection for whistleblowers
There have been many examples over the years of reprisals against government whistleblowers, including public servants who helped reveal the sponsorship scandal, and others who exposed waste and abuse in the Department of Foreign Affairs.
After pressure from the opposition and whistleblowers themselves, the Liberals brought forward weak legislation to deal with the issue.
Much more still needs to be done.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Give the Public Service Integrity Commissioner the power to enforce compliance with the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act.
Ensure that all Canadians who report government wrongdoing are protected, not just public servants.
Remove the government’s ability to exempt Crown corporations and other bodies from the Act.
Require the prompt public disclosure of information revealed by whistleblowers,
except where national security or the security of individuals is affected.
Ensure that whistleblowers have access to the courts and that they are provided with adequate legal counsel.
Establish monetary rewards for whistleblowers who expose wrongdoing or save taxpayers dollars.
Ensure truth in budgeting with a Parliamentary Budget Authority
In the spring of 2004, the Liberal government told Canadians that the 2003-04 surplus would only be $1.9 billion.
In fact, it was $9.1 billion.
In 2004-05, the Liberals spent about $9 billion at the end of the year to reduce their surplus to only $1.6 billion.
Just this year, the 2005 Budget estimated the 2005-06 surplus at $4 billion, a number no reputable economic forecaster accepted.
In the economic update only nine months later, this estimate had ballooned to $13.4 billion.
Governments cannot be held to account if Parliament does not know the accurate state of public finances.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Create an independent Parliamentary Budget Authority to provide objective analysis directly to Parliament about the state of the nation’s finances and trends in the national economy.
Require government departments and agencies to provide accurate, timely information to the Parliamentary Budget Authority to ensure it has the information it needs to provide accurate analyses to Parliament.
Ensure that government fiscal forecasts are updated quarterly and that they provide complete data for both revenue and spending forecasts.
Strengthen the power of the Auditor General
Over the past decade, the Auditor General has repeatedly blown the whistle on Liberal corruption.
From the $250 million sponsorship program, to the scandalous waste and mismanagement of the $1 billion HRDC grants boondoggle, to the ineffective $2 billion gun registry, nearly every audit turns up more examples of Liberal mismanagement.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Ask the Auditor General to conduct, on an expedited basis, an audit of all federal grant, contribution, and contracting policies, and will commit to following her recommendations.
Increase funding for the Office of the Auditor General to ensure she has the necessary resources to conduct a complete audit of grant and contribution programs and of any such departments, agencies, and Crown corporations as she deems necessary.
Allow the Auditor General to “follow the money” to end recipients by providing her with the statutory authority to conduct audits of the records, documents, and accounts of any individual, institution, or company that receives grants, contributions, or transfers under an agreement with the Government of Canada.
Ensure that all granting programs are reviewed every five years.
Strengthen enforcement of government financial guidelines, and introduce new Criminal Code penalties for fraud involving the misuse of taxpayers’ money.
Strengthen the role of the Ethics Commissioner
In 1993, Paul Martin and the Liberals promised the appointment of an independent Ethics Commissioner.
For over ten years, Paul Martin and the Liberals failed to fulfill that promise, and Martin voted against his own Red Book words in the House of Commons.
Finally, under the pressure of the sponsorship scandal, the Liberals partially fulfilled their promise.
But many problems remain with the role of the Ethics Commissioner, including the special exemptions Paul Martin created for his own business dealings.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Give the Ethics Commissioner the power to fine violators.
Prevent the Prime Minister from overruling the Ethics Commissioner on whether the Prime Minister, a minister, or an official is in violation of the Conflict of Interest Code.
Enshrine the Conflict of Interest Code into law.
Close the loopholes that allow ministers to vote on matters connected with their business interests.
End “venetian blind” trusts that allow ministers to remain informed about their business interests,
and require all ministerial assets to be placed in truly blind trusts.
Allow members of the public – not just politicians – to make complaints to the Ethics Commissioner.
Make part-time or non-remunerated ministerial advisers subject to the Ethics Code.
Strengthen Access to Information legislation
The Liberal government has consistently rejected attempts to provide Canadians with better access to government information.
The present Information Commissioner has gone to court several times to force the government to open its windows.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Implement the Information Commissioner’s recommendations for reform of the Access to Information Act.
Give the Information Commissioner the power to order the release of information.
Expand the coverage of the act to all Crown corporations, Officers of Parliament, foundations, and organizations that spend taxpayers’ money or perform public functions.
Subject the exclusion of Cabinet confidences to review by the Information Commissioner.
Oblige public officials to create the records necessary to document their actions and decisions.
Provide a general public interest override for all exemptions, so that the public interest is put before the secrecy of the government.
Ensure that all exemptions from the disclosure of government information are justified only on the basis of the harm or injury that would result from disclosure, not blanket exemption rules.
Ensure that the disclosure requirements of the Access to Information Act cannot be circumvented by secrecy provisions in other federal acts,
while respecting the confidentiality of national security and the privacy of personal information.
Strengthen auditing and accountability within departments
The sponsorship scandal first came to light in an internal audit – an audit which the Liberals initially tried to cover up.
Under the Liberals, the lines between ministers and non-partisan civil servants have been blurred, and clear lines of accountability need to be re-established.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Give the Comptroller General the overall authority for the internal audit function in each government department.
Designate the deputy minister of each government department or agency as the Accounting Officer for that department.
The deputy will be responsible to Parliament for the departmental spending and administrative practices of his or her department.
Require that, in the event of a disagreement between a minister and deputy minister on a matter of administration, the minister must provide written instruction to the deputy minister and notify the Auditor General and Comptroller General of the disagreement.
Create a Director of Public Prosecutions
To ensure prosecutorial independence, a Conservative government will follow the path of several provinces, including Nova Scotia and British Columbia, and other parliamentary democracies such as the United Kingdom and Australia and establish an independent Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Create the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, with the responsibility to conduct prosecutions under federal jurisdiction.
Give the Director of Public Prosecutions the power to make binding and final decisions to prosecute or not unless the Attorney General or Deputy Attorney General instructs the Director to do otherwise by means of public written notice.
Appoint the Director of Public Prosecutions from among qualified candidates recommended by a committee which will include representatives of the opposition parties in Parliament.
Give the Director of Public Prosecutions the mandate to review recent decisions on prosecutions in the sponsorship scandal and other matters which have been the subject of investigation by the Auditor General and the Ethics Counsellor or Commissioner.
Structure the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in accordance with best practices in other jurisdictions such as British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Australia, and the United Kingdom.
Stand up for opportunity
For generations, people from across the world have come to Canada seeking a better life.
But Canadians are beginning to worry that our children and grandchildren may not enjoy the same opportunities that we have had.
Take-home pay of Canadians has been nearly stagnant for a decade.
Growth in family income has stalled during Paul Martin’s time as Finance Minister and as Prime Minister.
Under the Liberals, opportunities and rewards have gone to friends and allies of the governing party,
while Canadian families and entrepreneurs struggle to get ahead against red tape and high taxes.
A Conservative government will help individuals, families, and businesses get ahead by lowering taxes, rewarding effort, and making Canada a great country to do business in.
Real tax relief for Canadians
With all the waste and corruption in Ottawa, Canadians deserve to keep more of their own money.
A Conservative government will deliver real, visible, and immediate tax relief to all Canadians.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Reduce the GST by one point right away, to six percent.
And we will reduce the GST by another point, to five percent, over five years.
The GST affects everyone – families, seniors, and young people just getting started in life.
Cutting the GST will help everyone deal with the rising cost of living, put money in people’s pockets, and spur the economy immediately.
Maintain the GST/HST credit in the federal personal income tax.
Eliminate the capital gains tax for individuals on the sale of assets when the proceeds are reinvested within six months.
Canadians who invest, or inherit cottages or family heirlooms, should be able to sell those assets and plough their profits back into the economy without taking a tax hit.
It is time government rewarded Canadians who reinvest their money and create jobs.
Creating jobs and growing Canada’s economy
While Liberals have been enriching themselves through their culture of entitlement, many Canadians – especially those who work in the manufacturing sector – have been suffering.
Twelve years of empty Liberal promises on prosperity, productivity, and growth have done nothing to help Canadian businesses face increased competition from around the world.
A Conservative government will reduce job-killing business taxes to create jobs and grow Canada’s economy – for all of us.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Make good, finally, on the business tax relief the Liberals promised in the February 2005 budget and the November Economic and Fiscal Update.
The Liberals changed their minds and abandoned this promise last spring in their budget deal with the NDP.
Now they are promising it again.
A Conservative government will deliver it.
The general business tax rate will fall from 21 percent to 19 percent by 2010 and the business surtax will be eliminated on January 1, 2008.
We will also follow through on the elimination of the federal capital tax on January 1, 2006.
Raise the threshold for the small business tax rate from $300,000 to $400,000,
and gradually reduce the small business rate to 11 percent over five years.
It is time to ease the tax burden on small businesses as they grow and create jobs.
Maintain the current regulations governing insurance marketing by the chartered banks.
Pay down the national debt by a minimum of $3 billion each year.
Building opportunity in trades
The skilled trades are crucial for Canada’s economic future, but companies can’t find enough skilled workers.
Canada has a shortage of 20,000 skilled tradespeople, which is expected to rise to 50,000 by 2010.
Meanwhile, many young Canadians find themselves stuck in low-paying work and are either not encouraged to consider the trades, or unable to do so because of financial barriers.
Canada needs a made-in-Canada plan to open doors for young people
and end the unfair tax treatment of tradespeople.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Implement a $1,000 Apprenticeship Incentive Grant to help new apprentices cover the high cost of tools, boots, and work accessories.
Implement a Tools Tax Deduction of up to $500 for existing tradespeople that eliminates red tape for the self-employed and provides tax fairness for the employed.
Implement an Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit of 10 per cent of an apprentice’s wages for two years to a maximum of $2,000 to support businesses that establish apprenticeship positions to create more jobs in the trades.
Limit growth of spending on grants and contributions and in government departments and agencies
During the last five years, federal government departmental spending has grown to an unacceptable level.
Far too much taxpayers’ money is absorbed by the Ottawa bureaucracy or spent on ineffective or inefficient programs.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Limit the future growth of spending on federal grant and contribution programs and by federal departments and agencies (other than National Defence and Indian Affairs) to the rate of inflation plus population growth.
Maintain the currently projected growth rates for transfers to persons such as elderly benefits and Employment Insurance,
and transfers to other levels of government for health, social programs, equalization, and municipal infrastructure.
Investing in research and development
Increased promotion of basic and applied research, especially in science and technology, is an essential component of Canada’s future economic well-being.
It is unacceptable that Canada’s expenditure on research and development, at 1.9 percent of GDP, is below all other G-8 countries and well below the OECD average of 2.3 percent.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Invest an additional $500 million over the next five years supporting university-based research through the national granting councils, including the indirect costs of research.
Recognize the success of the Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax credit in spurring private investment in research and development,
and work with stakeholders in all fields of research and various industry sectors to explore expanding this tax credit.
Promoting Canada’s regions
We must encourage economic development in all regions of the country and create job opportunities for all Canadians, regardless of where they live.
Regional development policies are an important part of any comprehensive strategy to assist the regions of Canada to meet the opportunities of the new global economy, and a Conservative government will make them more effective.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Support regional development agencies, like ACOA, WED, FEDNOR and CED-Q, and maintain their current funding levels.
Ensure that regional development agencies are depoliticized and fully accountable to Parliament and Canadians.
Develop, together with northerners, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, a northern vision to guide economic, social, and environmental progress in the region.
Supporting Canada’s traditional industries
It sometimes seems the Liberal view of Canada is the view from the CN Tower or the Peace Tower.
Disputes over softwood lumber, agriculture, and fishing rights just never seem to get resolved.
It is time for a government that focuses on the needs of communities that depend on farming, lumber, mining, and fishing – sectors vital to ensuring Canadian prosperity.
A Conservative government will stand up for workers in traditional industries.
Agriculture
The family farm has long been a backbone of our country.
For generations, our farmers have fed Canadians and become a breadbasket to the world.
But farmers need our support.
We must stand up for Canadian agricultural interests in world trade negotiations,
and government needs to be responsive when it comes to farm income support and disaster relief.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Replace CAIS with separate farm income stabilization and disaster relief programs.
The new income stabilization program must become a simpler, more responsive program that properly addresses the cost of production, market revenue, and inventory evaluation.
The federal government should be ready to pitch in when disaster strikes, funding disaster relief separately above and beyond its income stabilization program.
Commit to adding an additional $500 million annually to farm support programs.
Speed up delivery of the $755 million in emergency aid the government promised grain and oilseed farmers in November.
Ensure that agricultural industries that choose to operate under domestic supply management remain viable.
Canada needs efficient production planning, market-based returns to producers, and predictable imports to operate domestic supply management systems.
Give western grain farmers the freedom to make their own marketing and transportation decisions.
Western grain farmers should be able to participate voluntarily in the Canadian Wheat Board.
Defend Canada’s agricultural sectors when negotiating international trade agreements.
A Conservative government will seek better market access for Canadian agricultural and agri-food products in foreign markets.
We will support the phased reduction of all trade-distorting barriers and the rapid elimination of all agriculture export subsidies.
We will pursue strong, rules-based trade liberalization in conjunction with all other countries that are members of the World Trade Organization.
Implement a Green Cover Crop Program to protect prairie farmers.
Severe flooding in both Saskatchewan and Manitoba has adversely affected the opportunity for farmers to harvest their normal crop.
A Green Crop Cover Program will create a compensation fund for farmers facing the devastating consequences of crop damage caused by severe flooding.
Forestry
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Demand that the U.S. government play by the rules on softwood lumber.
The U.S. must abide by the NAFTA ruling on softwood lumber, repeal the Byrd Amendment, and return the more than $5 billion in illegal softwood lumber tariffs to Canadian producers.
Provide real help for Canadian workers and businesses coping with illegal American trade actions.
The government of Canada will guarantee repayment of illegally imposed softwood lumber tariffs through Export Development Canada.
This will ensure that Canadian forest companies can continue to operate without penalty.
We will continue to help pay the legal bills of Canadian businesses that are fighting American softwood lumber tariffs.
We will support displaced forestry workers.
Commit to investing $1 billion over five years to support Canada’s softwood industry, including fighting the spread of the pine beetle in western Canadian forests and helping communities struggling from U.S. softwood duties.
Mining
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Retain tax incentives such as the super flow-through share program.
These measures are critical to Canada’s vibrant and effective financial market for mining.
Streamline regulatory processes related to the mining industry.
We will implement the recommendations of the External Advisory Committee on Smart Regulation related to mining, such as a “single window” approach to federal regulatory bodies in the North for the oil and gas and mining sectors.
Fisheries
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Work with interested provinces in managing the fisheries.
We will adopt, in conjunction with interested coastal provinces or territories, a system of increased provincial management of the fisheries through joint management and joint fisheries councils.
Invest more in fisheries science and research.
Sustainable harvesting is an area of special need.
Establish an independent judicial enquiry to determine the cause of the collapse of the sockeye salmon stocks on the Fraser River.
Extend the two hundred mile limit to the edge of the Continental Shelf, the nose and tail of the Grand Banks, and the Flemish Cap in the North Atlantic
and be prepared to exercise Canadian custodial management over this area.
Exempt from capital gains tax the first $500,000 worth of fishing property transferred within a family.
Stand up for Security
Safe streets have been a defining characteristic of the Canadian way of life and Canadians are rightly proud of that tradition of community safety and security.
The federal government must act decisively to ensure that all Canadians – particularly the most vulnerable members of society – can live in safe, healthy communities.
Security also means knowing that our borders are secure
and that our federal government is actively protecting us against terrorism, smuggling, and organized crime.
The Liberal record on safety and security has been weak.
The homicide rate is up, gun violence is a growing menace, drug cultivation offences have doubled in the last decade, and the government has demonstrated an inability to deport criminals out of Canada – and keep them out.
A Conservative government will protect Canadians, ensure effective and appropriate justice is administered to criminals,
and secure our country’s borders.
Serious crime must mean serious time
A Conservative government will protect our communities from crime by insisting on tougher sentences for serious and repeat crime and by tightening parole.
We will ensure truth in sentencing and put an end to the Liberal revolving door justice system.
The drug, gang, and gun-related crimes plaguing our communities must be met by clear mandatory minimum prison sentences and an end to sentences being served at home.
Parole must be a privilege to be earned, not a right to be demanded.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Introduce mandatory minimum prison sentences for designated drug trafficking offences, weapons offences, crimes committed while on parole,
and repeat offenders to ensure that serious crime results in real punishment.
End conditional sentences (“house arrest”) for serious crimes, including designated violent and sexual offences, weapons offences, major drug offences, crimes committed against children, and impaired driving causing death or serious injury.
Create presumption-of-dangerous-offender designation for anyone convicted and sentenced to federal custody for three violent or sexual offences.
Repeal section 745.6 of the Criminal Code – the so-called “Faint Hope Clause” – that allows a criminal serving a life sentence to apply for early parole.
Create mandatory consecutive sentences (instead of concurrent sentences, as is usually the case) for select multiple violent or sexual offences.
Replace statutory release (the law entitling a prisoner to parole after serving two-thirds of his sentence) with earned parole.
Toughen parole provisions once you have been convicted of committing a crime while on parole, and eliminate parole for life after the third such conviction.
Prevent courts from giving extra “credit” for pre-trial custody for persons denied bail because of their past criminal record or for violating bail.
Create a reverse onus for bail hearings for anybody charged with an indictable firearms offence.
Work for a constitutional amendment to forbid prisoners in federal institutions from voting in elections.
Review the operations of Correctional Service Canada with a view to enhancing public safety.
Ensure federal corrections officers have the tools and training they require to do their job as peace officers.
Adopt, in collaboration with the provinces, a national strategy to fight organized crime, including the creation of a joint national task force on security.
Increase the financial resources allocated to the RCMP to help them combat organized crime in all regions of the country.
More police on the streets
Canada needs more front-line law enforcement.
According to Department of Public Safety documents, there is currently a shortage of 1,059 RCMP officers in federal, provincial, and municipal policing roles.
In addition, many provincial and municipal police forces are under- funded and overstretched.
It is time to reinvest in front-line law enforcement in Canada.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Reinvest savings from cancellation of the ineffective long-gun registry program into hiring more front-line enforcement personnel, including filling 1,000 RCMP positions.
Negotiate with the provinces to create a new cost-shared program jointly with provincial and municipal governments, to put at least 2,500 more police on the beat in our cities and communities.
Invest $100 million per year of new federal money on criminal justice priorities, including working with the provinces and municipalities to hire more police, as well as victim assistance and youth crime prevention programs.
Invest in effective gun control, not phoney measures
When the Liberals first introduced Bill C-68, the federal long gun registry, they said it would cost around $2 million.
Today, at a cost of almost $2 billion – 1,000 times more than promised – the registry is incomplete, riddled with errors, and according to the former Toronto Chief of Police, “ineffective in helping catch criminals.”
Canadians demand more than simple cosmetic reforms to failed programs.
The wasteful long gun registry must end and the money must be redirected to genuine law enforcement priorities.
Canadians want to see effective gun control that stops crime in our streets, not phoney reforms.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Repeal the wasteful long-gun registry legislation (Bill C-68).
Reinvest savings from scrapping C-68 into hiring front-line law enforcement officers and assisting victims of crime.
Maintain the existing handgun registry and bans on all currently prohibited weapons.
Work with the provinces on effective gun control programs designed to keep guns out of the hands of criminals
while respecting the rights of law-abiding Canadians to own and use firearms responsibly.
Measures will include: - Mandatory minimum prison sentences with restricted parole eligibility for the criminal use of firearms, trafficking or possession of stolen firearms, or illegal possession contrary to a bail, parole, or firearms prohibition order.
- Strict monitoring, including tracking place of residence, of high-risk individuals prohibited from owning firearms.
- Tighter restrictions on individuals on bail or parole for firearms offences, including the use of electronic monitoring.
- Cracking down on gun smuggling.
- Safe storage laws.
- Firearms safety training.
- A certification system requiring a background check and safety training for all those wishing to acquire and use firearms legally.
- Eliminating exceptions to firearms prohibition orders following criminal conviction.
Get tough with sex offenders
Families should be able to raise their children without fear of sexual predators in our communities.
Women should be able to live without fear in any Canadian city.
But under Liberal governments, we have seen slap-on-the-wrist sentences for sex offenders, while Canada has become a haven for internet child pornography,
and the Liberals have refused to raise the age of consent to prevent adults from exploiting young teens.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Require the registration of all convicted sex offenders and dangerous offenders.
The registry will include mandatory DNA sampling of all those convicted or currently in custody on such offences.
Rename the Age of Consent to the Age of Protection and raise the age from 14 to 16 years of age to stop adults from sexually exploiting vulnerable young people.
Adopt a zero tolerance policy for child pornography, eliminating the so-called “legitimate purpose” defence.
Prohibit conditional sentences for sex offences committed against children.
Anyone who commits these crimes should serve prison time.
Amend s. 810.2 of the Criminal Code (the provisions that recently allowed Karla Homolka to avoid post-sentencing supervision) to permit the participation of the prosecutors involved in the original trial, as well as the victims of the crime and their families, at the hearing.
Allow judges to impose residency restrictions on offenders, and extend the term of the order.
Youth at risk
Too many crime-related problems begin when our youth are not equipped with the necessary life skills to make the right choices, to say “no” to drugs, gangs, and violence.
We need to invest in positive opportunities for young people to say “yes” to.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Work with provinces, municipalities, police, and community leaders in areas threatened by gun and gang violence to support programs which reach out to young people.
We must help them recognize the dangers of violence in their schools and community, so that they reject gang and gun violence.
Support results-oriented, community-based initiatives for addictions treatment, training, and rehabilitation of those in trouble with the law.
Direct $50 million in funding into community-based, educational, sporting, cultural, and vocational opportunities for young people at risk.
Strengthen the Youth Criminal Justice Act
A Conservative government will hold young lawbreakers accountable to their victims and the community.
The youth criminal justice system must provide effective punishment for adolescents who commit serious crimes,
instil a sense of responsibility in young offenders for their behaviour,
and give young people better opportunities for rehabilitation.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Ensure that anyone 14 years or older who is charged with serious violent or repeat offences is automatically subject to adult sentencing provisions.
Amend the Youth Criminal Justice Act to include deterrence and denunciation as mandatory sentencing principles to be considered.
Establish a national Victims’ Ombudsman Office
The Liberals have often put the rights of criminals ahead of compassion for the victims of crime who have been injured, had their property and privacy violated, or are mourning the loss of a loved one.
A Conservative government will give victims of crime an advocate within government.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Establish a national Victims’ Ombudsman Office with a budget allocation equal to that of the Office of the Correctional Investigator to ensure victims have a voice in the federal corrections and justice system.
Provide $10 million per year for victim assistance, including support for victim appearances at parole hearings.
Enact a national drug strategy
The Liberals have put Canada on the road to drug legalization.
This must stop.
Parents and police officers alike know that the last thing Canada needs is more drugs on our streets.
Under the Liberals, the number of marijuana grow-ops has increased dramatically, as has the production and distribution of drugs such as crack cocaine, crystal meth, and ecstasy.
Despite widespread evidence to the contrary, one of Paul Martin’s new Liberal Senators said that concerns about the crystal meth disaster were “garbage.”
The plan
A Conservative government will:  End house arrests and ensure mandatory minimum prison sentences and large monetary fines for serious drug offenders, including marijuana grow operators and producers and dealers of crystal meth and crack.
Prevent the decriminalization of marijuana.
Make precursor chemicals of crystal meth, such as pseudoephedrine, harder to get.
Introduce a national drug strategy with particular emphasis on youth.
This strategy will encompass all drugs, not just marijuana, in implementing a nationwide awareness campaign to dissuade young people from using drugs.
Expedite deportation of non-citizens convicted of drug trafficking, drug importation, or running grow operations.
Restore the Canada Ports Police disbanded by the Liberals, which resulted in the growth of organized crime at Canada’s seaports.
Air India inquiry
The Air India bombing was the largest mass murder and terrorist act in Canadian history, and there is evidence that errors were committed by the investigative agencies involved.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Establish, at the earliest possible time, a comprehensive, independent judicial inquiry into the investigation of the Air India bombing of June 23, 1985.
Securing our borders
Terrorist attacks, natural disasters, and outbreaks of disease world-wide have focused the spotlight squarely on the Liberal government’s inaction regarding terrorist and other threats here at home.
Four years of inaction since September 11, 2001, have left the federal government ill- prepared to protect Canada’s national security.
The March 2004 report by the Auditor General criticized the government for failing to create an integrated security system.
The March 2004 report of a bipartisan Senate committee concluded Canada was “unready” to respond to a terrorist attack.
Even the government’s annual National Security Policy review released in April 2005 identified 12 government priorities that have still not been improved or addressed.
Canadians cannot wait for the Liberal government to wake up to the growing threats to our national security.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Name a National Security Commissioner with the responsibility of providing recommendations to government as to how to coordinate the work of the RCMP, CSIS, the Canada Border Services Agency, a revitalized Coast Guard, a reinstated Ports Police, and a new Canadian Foreign Intelligence Agency, as well as the security aspects of the Departments of Immigration and Transport.
Create a Canadian Foreign Intelligence Agency to effectively gather intelligence overseas, independently counter threats before they reach Canada, and increase allied intelligence operations.
Establish the Canadian Coast Guard as a stand-alone agency and honour the plans to invest $276 million over five years in expanding and updating the Coast Guard fleet.
Create a National Security Review Committee to ensure effective oversight and a greater degree of accountability and transparency regarding Canada’s national security efforts.
Ensure that agencies such as CSIS, RCMP, and the Canada Border Services Agency have adequate resources and equipment.
Provide our border officers with sidearms and the training required for their use,
and ensure, for the safety of these officers, that there are no “work alone” posts.
Reopen RCMP border detachments in Québec and the West
and increase resources to the RCMP so that they can respond promptly to border calls when required.
Deploy face recognition and other biometric technology at border crossings and ports of entry.
Ensuring effective deportation laws
In April 2003, the Auditor General reported that the federal government had lost track of some 36,000 people who were under deportation orders.
This is unacceptable.
People who are under deportation orders must be removed.
Canadians deserve nothing less.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Rapidly reduce the backlog of unexecuted deportation orders and swiftly carry out new deportation orders.
Put the top priority on executing existing and new deportation orders against individuals with criminal records, connections to terrorist organizations, or organized crime.
Amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the Criminal Code, and the Corrections and Conditional Release Act to permit sentencing courts to order deportation following conviction on select offences
and prohibit persons already ordered deported from parole eligibility before deportation.
Stand up for Families
The family is the building block of society.
Healthy families provide the love and support to raise the next generation of Canadians, and care for the aged and infirm.
But families need support and recognition from government.
Parents need help with child care choices so they can balance work and family life.
Seniors need security to protect their hard-won gains.
Families with college- and university-aged children need help with rising tuition costs.
And all families and individuals need access to health care that’s there when they need it.
A Conservative government will be committed to meeting the needs and interests of Canada’s families and building a stronger society.
Better health care for Canadians
The Conservative Party is committed to ensuring that all Canadians have access to timely, quality health care services regardless of their ability to pay.
We are committed to a universal, publicly funded health care system that respects the five principles of the Canada Health Act and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Twelve years of Liberal government have done nothing to improve health care for Canadians.
It is harder to find a family doctor.
Canadians wait longer for access to critical surgery and specialist services.
Hospitals get dirtier and dirtier.
And more Canadians cross the border or seek out private clinics in Canada to get the care they need.
Canadians should be able to get timely care within the public health care system.
As the Supreme Court of Canada recently declared, “access to a waiting list is not access to health care.”
Real solutions for health care – a Patient Wait Times Guarantee
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Push ahead with implementing the September 2004 federal-provincial Health Accord.
We will ensure that: - Evidence-based benchmarks for medically acceptable wait times, starting with cancer, heart, diagnostic imaging procedures, joint replacements, and sight restoration are established as soon as possible, as promised in the Health Accord.
- Patient Wait-time reduction targets for priority procedures identified by provinces are established by the end of 2006.
- Canadians get regular reports on progress towards meeting these wait-time targets, as promised in the Health Accord.
- We will work with the provinces and territories to increase the numbers of, and expand educational programs for doctors, nurses, and other health professionals.
Work with the provinces to develop a Patient Wait Times Guarantee to ensure that all Canadians receive essential medical treatment within clinically acceptable waiting times, or can be treated in another jurisdiction, as required by the Supreme Court of Canada’s Chaoulli decision and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The Liberals have delayed or failed to take action on many other health issues over the last twelve years.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Work with the provinces to develop comprehensive plans for the prevention and treatment of cancer, mental illnesses, and heart disease.
We will implement a $260 million, five-year Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control to improve screening, prevention, and coordination of resources among the federal government, cancer advocacy groups, and the provinces,
and work to develop new national plans for mental illness and heart disease.
Immediately compensate all individuals who contracted hepatitis C from tainted blood, as recommended by the Krever Inquiry.
In conjunction with the provinces, allow for a mix of public and private health care delivery,
as long as health care remains publicly funded and universally accessible.
Improve access to natural and complementary health products and supplements.
Introduce a National Disability Act to promote reasonable access to medical care, medical equipment, education, employment, transportation, and housing for Canadians with disabilities.
A Conservative Government will not initiate or support any legislation to regulate abortion.
A new Choice in Child Care Allowance
The Liberals and the NDP believe that the only answer to expanding childcare in Canada is their one-size-fits-all plan to build a massive childcare bureaucracy which will benefit only a small percentage of Canadians.
Only the Conservatives believe in freedom of choice in child care.
The best role for government is to let parents chose what’s best for their children, and provide parents with the resources to balance work and family life as they see fit –
whether that means formal child care, informal care through neighbours or relatives, or a parent staying at home.
A Conservative government will introduce a family support policy that gives parents true choice in child care.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Provide all families a new $1,200 per year Choice in Child Care Allowance for each child under six, to be taxable in the hands of the spouse with the lower income, starting in 2006.
This will be in addition to the current Canada Child Tax Benefits, National Child Benefit Supplement, and the Childcare Expenses Deduction.
The Choice in Child Care Allowance will let parents choose the childcare option that best suits their family’s needs.
Help employers and communities create child care spaces in the workplace or through cooperative or community associations by allocating $250 million a year in tax credits to employers who cover the full cost of creating spaces.
We will provide similar support to non-profit associations to create spaces.
We estimate that this program will create 125,000 new child care spaces over five years and make it easier for working people to juggle child care and work responsibilities.
The program will be designed to ensure that small business and rural communities will be able to access it as well as larger employers and cities.
Honour the government’s existing bilateral child care commitments for one year.
Security for seniors
The Liberal track record for Canadian seniors is a sad story of unfair taxation, poor government services, and now an inexcusable policy blunder that has destroyed the retirement savings of Canadians invested in income trusts.
It is time for a government that respects those who have spent their lives raising families, saving for their retirement, and building this country.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Confirm its commitment to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS) as well as the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) as fundamental guarantees of income security in retirement years.
Stop the Liberal attack on retirement savings and preserve income trusts by not imposing any new taxes on them.
Protect the integrity of the CPP investment fund to stop politicians from raiding it to balance the budget or pay for other political projects.
Protect seniors from over-taxation by raising the pension income tax amount that is eligible for a federal tax credit from $1,000 to $2,000 per year in 2006, and to $2,500 in five years.
Appoint a Seniors Council comprised of seniors and representatives of seniors’ organizations to advise the minister responsible for seniors on issues of national importance.
Support for students and families with students
The rising cost of postsecondary education puts a heavy load on Canadian students and their families.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Invest $100 million per year in measures to improve support for postsecondary students, including the enhancement of the Canada Student Loans program.
Work with the provinces to increase family income thresholds for student loan eligibility.
Exempt the first $10,000 of student scholarship or bursary income from taxation.
Provide students or their parents with a federal tax credit on spending up to $500 per year on textbooks.
In cooperation with the provinces, remove postsecondary education funding from the Canada Social Transfer and create an independent Canada Education and Training Transfer to ensure that there is dedicated funding for postsecondary education and training.
Promoting health and wellness
The most important part of health care is prevention, including insuring that Canadians, especially children, have proper diet and exercise.
A Conservative government will promote a wellness and physical fitness agenda to help Canadians and their children stay fit and healthy.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Commit to spending at least one percent of total federal health funding annually on physical activity, including amateur sport and programs for school age children such as the Awards of Excellence program.
Allow the parents of young people under 16 years old who register their children in programs that promote physical fitness to claim a federal tax credit on spending up to $500 per year per child spent on registration fees and memberships.
Giving MPs a free vote on marriage
The Liberal legislation abolishing the traditional definition of marriage passed only on a whipped cabinet vote.
We believe that Parliament alone, based on a completely free vote, should be able to determine the definition of marriage.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Hold a truly free vote on the definition of marriage in the next session of Parliament.
If the resolution is passed, the government will introduce legislation to restore the traditional definition of marriage
while respecting existing same-sex marriages.
Stand up for Our Communities
The strength of Canada is the strength of our people and our communities,
and government can play an important role in building strong communities.
We need good roads and infrastructure so that suburban commuters aren’t stuck in traffic going to work and rural Canadians don’t have to boil their drinking water.
We need an immigration policy that responds to Canada’s economic needs and helps reunite families.
We need good housing in our cities and communities
and a healthy, liveable environment.
A Conservative government will build roads and improve infrastructure,
clean up the environment,
and strengthen our immigration system to build strong communities that serve the needs of all Canadians, not just the interests of a privileged few.
Improving Canada’s national infrastructure
Infrastructure is a crucial investment in our economic productivity and quality of life.
Suburban commuters should not have to sit on gridlocked highways.
Truckers carrying cargo vital to Canada’s economy should not be stuck at inadequate border-crossing bottlenecks.
Rural Canadians should not have to dodge potholes for much of the year.
The Liberals have committed to funding municipal infrastructure, but roads, highways, and border crossings never seem to keep up.
A Conservative government will have a better approach to fixing Canada’s infrastructure deficit.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Maintain the funding for the New Deal for Cities and Communities and fully implement the transfer of the equivalent of five cents per litre of gasoline to cities and communities by 2009-10 for municipal infrastructure.
Expand the New Deal to allow all cities and communities, including cities with more than 500,000 people, to use gas tax transfer dollars to build and repair roads and bridges to improve road safety and fight traffic congestion.
Negotiate a new infrastructure agreement with the provinces to provide a stable, permanent Highways and Border Infrastructure Fund.
We will commit $2 billion over the next five years to Highways and Border Infrasructure, reaching $600 million by 2010.
Use the new Highways and Border Infrastructure Fund to work with the provinces to improve Canada’s National Highways System, with the Trans-Canada Highway as its centrepiece.
Develop a national Road Congestion Index to track progress in reducing road congestion,
and work towards reducing congestion levels in municipalities across Canada.
We must begin to measure the results obtained for the infrastructure money spent.
Maintain the existing federal infrastructure agreements that have been entered into between the federal government, the provinces, and municipalities.
Support the development of the Pacific Gateway Initiative, designating at least $591 million to the Initiative,
but giving greater freedom to British Columbia and the other partners to designate their priority projects without federal interference.
Building more affordable housing
All Canadians should have a fair chance to own or rent their own home.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Work with the provinces and municipalities to develop tax incentives for private-sector builders so that low-income city dwellers will have improved access to affordable housing.
Specifically, on an experimental basis to supplement existing programs we will establish a low-income housing tax credit program.
Beginning in 2007-08, we will set aside $200 million annually in the form of federal tax credits to encourage developers to build or refurbish affordable rental units in which at least 40 percent of the occupants earn less than 60 percent of the local median income.
Fight congestion through public transit
Improved public transit usage will help both reduce traffic congestion in our urban centres and reduce carbon dioxide and other emissions.
Canadians must be encouraged to choose transit by making this option more financially attractive.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Give public transit riders a federal tax credit to cover the cost of their monthly transit passes.
Parents will be able to receive this credit for their dependent children as well.
A cleaner, healthier environment
For all the Liberal talk about the environment, they have done nothing to clean up the environment here in Canada.
They sign ambitious international treaties and send money to foreign governments for hot air credits, but can’t seem to get anything done to help people here at home.
A Conservative government will implement a “made-in-Canada” plan focused on ensuring future generations enjoy clean air, clean water, clean land, and clean energy here in Canada.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Develop a Clean Air Act to legislate the reduction of smog-causing pollutants such as Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), Sulphur Dioxide (SO2), and particulate matter.
Address the issue of greenhouse gas emissions, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), with a made-in-Canada plan, emphasising new technologies, developed in concert with the provinces and in coordination with other major industrial countries.
Ensure water quality by addressing environmental issues such as the need for aquifer mapping, protection of the Great Lakes Basin, banning interbasin water transfers, imposing substantial penalties for illegal bilge oil dumping, and ensuring adequate watershed management and methods to ensure water quality and quantity.
Clean up federal contaminated sites
and encourage the private sector to clean up brownfields.
Require 5 percent average renewable content in Canadian gasoline and diesel fuel, such as ethanol and biodiesel, by 2010.
An immigration plan that works for Canada
Canada has long welcomed hard-working, law-abiding men and women seeking freedom, democracy, and opportunity for themselves and their families.
The Liberal record on immigration is to tolerate queue-jumping, set up special programs for foreign strippers, and hold up legitimate immigration applications in years of red tape.
And they charge sky-high immigration fees to pay for their wasteful and corrupt spending on other departments of government.
A Conservative government will stand up for a fair and sensible immigration plan that works for Canada.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Cut the $975 Right of Landing Fee in half.
Immigrants and their families can better use this money to cover the costs of getting life started in Canada.
Create a Canadian Agency for Assessment and Recognition of Credentials, to provide pre-assessment of international credentials and experience.
We will work with the provinces and professional associations to ensure foreign-trained professionals meet Canadian standards while getting properly trained professionals working in Canada quickly.
Support Canadian parents who adopt foreign-born children by extending automatic citizenship to these children once the adoption is final.
Opportunity and respect for aboriginals
Every year for twelve years the Liberals have paid lip service to aboriginal issues.
But their real legacy is bad water, bad schools, and bad housing.
Every year aboriginal spending goes up, but life for Canada’s aboriginal peoples keeps getting worse.
And meanwhile the disputes, claims, and lawsuits pile up.
The Liberals should be ashamed of themselves.
It’s time for a new approach.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Accept the targets agreed upon at the recent Meeting of First Ministers and National Aboriginal Leaders, and work with first ministers and national aboriginal leaders on achieving these targets.
Support the development of individual property ownership on reserves, to encourage lending for private housing and businesses.
Let aboriginal parents choose the schooling they want for their children, with funding following the students.
Replace the Indian Act (and related legislation) with a modern legislative framework which provides for the devolution of full legal and democratic responsibility to aboriginal Canadians for their own affairs within the Constitution, including the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Pursue settlement of all outstanding “comprehensive claims” within a clear framework that balances the rights of aboriginal claimants with those of Canada.
Adopt measures to resolve the existing backlog of “specific” claims so as to provide justice for aboriginal claimants, together with certainty for government, industry, and non-aboriginal Canadians.
Implement all of the recommendations of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development contained in its fourth report on Resolving Indian Residential School Claims, to expedite the settlement of claims and save money.
Recognize the contributions of Aboriginal veterans,
and redress 60 years of inequity by implementing the resolution of the House of Commons to acknowledge the historic inequality of treatment and compensation for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit war veterans,
and take action immediately to give real compensation to these veterans in a way that truly respects their service and sacrifice.
Promoting arts, culture, and competitive sport
Canada is a nation of great artists and athletes.
Arts, culture, and sport all make essential contributions to our national identity.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Establish a Francophone Secretariat within the Department of Canadian Heritage.
Language is an integral part of culture and heritage and should form the basis of decision-making for the Francophone cultural and artistic community.
Ensure that the CBC and Radio-Canada continue to perform their vital role as national public service broadcasters.
Preserve the role of the National Film Board, the Canada Council, and other federal arts and culture agencies.
Give Canadians increased access to international and foreign-language television and radio programming.
Maintain the $140 million annual commitment to amateur sport, which includes a $55 million five-year commitment for high performance athletes for the Vancouver Winter Olympics.
Supporting charitable giving
Charities play an invaluable role in helping other Canadians and building our sense of community.
Government should make it easier for Canadians to support the charities of their choice.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Remove the capital gains tax on listed stocks donated to charities.
Government should not penalize Canadians when they contribute to charities.
Canadians who donate publicly traded shares to Canadian charities should not pay capital gains taxes on those donations.
Stand up for Canada
Canada is a great nation, strong, glorious, and free.
We have tested our mettle in world wars fought to defend freedom.
We have worked to unite and keep united a country with two official language communities, vast geographic distances, and many cultures.
We have exported our products and ideas around the world and built a trading nation that is second to none in the world.
But for all of our pride in our history, Canada is losing its place in the world and its unity at home.
Will Canada’s military be able to defend our sovereignty?
Will Canada stay united after a corrupt Liberal government has tarnished the reputation of federalism in Quebec?
Can we maintain our standing as global traders when the federal government won’t stand up for our national interests?
A Conservative government will restore pride in Canada.
We will protect our national sovereignty and security,
work to unite the country by respecting provincial and cultural differences,
and stand up for our economic interests.
Open federalism – strengthening national unity
Preserving the country’s unity is the federal government’s foremost responsibility.
Yet the federal Liberals have hurt the federalist cause in Quebec, launched pointless attacks on provincial premiers, and cut a series of one-on-one deals with some provinces that have left everyone dissatisfied.
It’s time for the federal government to establish a new relationship of open federalism with the provinces,
while clarifying the roles of both levels of government within the division of powers of the Constitution.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Support the creation of practical intergovernmental mechanisms to facilitate provincial involvement in areas of federal jurisdiction where provincial jurisdiction is affected,
and enshrine these practices in a Charter of Open Federalism.
We will work with the provinces in areas such as culture, environment, and trade, within the context of the Constitution.
Specifically, we will: - Invite the Government of Quebec to play a role at UNESCO along the lines of its participation in la Francophonie.
- Facilitate provincial participation in the development of the Canadian position in the negotiation of bilateral, continental, hemispheric, or global trade agreements where provincial jurisdiction is affected.
- Work with permanent provincial international trade offices to promote and develop trade opportunities.
- Support the important contribution the Council of the Federation is making to strengthening intergovernmental and interprovincial cooperation,
expanding the economic and social union in Canada,
and advancing the development of common standards and objectives of mutual recognition by all provinces.
Fiscal imbalance
In the last eight years, the federal government has amassed enormous surpluses.
Meanwhile, many provinces have seen reduced revenues and have had to run deficits in order to pay for education, health, and other social programs.
While some sectoral and ad hoc agreements with provinces have temporarily reduced the financial pressure, it is time for a comprehensive agreement.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Work with the provinces in order to achieve a long-term agreement which would address the issue of fiscal imbalance in a permanent fashion.
Ensure that any new shared-cost programs in areas of provincial/territorial responsibility have the consent of the majority of provinces to proceed,
and that provinces should be given the right to opt out of the federal program with compensation,
so long as the province offers a similar program with similar accountability structures.
Work to achieve with the provinces permanent changes to the equalization formula which would ensure that non-renewable natural resource revenue is removed from the equalization formula to encourage economic growth.
We will ensure that no province is adversely affected from changes to the equalization formula.
Protecting and promoting official languages
Canada’s official languages constitute a unique social and economic advantage that benefits all Canadians.
The federal government has a responsibility to encourage the protection and flourishing of both English and French throughout Canada.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Support the Official Languages Act, ensuring that English and French have equality of status and equal rights and privileges as to their use in all institutions of the Parliament and Government of Canada.
Work with the provinces to enhance opportunities for Canadians to learn both official languages and to ensure the viability of minority language communities within the provinces.
Enshrining property rights in the Constitution
The 1960 Bill of Rights, introduced by the Right Honourable John G. Diefenbaker, confers the protection of property rights on Canadians.
However, property rights are not mentioned in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Propose an amendment to the Constitution to include the right to own property, as well as guarantee that no person shall be deprived of their just right without the due process of law and full, just, and timely compensation.
Enact legislation to ensure that full, just, and timely compensation will be paid to all persons who are deprived of personal or private property as a result of any federal government initiative, policy, process, regulation, or legislation.
A better democracy
Canada is a democracy, yet our democratic system has not kept pace with the needs of a changing society.
Paul Martin used to talk about a democratic deficit, but his actions as Prime Minister have deepened it.
A new Conservative government will be committed to significant democratic reform of our Parliamentary and electoral institutions.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Begin reform of the Senate by creating a national process for choosing elected Senators from each province and territory.
Propose further reforms to make the Senate an effective, independent, and democratically elected body that equitably represents all regions.
Restore representation by population for Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta in the House of Commons while protecting the seat counts of smaller provinces.
Introduce legislation modeled on the BC and Ontario laws requiring fixed election dates every four years, except when a government loses the confidence of the House (in which case an election would be held immediately, and the subsequent election would follow four years later).
Make all votes in Parliament, except the budget and main estimates, “free votes” for ordinary Members of Parliament.
Increase the power of Parliament and parliamentary committees to review the spending estimates of departments and hold ministers to account.
Ensure fairness in party nomination races
Questions have been raised about the nomination process in all parties.
Liberal prime ministers have often unilaterally appointed Liberal candidates to run in ridings, leaving various ethnic and cultural groups feeling they have been discriminated against.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Ensure that party nomination and leadership races are conducted in a fair, transparent, and democratic manner.
Prevent party leaders from appointing candidates without the democratic consent of local electoral district associations.
Advancing Canadian values and interests on the world stage
Canadians are rightly proud of our values of freedom, fairness, and compassion.
But too often, Liberal foreign policy has compromised democratic principles to appease dictators, sometimes for the sake of narrow business interests.
Foreign aid has been used for political purposes, not to ensure genuine development.
We need to ensure that Canada’s foreign policy reflects true Canadian values and advances Canada’s national interests.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Articulate Canada’s core values of freedom, democracy, the rule of law, human rights, free markets, and free trade – and compassion for the less fortunate – on the international stage.
Advance Canada’s interests through foreign aid,
while at the same time holding those agencies involved in this area accountable for its distribution and results.
Increase spending on Overseas Development Assistance beyond the currently projected level and move towards the OECD average level.
Make Parliament responsible for exercising oversight over the conduct of Canadian foreign policy and the commitment of Canadian Forces to foreign operations.
Place international treaties before Parliament for ratification.
Defending Canada
For decades, successive Liberal governments have undermined and under funded Canada’s armed forces.
We need to strengthen Canada’s independent capacity to defend our national sovereignty and security.
In an increasingly dangerous world this “Canada First” vision is required to defend our vast territory and three ocean areas.
Greater strength at home will also lead to greater confidence abroad within Canada’s longstanding global role.
Achieving this vision will require large-scale investments in every region of the country to strengthen Canada’s multi-role, combat-capable defence force.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Complete the transformation of military operations and defence administration.
Recruit 13,000 additional regular forces and 10,000 additional reserve forces personnel.
Increase spending on the Canadian Forces by $5.3 billion over the next five years, beyond the currently projected levels of defence spending.
Expand recruiting and training,
reduce rank structure overhead,
review civilian and military HQ functions,
and increase front-line personnel.
Increase investment in base infrastructure and housing for our forces.
Acquire equipment needed to support a multi-role, combat-capable maritime, land, and air force.
Fundamental capability requirements are national surveillance and control, counter-terrorism, air and sea deployability, and logistics supportability.
Increase the Canadian Forces’ capacity to protect Canada’s Arctic sovereignty and security.
Restore the regular army presence in British Columbia.
Treat Canada’s veterans with the respect and honour that they deserve,
and ensure better responsiveness to veterans with a Veterans’ Bill of Rights and a Veterans’ Ombudsman.
Creating jobs through international trade
A Conservative government will seek to strengthen rules-based trading arrangements,
and expand free and fair market access, at the national, continental, hemispheric and global levels.
Canada is a trading nation,
and Canadian jobs depend on our ability to pursue free and fair trading relationships with like-minded countries throughout the world.
Yet, the Liberals have failed to enhance our trading relationship with our largest trading partner, the United States,
and have also failed to seek out new markets and secure Canadian jobs.
The plan
A Conservative government will:  Take aggressive action to strengthen the Canadian economic union.
Defend Canada’s primary producers against repeated and unfounded international trade challenges.
Explore the possibility of appointing special envoys between Canada and the United States to chart a course for the future of NAFTA
and achieve a resolution of the softwood lumber dispute in accordance with Canadian and American legal rights and obligations.
Reassert Canada’s traditional leadership in negotiating the Free Trade Area of the Americas.
Create an investment, regulatory, and security environment for our western ports to grow and flourish.
Explore the possibility of free-trade negotiations with Canada’s democratic and economic partners in the Asia-Pacific, Japan, and India.
About the Green Party of Canada and Vision Green
Vision Green presents leading-edge thinking and rational, realistic solutions for all the issues facing Canadians.
It was developed by a 31-member Green Shadow Cabinet and was informed by experts, activists and citizens who participated in policy workshops held across Canada.
All the proposals are based on policies approved by the membership of the Green Party.
Green Party solutions are rational because the Green Party, unlike other parties, understands the scientifically verified limits to growth set by the carrying capacity of our planet.
We must work within these limits.
Otherwise, we will exhaust resources,
degrade our environment
and put our economy,
health
and children’s future at risk.
Our solutions are realistic because they follow “best practices” already in place in parts of Canada or other countries.
These practices are cost-effective, deliver results and benefit people, the economy and the environment.
The Green Party’s down-to-earth solutions will work in Canada because they have worked around the world.
Many have been successfully applied in Europe, where Greens are elected at all political levels, including the European Union and national parliaments.
Countries where Greens have served in government are the countries creating new high-paying jobs
while simultaneously meeting targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
They are the countries where the gap between rich and poor is small and the standard of living is high.
These countries don’t trade off the environment for the economy.
Their economies and environmental laws are both strong.
Many people find it hard to position the Green Party on the old political spectrum.
We believe in sound fiscal management and strengthening our economy
while ensuring that it is sustainable.
Does that mean we are “right wing”?
We believe that government must provide needed social services
while protecting our environment
and the rights of women,
minorities and disadvantaged people.
Does that make us “left wing”?
We don’t think so.
More and more people are simply thinking of the Green Party as the party of the future.
The Green Party is different from other parties in another important way.
We will never place the pursuit of power above principle.
We will not allow partisan politics to get in the way of good ideas and needed action.
We agree with Canadians who say it’s time for parties in parliament to stop bickering and get on with the job of combating climate change and taking better care of our environment, our health and our economy.
The Green Party of Canada, founded in 1983, is now a major force in Canadians politics.
Over 660,000 Canadians voted Green in the 2006 federal election.
More than one in ten Canadians are now saying they plan to vote Green.
There is only one true Green Party.
We are not like the old line parties who talk green when seeking your vote but sideline green action once elected.
You can trust us to stay true to our promises and champion the issues you care about.
If you share our vision and agree with our solutions, VOTE GREEN.
Change the climate in Parliament.
VISION GREEN
“Without vision, the people perish.”
What kind of Canada do we want in 2020? (and how do we get there from here?)
The Green Party holds a positive Vision of Canada, now and into the future.
We will strive to support a society where the pressure to make a living does not crowd out having a life;
where having more does not supplant being more.
In our Green Vision, Canadians enjoy a higher quality of life,
experiencing health and wellness,
education and meaningful work,
prosperity and economic success
supported by ecological health.
In our vision of Canada, ability or disability, economic, racial, or cultural backgrounds do not preclude individuals from contributing to and benefiting from a prosperous Canada.
Canadian communities – urban and rural – thrive in our Green Vision,
including communities dependent on fisheries, forestry and agriculture.
Canada plays a positive role in the world, working cooperatively with governments, North and South, to ensure equity, global security and peace.
“We are entering an era of consequences.” Sir Winston Churchill
Avoiding the “Dark Age Ahead”
In her last book, Dark Age Ahead, Canadian urban planner and legendary author Jane Jacobs wrote that five pillars of our civilization and culture are under assault.
She wrote that government policies have been contributing to “the ominous signs of decay” eroding family, community and education.
She warned that family, community and higher education, as well as the practice of science and proper taxation were “in the process of becoming irrelevant, and so are dangerously close to the brink of lost memory and cultural uselessness.”
We feel this in our bones.
Yet, what political party is addressing the threat?
Real policies in the real world can lead us to a better future.
Poor policies, badly conceived, imperfectly imagined and poorly implemented could leave our children and their children in an unlivable world.
The Green Party believes improvement can be made immediately while recognizing that long term planning is essential if generations to come are to benefit.
This is the Green Party plan for Canada.
These are the steps we will take when we form government.
These are the policies we will advance to other parties until that time.
We will work collaboratively in the House of Commons to shift priorities, to promote those innovative ideas whose time has come.
We start with a vision of the society we want.
“Nothing else in the world...not all the armies...is so powerful as an idea whose time has come.” Victor Hugo
All of the following policies speak to the fundamental elements of our cohesive, coherent and achievable vision.
Each policy has been examined through the following lenses:
Does it advance the common good?
Does it advance global security, in environmental and geo-political terms?
Does it address the needs of children?
Does it ensure Canada’s continued quality of life and economic health?
Does it make families more secure?
Does it protect, enhance and restore the life support systems of the planet?
Does it promote systems -- cultural, institutional, and technological -- that are resilient and capable of adapting to shocks in a more unpredictable world?
The Green Party Government will jettison the baggage of current political stagnant thinking.
The Green Party will leave the old-line parties to fight for turf at the cutting edge of the status quo.
We have a vision.
With your help, we can make it real.
“We, the generation that faces the next century, can add the solemn injunction ‘If we don't do the impossible, we shall be faced with the unthinkable’.” Petra Kelly, Founder, Green Party of Germany
PART 1: THE GREEN ECONOMY
Canadians enjoy one of the highest qualities of life of any people in the world, now or in all of human history.
We are blessed with abundant resources, a skilled and educated workforce and a highly innovative corporate culture.
However, we are not achieving our full potential.
Unemployment is still unacceptably high -- not everywhere, but in significant and worrying regions of real economic stagnation.
Too many small businesses go bankrupt,
while major industrial sectors such as automotive and forestry shed jobs as they struggle to stay afloat.
Employed Canadians are among the most overworked citizens in the industrialized world.
A report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) states that the richest 10 percent of Canadians are the only ones not working longer hours.
The report concludes that, despite being better educated and working harder, Canadian families are now “running faster just to stay put and the bottom half is actually falling behind.”
This is unacceptable.
Our Vision
The Green Party approach is to think holistically.
How can we achieve the best possible economic result?
What are the fiscal and regulatory impediments to economic sustainability?
With the U.S. our largest trading partner, how can we maintain a healthy economy without surrendering our sovereignty and becoming subsumed into the U.S. orbit, as contemplated by the so-called Security and Prosperity Partnership?
We strive for stronger local economies with a small business focus, increased national and regional self-sufficiency, economic diversification, more “fair” trade, more value-added manufacturing of resources, more green-certified production and a rapid shift to more renewable energy to create local economic opportunities.
This generation has the potential to capitalize on the single biggest business opportunity in human history – the shift to a low-carbon economy.
Whether this is driven by high energy prices, dwindling oil supplies, strategic geo-political threats to foreign oil, the climate crisis, or all of them combined, the country that mobilizes resources to develop and commercialize low carbon technologies (e.g. alternate fuels, renewable energy and energy efficiency) will survive the price shocks of fossil fuels last gasps and emerge with a thriving economy.
Canada should be that country.
A. Principles Guiding the Green Economic Plan
1. Maximize efficiency
The central driving principle of Green Economic Policy is maximizing efficiency.
Green Party economic policies aim to improve the efficiency of resource and energy use by a factor of four.
In their seminal book, Factor Four, Ernst von Weizacker, Amory B. Lovins and L. Hunter Lovins concluded: “The amount of wealth extracted from one unit of natural resources can quadruple. Thus we can live twice as well – yet use half as much.”
There is abundant evidence to support this contention.
Improvements in labour productivity drove economic growth after World War II.
We must now repeat the exercise as we improve the productivity of resource and energy use.
2. Get the prices right
To get there from here, market distortions created by a failure to internalize externalities must be removed.
In other words, we must get the prices right.
The single most significant government policy tool to advance or retard economic sustainability resides in the fiscal framework.
The Green Party commitment to Green tax-shifting will: Reduce income taxes;
Reduce payroll taxes; and,
Introduce a carbon tax, sending a clear economic signal that wasting energy and resources implies real costs.
According to an editorial in The Economist, September 9, 2006: “Ideally, politicians would choose the more efficient carbon tax, which implies a relatively stable price that producers can build into their investment plans.”
The Green Party will also eliminate large corporate subsidies and grants programmes.
It makes no sense to subsidize the wealthiest companies on Earth to make the world’s most profitable product -- a barrel of oil.
These perverse subsidies must be removed.
It makes sense to reduce taxes on things we want – income and employment – while increasing taxes on things we do not want, like greenhouse gases and pollution that causes smog.
Canadian businesses want two things from their government: predictability and policy coherence.
The Green Party Government will ensure that the rules are clear, the playing field is level and decision-making is transparent.
Our fiscal plan is straightforward: Use the tax system to help meet societal and ecological goals.
Get the prices right.
Allow business to pursue profit,
with clear signals of environmental and societal objectives.
Key societal goals: Ensure Canadians have more time for friends, family and community engagement.
Send the right price signals to the economy.
The days of cheap, abundant energy are over.
A carbon tax will send that signal and generate the revenue to cut income taxes, allow “income splitting” and fund the anti-poverty policies outlined later in Vision Green.
Eliminate perverse corporate subsidies.
No more “corporate welfare bums.”
No more unpaid “loans” to government granting agencies.
B. Applying These Principles to Economic Decision-Making
The bigger the challenge, the greater the opportunity.
Canada and the world community face an environmentally linked, energy challenge of historic proportions over the next few decades.
The reality of rising fossil fuel prices, increased losses due to extreme weather events caused by the worsening climate crisis, higher global temperatures and worsening pollution levels will make mitigation and adaptation responses absolutely essential.
Focusing community economic development and investment towards clean technology and services is both a smart economic development strategy and a superb investment opportunity.
Green technology has been called the greatest business opportunity of this century.
All levels of government need to advance this green economic approach through effective tax and policy measures
and appropriate skills and trades training at the secondary and post- secondary levels.
As part of the federal government’s contribution to advancing this green economic vision, the Green Party of Canada Government will gradually and progressively shift current consumption taxes onto products and services that harm people and the environment
while reducing taxes on income, products and economic activities that do no harm.
This green tax shift will be largely revenue neutral, meaning that as certain taxes increase, other taxes will decrease.
In particular, income and payroll taxes will decline.
And because the Green Party is committed to eliminating poverty it would ensure that this tax shift would not unfairly burden less fortunate members of our society.
1. Reporting the well-being of the nation more accurately
By moving to true or “full-cost” accounting, whereby products and services are priced according to the positive or negative impacts they cause throughout their lifecycle, our society can make rational market choices that will guide the economy toward environmental sustainability.
By some accounts, the Canadian economy is performing quite well.
But national prosperity is more than just the exchange of dollars.
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – our national bottom-line – is a measure of money changing hands without regard to whether we are reducing social inequalities, advancing sustainability or safeguarding our natural capital of primary resources such as wild fish populations, natural forests and fertile soils.
Most economists agree that GDP is a poor measure of economic well-being or quality of life, yet our government continues to use it as the basis for its most important taxation and policy decisions.
Our Vision
The Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) is a new and innovative accounting method that embraces a more systematic and comprehensive definition of well-being.
Literacy, health and fitness, housework, family time, public infrastructure, cultural institutions, community volunteerism, water and air quality, forests, farmland, wetlands and employment are all measured by the GPI.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Introduce legislation to establish a Canadian Index of Well-being to provide the government with better information so it can do a better job of taxation and revenue sharing with the other levels of government.
Modify Canada’s existing system of national accounts so that annual changes in the depletion and addition to Canada's principal biological resources are measured as an integral part of Canada's worth.
2. Fair taxes – fiscal reform
Most Canadians do not like paying taxes, especially if they think that the taxes are unfair or do not deliver good value for money.
People do not like wasteful spending by an over- bureaucratized government.
Fair enough.
However, about half of Canadians say that they would not mind paying more taxes for a cleaner environment,
better health care and education and to support people in need.
Taxation and spending policies shape society by sending signals about which sectors of society governments think are important.
Over the last five years, both the Conservatives and Liberals have used our tax system to benefit large corporations, reducing federal corporate taxes by almost 8 percent as corporate profits hit record highs.
Meanwhile, the cost of living has increased.
Canadians save less, carry more debt and work more hours for the same money.
Most people are having a harder time providing for their families and paying for a decent place to live.
Our Vision
The Green Party believes in reforming our tax system to make it fairer and more in tune with Canadians’ desire for a healthy environment, a sustainable economy and a vibrant, caring society.
It makes no sense to subsidize the wealthiest corporations on Earth – the oil companies.
We must remove these perverse subsidies immediately, not in the slow, “grandfathered” approach of the Conservatives’ 2007 budget.
The Green Party will reduce taxes on things we all want, like income and employment, and we will increase taxes on things we do not want – things that harm people and our environment.
Our green tax shift will be progressive, with a schedule that gives industry time to gear up or down.
And it will be revenue neutral because a tax shift is not a tax grab.
Income and payroll taxes will decline and the changes will help, not hurt, less fortunate members of our society.
To shift taxes effectively, we have to change to a true or “full-cost” accounting method that incorporates economic, social and environmental costs and benefits in the national accounts.
Using this method, products and services are taxed, and thus priced, according to the positive or negative impacts caused throughout their lifecycle.
We have already done this with tobacco products.
Such taxes help consumers make more rational choices.
There are other ways to put taxes to work improving our society.
Our tax system must be designed to reduce poverty,
encourage environmentally beneficial activities
and generate more wealth for the 90 percent of Canadian families who are currently working harder without getting further ahead.
The Green Party’s fiscal plan is straightforward: gradually reduce our debt,
give clear tax signals that enable companies to pursue profits on a level playing field,
and shift taxes to ensure that both revenue streams and expenditures meet social, economic and ecological goals.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Institute a full range of “polluter pays” taxes, including a carbon tax designed to reduce the use of fossil fuels by making them more expensive to produce and burn.
All these taxes will be largely revenue neutral.
The revenues generated will be offset by reduced taxes on personal income, payrolls
and on green products and technologies.
The new taxes will also be non-regressive (e.g., the carbon tax will include a rebate program for low-income Canadians living in rural areas).
Eliminate personal taxes on incomes below the low-income cut-off ($20,000 for single person living in a city).
Modify personal income tax rates so that the wealthy contribute their fair share and the gap between rich and poor stops growing and starts narrowing.
Introduce a high tax bracket on incomes over $150,000.
(Canada’s rate flattens out at 29 percent for incomes above $121,000.
The US rate flattens out for incomes above US$336,000 at 35 percent).
Work with the provinces to increase taxes on tobacco and alcohol.
Encourage people to use Revenue Canada’s online NETFIL tax filing system, which saves Revenue Canada money, by giving users an automatic $10 tax credit.
Develop a specific tax-shifting schedule to provide tax incentives and direct rebates to businesses and individuals investing in the low carbon economy (e.g. installing solar hot water systems, refitting homes and businesses to conserve energy).
Provide increased tax breaks for Canadians who donate to charitable societies.
(See PART 4: PEOPLE for more on family-friendly taxation, including income splitting.)
3. Balanced budget – debt reduction
Canada’s debt currently stands at $481 billion.
In the 2005 - 2006 fiscal year, the cost of servicing that debt was $33.8 billion.
Our government pays $93 million in interest every day.
That debt burden drains support from essential government programs.
Imagine what $33.8 billion could do to alleviate poverty and provide affordable housing and affordable post- secondary education in Canada.
Being indebted to external creditors also makes our political decision-makers vulnerable to pressures from outside our country.
The 1994 International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Report to Canada recommended that our government reduce the number of hospital beds, convert student bursaries to interest-bearing student loans and cut funding to the National Film Board, the CBC and VIA Rail.
The government of the day implemented all of these cuts.
Canadians lost 10 percent of our hospital beds the following year and today we have a wait time crisis in our health care system.
If we had no debt, we would no longer be beholden to the IMF and global credit rating agencies.
Our Vision
The Green Party believes in living within our limits, ecological and fiscally.
We are committed to a balanced budget and to reducing the national debt.
It won’t be easy.
To pay down the debt while supporting programs that meet immediate social, economic and environmental needs we must maintain a healthy and fair level of taxation
and we must ensure that Canadians get good value for their tax dollars.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Set a disciplined schedule to gradually pay down the debt
while meeting immediate social and environmental needs,
increasing debt reduction over time
but starting with modest targets to permit investment in critical programs such as the Green Plan to Avert Climate Catastrophe.
4. Removing corporate subsidies: distorting the market
“Governments are not adept at picking winners, but losers are adept at picking governments.” Mark Milke, A Nation of Serfs.
The federal government has paid the nuclear industry $17 billion in subsidies over the last four decades.
Various regional development programmes (ACOA, Western Economic Diversification, Canadian Economic Development in Quebec) have funneled billions into failed enterprises.
Since 1982, Industry Canada has made grants totalling more than $5.8 billion to some of Canada’s largest corporations.
Technology Partnerships Canada has swallowed up $2 billion and the accelerated capital cost allowance to the tar sands industries totals over $1.3 billion a year.
Perverse subsidies distort the market and send mixed messages:
reduce carbon/use more fossil fuels;
create jobs/reorganize through lay-offs.
Subsidies to Canada’s oil and gas industry from 1996 to 2002 totalled $8.3 billion.
During the same period the government allocated $3.7 billion to achieve its Kyoto greenhouse gas reduction targets.
Our Vision
The Green Party wants an end to corporate subsidies
and a start to the green tax shifting that will make the fiscal system more coherent.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Eliminate most corporate subsidies
and institute new taxes on corporate activities that harm the environment.
* Introduce more effective antitrust laws in concentrated industry sectors.
* Require corporations to provide detailed information about their records of compliance with labour, environmental, human rights, consumer, health and safety, criminal, competition and tax laws or policies and protect those who expose non-compliers.
* Support broad-based, democratically structured citizens’ watchdog groups to monitor major sectors of the economy.
5. Income trusts
Based on the Conservative Party’s 2006 campaign promise to allow income trusts to retain their non-tax status, more than a million Canadians invested in income trusts.
The Conservatives broke their election promise and these investors lost over $30 billion.
Many older Canadians saw their retirement savings disappear within hours.
The reason given for breaking the promise was that the government was losing revenue because the trusts did not pay tax.
Finance Canada proceeded as if there was no tax revenue from income trusts.
This was wrong.
The trusts made payments to their investors and those payments were taxed.
There are public policy reasons to constrain or even discourage income trusts.
If it could be proved that, over time, such arrangements led to a failure to re-invest profits in modernizing and expanding Canadian operations, action would be appropriate.
So far this reasoning is intuitive and not empirical.
What is clear is that the stated reason for breaking the promise, tax leakage, was not justified.
Our Vision
The Green Party condemns the Harper government for breaking an election promise and leaving citizens and companies in the lurch.
The decision to tax income trusts has left Canadian companies more vulnerable to foreign takeover.
It will be years before we fully understand the damage caused by this decision.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Review and redress the significant damage to Canadians caused by the broken promise and adjust tax rates in light of that error.
* Instruct Finance Canada to complete a study sampling full-cost accounting of income trusts, including lost corporate revenues and personal income tax revenues from investors to determine a fair taxation rate on income trust incomes and dividends.
* Push government to adopt these fair taxation rates.
Ensure foreign holders of trusts are taxed at a higher rate.
In the interim, tax trusts at ten percent.
* Inform both companies and investors of the process to determine fair tax rates on income trusts.
6. Labour
Canadians are among the most-overworked people in the industrialized world.
The Green Party wants to help restore balance in the lives of Canadian workers by increasing paid vacation entitlement at the federal level, and supporting provincial policies mandating shorter working hours.
The Green Party will raise the minimum paid vacation entitlement to three weeks.
Many countries with minimum standards of four weeks and longer also have more productive and internationally competitive economies than Canada’s.
Countries such as Denmark, Ireland and Holland have much higher labour standards and far lower rates of unemployment than Canada, resulting in lower social costs to the country as a whole.
Scandinavian countries, with the world’s highest labour and social standards, rank near the top in international competitiveness.
Recent studies show that a growing number of Canadians are not taking their full vacation or any vacation at all, and are working more unpaid overtime.
This high-stress lifestyle is costing Canada’s already overburdened health care system more than $5 billion a year, according to the National Work-Life Conflict Study produced for Health Canada.
Canada’s current payroll tax system discourages employers from hiring more workers, even when the business needs them.
It particularly discourages employers from hiring full-time salaried staff who are entitled to benefits other than an hourly wage or monthly salary.
It is more cost-effective to hire temporary and short-term workers or get existing workers to work longer hours, including paid overtime, than to hire additional staff.
This leads to greater worker and family stress.
Revenue from the carbon tax will allow the Green Party Government to reduce payroll taxes and reduce this perverse incentive.
In a progressive society, labour and business interests work together.
How can the Conservative government justify cutting funding to the Canadian Labour and Business Centre, Canada’s longest standing business and labour forum?
How can they justify funding cuts to the Status of Women and refusing to enact pay equity legislation, despite the recommendation from a two-year federal review of pay equity in Canada?
Our Vision
The Green Party believes in the rights of workers to organize and in the free collective bargaining process.
Labour rights are human rights.
We believe in pay equity for women, in the equal treatment of organized and non-organized workers
and in workers’ right to fair wages, healthy and safe working conditions and working hours compatible with a good quality of life.
Our jobs strategy is directly linked to the development of a green economy.
There are tens of thousands of “green-collar” jobs, for example, associated with refitting Canadian homes and businesses for energy efficiency.
The Green Party wants Canada to follow the example of countries that treat their workers well and reap the benefits of low unemployment rates, less stress-related illness
and economies that rank among the world’s best in productivity and international competitiveness.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Re-establish a federal minimum wage of $10 an hour under the Canada Labour Code.
* Advocate for changes in the Canadian Labour Code that establish a minimum of three weeks paid vacation and a managed reduction in the standard work week to 35 hours.
* Support federal “anti-scab” legislation.
* Support changes to the Employment Standards law to provide equal protection to contract and temporary workers.
* Strengthen non-union workers’ rights and protections to close the widening gap between union and non-union workplaces.
* Increase federal inspections and establish stronger deterrents to illegal unpaid overtime work to achieve full compliance with Canada Labour Code standards.
This will save money by reducing the costs related to stress and social impacts.
* Change federal labour law to include a requirement that a poster outlining workers’ rights be placed in all federally regulated workplaces as is the case under all provincial labour laws.
* Offer tax rebates to companies that provide on-the-job-site daycare, healthy food and facilities for exercise and commuting by bicycle.
7. Open source computer software
As computer hardware improves, it is important that software programs are readily modifiable by the people who buy and use them.
Developing alongside the proprietary software sector is Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS).
This software is generally available at little or no cost, making it very popular in the developing world.
It can be used, copied, studied, modified and redistributed with little or no restriction.
Businesses can adapt the software to their specific needs.
Under the free software business model, vendors may charge a fee for distribution and offer paid support and customization services.
Free software gives users the ability to work together enhancing and refining the programs they use.
It is a pure public good rather than a private good.
Our Vision
The Green Party supports the goals and ideals of Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) and believes that Canada's competitiveness in global information technology (IT) will be greatly enhanced by strongly supporting FLOSS.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Ensure that all new software developed for or by government is based on open standards and encourage and support a nationwide transition to FLOSS in all critical government IT systems.
This will make Canada’s IT infrastructure more secure and robust, lower administration and licensing costs and develop IT skills.
* Support the transition to FLOSS throughout the educational system.
8. Small business loans and entrepreneurial incentives
Big cities absorb most of the available venture capital.
In fact, big city venture capital opportunities and services often lure entrepreneurs and inventors away from smaller communities with the promise of vital capital investment to realize their dreams and grow their businesses.
The departure of this economically creative class undermines the present and future employment growth
and the viability of small communities.
Our Vision
Research and knowledge is mobile.
It can pick up and move – out of town or out of Canada.
An easily accessible and integrated system for business development and growth must be made available in smaller cities and towns to create the business climate that will entice home-grown entrepreneurs to stay.
This model has been very successfully applied in Sweden in the form of Technology Centres or “Incubators for Mutual Support and Shared Services.”
Most successful applied research and commercialization is done by small and medium-sized businesses,
and these business clusters attract new businesses seeking the direct and indirect benefits of networking and collaboration.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Establish a federally funded Small Cities Green Venture Capital Fund to support viable local green business start-ups.
* Set up a Green Venture Capital Funding Program providing matching federal funds for locally raised venture capital up to a set limit per community.
* Reduce the paperwork burden on small businesses by eliminating duplicative tax filings and red tape.
Government agencies will share information from the same database.
9. Financial institutions
Canada’s five major banks announce record profits year after year.
Many have reduced customer service while charging unreasonably high fees, especially for automated banking.
Some banks are agitating to merge saying even larger financial organization is needed to compete in the global marketplace.
This would further concentrate the banking industry and reduce competition.
Our Vision
The Green Party wants a vibrant bank and credit union system that charges reasonable rates, makes a reasonable profit and provides excellent service to customers and to the business community.
We particularly support the credit union system, in which 4.9 million Canadians and businesses are the grassroots shareholders of cooperative financial services.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Vigorously oppose mergers of the large banks in Canada.
10. Railroads – re-establishing the national dream
Canada’s national rail systems are in decline.
We are the only country in the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) with no national transportation strategy.
While Europeans have highly efficient inter-modal connectivity, with high speed rail linking downtown cores to airports, with bicycle lanes allowing people to move around cities safely, efficiently and pollution-free, with streetcars in the downtowns and even rural areas serviced by bus and rail, Canadian communities are increasingly stranded.
Nothing links our downtowns to airports other than a stretch of gridlocked traffic.
Even along the Windsor- Quebec corridor, passenger rail is increasingly infrequent and outmoded.
In much of Canada, rail routes that once moved thousands of people are abandoned.
Edmonton to Calgary, Saskatoon to Regina, Halifax to Sydney have all been axed, despite their profitability.
Our Vision
Sir John A. Macdonald understood that to be a nation, to have a sense of shared identity and common purpose, Canada needs effective east-west links in communications, in energy delivery and in transportation.
To renew this “national dream” today requires a complete overhaul of our rail system for both passenger and freight.
It will mean shifting cargo containers off highways and onto freight trains, driving the development of freight distribution nodes (off-loading containers onto local trucks) along new “green corridors.”
The rail system changes will include a separate line for passenger trains.
At the moment, freight owns the tracks and controls the traffic signals.
Passengers are at the mercy of freight.
New high-speed commuter trains will almost halve the travel time between Toronto and Ottawa and Toronto and Montreal to about two and a half hours.
With downtown-to-downtown service, the train will be faster than the plane, especially when security and other airport delays are factored in.
Reducing air travel will reduce greenhouse gases and remove the need to expand airports or build new ones, including the Pickering airport near Toronto.
Better rail service will take cars off the roads between major cities, reducing air pollution, congestion and loss of life in traffic accidents.
An improved rail system will make Canada more economically competitive and provide thousands of new jobs.
Green Solutions
Green Party MP’s will re-establish Canada’s National Dream and:
* Re-invest in our national rail systems, building more train cars in Canada,
and create green transportation and energy infrastructure corridors in key regions.
* Improve rail infrastructure and intermodal connections,
increasing joint federal-municipal light rail investments,
as well as improving VIA rail service nationwide.
* Work with railway companies to improve rail infrastructure
and to restore VIA rail service to all major regional cities.
* Create a national clean freight initiative, using both regulation and financial incentives to improve fleet efficiency and safety.
* Support the trucking industry, reducing pollution through add-on generators to avoid the need to idle to maintain air conditioning and refrigeration,
while ensuring the right fit of trucking in a more efficient, rail-based intermodal system.
11. Green urban transportation
Urban sprawl means commuters crawl.
More roads don’t solve the problem; they make it worse, quickly filling up with more cars.
Gridlock means more air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
We have to break this vicious cycle.
Our Vision
We must build our way out of the problem of clogged roads and smog-choked cities, not by building more roads and bridges and more distant suburbs, but with “smart growth” infrastructure.
Excellent public transit and efficient housing in high-density nodes along existing transit corridors will make cities livable and people friendly.
The federal government must take the lead in funding the “greening” of Canada’s cities. (For more details also see the section on government: Federal-Municipal Relations.)
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Increase federal funding for pedestrian, cycle and car-sharing infrastructure in towns and cities.
* Double existing funding to stimulate a massive re-investment in public transportation infrastructure in all Canadian towns and cities to make it convenient, safe, comfortable and affordable.
* Make transit passes tax-deductible to encourage workers and businesses to use public transport
and provide financial support to provinces that provide free public transit passes to people living below the poverty line.
* Cancel all funding for specific highways and bridge expansions (like the Gateway Program in Greater Vancouver) that encourage urban sprawl, increase private vehicle use, truck transport of goods and consequently increases greenhouse gas emissions.
* Ensure federal infrastructure funding does not go to expanding highways and roads.
12. Infrastructure and communities
At Confederation, Canada was a predominantly rural country where fewer than one in 10 people lived in cities.
Our constitution set up a taxation system that greatly favoured the federal and provincial governments.
Today 80 percent of Canadians live in urban areas.
Urban Canadians want their garbage collected, good transit services, safe roads and dependable water supplies.
They also want new investment in green urban infrastructure including recycling, mass transit, energy efficiency upgrades to buildings, water conservation
and community amenities like parks, sports fields and arts, culture and community centres.
Underlying this is an urgent need to replace aging sewer systems, roadways and water pipes.
All of these are municipal responsibilities
but Canadian municipalities simply don’t have enough money to do it all.
According to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, 50 percent of Canadian tax revenue is spent on federal programs, 42 percent goes to the provinces and only 8 percent goes to municipal governments.
Canada’s biggest fiscal imbalance is the imbalance between municipal governments and everyone else.
As Jane Jacobs pointed out in Dark Age Ahead, taxes are collected disproportionately at the wrong level.
Most Canadians’ experience their government at the level where it collects their recycling, runs their buses and provides their water.
The Green Party will redress the real fiscal imbalance facing the level of government least able to tax fully to cover its costs.
Our Vision
To support communities, we need to invest in critical infrastructure of transport and water works to modernize and reduce energy demand.
The Green Party Government will continue the gas tax commitment as envisioned by the previous government to allow for stable and predictable funding.
As well, the Green Party Government will liberate billions of dollars a year through RRSP deductions for municipal bonds.
Municipalities need stable and predictable funding so that they can invest in critical infrastructure such as mass transit, sewage treatment, energy efficiency improvements, better water systems to reduce waste and cope with erratic precipitation patterns of a changing global climate,
as well as community amenities like sports fields, arts and cultural opportunities.
The Green Party will create a new pool of municipal infrastructure funding by changing tax rules to create a Municipal Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs) bond that can be held in RRSPs and self-directed RRSPs.
In February 2006 alone, Canadians bought $8 billion in mutual funds.
Imagine if even half of that was available to our communities.
This would be in addition to allocating an additional portion of the federal gasoline tax directly to the provinces for transfer to municipalities.
The Green Party supports the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Large Cities Caucus request for a commitment of one cent from GST as a reasonable approach to stable financing.
This is made possible through carbon tax revenue.
Municipal governments must enter into agreements to ensure that sprawl is not permitted through extensive infrastructure funding.
Densification, speedy, safe and pleasant mass transit, safe cycling paths and other investments to conserve electricity and water will all merit stable GST-sourced financing.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Change tax policy to create a new pool of long term municipal infrastructure funding by allowing municipalities to issue new Municipal Registered Retirement Savings Plans Bonds (MRRSPsBs) which can be held in RRSPs and self-directed RRSPs.
*Allocate one cent from GST on an approximate per capita basis to municipal governments for “Green Cities” initiatives,
ensuring (through contractual agreements) that the funding is not used in ways that encourage urban sprawl, but instead to reduce sprawl and greenhouse gas emissions, conserve electricity and water, increase densification, expand convenient, safe, reliable and affordable public transit, and build cycling and walking paths.
This funding could be transferred through Municipal Superfunds.
* Create six Municipal Superfunds of $500 million/fund/year (an average of $100 for every citizen per year) to which municipalities can apply for grant funding to replace the less specific Canada Strategic Infrastructure Fund (CSIF).
The proposed funds are: a) Community Brownfield Remediation (CBR) Fund to provide assistance in cleaning up toxic and brownfield sites;
b) Water and Waste Treatment Facilities (WWTF) Fund to upgrade water treatment, sewage treatment and recycling facilities to make them efficient, safe and sustainable;
c) Sports, Cultural and Recreational Facilities (SCRF) Fund to support the development of green recreational and cultural facilities and refurbish existing facilities;
d) Mass Transit Promotion (MTP) Fund to improve and expand urban mass transit infrastructure and inter-modal connections, as well as car-sharing initiatives;
e) Cycling and Pedestrian Promotion (CPP) Fund to support pedestrian and cycling infrastructure and smart-growth developments that transform urban areas and towns into walkable communities linked by transit to reduce the need for owning and using cars; and,
f) Community Housing Options Promotion (CHOP) Fund supporting a national housing program to build energy efficient co-ops and affordable housing units where there is a shortage of such housing options.
* Increase the Gas Tax Transfer to municipalities to 5 cents/litre to be used in funding the above sustainable transportation initiatives such as public transit, cycling and pedestrian infrastructure and rural roads.
* Make transit passes tax-deductible to encourage workers and businesses to use public transport and make employee parking a taxable benefit.
13. Agriculture and Food
For centuries, family farms were the foundation of our society and economy.
Over the last five decades, federal policies, subsidies and changing technologies have shifted food production from small ecologically sustainable family farms to giant agribusinesses.
This shift has given multinational corporations control over our food supply.
Meanwhile, farmers increasingly rely on off-farm income to survive.
Our food security and safety is threatened directly by agribusiness, as factory farms crowd chickens, turkeys, cows and pigs into inhumane and unhygienic conditions creating the risk of serious health threats from toxic spinach to mad cow disease and avian flu.
Animals are often pumped full of chemicals and hormones while many crops are now genetically modified and treated with pesticides.
Our Vision
The health of Canada’s population today and in the future depends on the environmentally sustainable production of wholesome food.
We must restructure our agricultural markets to sustain farming and provide farm families with a fair share of the consumer food dollar.
We want to expand local small-scale agriculture
and support a rapid transition to organic agriculture rather than subsidizing costly agro-chemicals, industrial food production and genetically modified crops.
People need good food.
With growing concerns over economic and climatic instability, a reliable domestic food supply is essential.
Family owned and operated farms of small to medium size constitute the most reliable, high quality and economical food production system, now and into our uncertain future.
The Green Party of Canada supports family farmers as environmental stewards and as efficient producers of nutritious food.
The family farm is the primary unit of production.
Agricultural policies must be designed to keep family farms economically viable.
We support the active participation of Canadian farmers in export markets
where this is consistent with achieving their most important role – servicing domestic markets for healthy food and sustaining Canada’s agriculture resource base.
We support education of Canadian consumers to value and prefer that which is grown locally.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Develop and implement a National Agricultural and Food Policy that:
a) Moves towards regional food self-sufficiency across Canada,
as we begin the shift to organic agriculture as the dominant model of production;
b) Prioritizes fair trade in agricultural exports and imports;
c) Ensures that supply management systems provide stable domestic markets,
viable farm income
and permit unregulated production by smaller and family farms that sell to local markets;
d) Supports the Canadian Wheat Board to ensure the fair trading of high quality Canadian grains;
e) Supports local food economies by enabling local areas, without industrial scale agriculture, to develop area-specific food safety regulations meeting national standards without placing undue financial burdens on local farmers and food processors;
f) Shifts government-supported research away from biotechnology and energy- intensive farming and towards organic food production;
g) Ensures the quality and wholesomeness of food by strengthening the monitoring of pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, growth hormones, non-therapeutic antibiotics and insecticides in food production, processing and storage with the goal of an orderly reduction in detectable residues of these substances until they reach undetectable limits;
h) Incorporates the right of farm workers to earn a living wage and have safe working conditions;
i) Protects and improves the quality of water in our streams, lakes and aquifers by requiring farm practices that avoid contamination by agricultural run-off;
j) Encourages and supports the consumption of locally grown food by promoting adequate shelf space in grocery chains for products from local farms and local food processors;
k) Ensures that farm support payments are farm-based (not production based) to encourage more farms and more farmers;
l) Includes organic and extensive farming methods in educational information made available to farmers
and encourages the increase of extensive farm practices to improve farm profitability and sustainability;
m) Establishes a federally funded community-guided school lunch programs across Canada to ensure that our children have daily access to healthy local food and can learn about sustainable food production and healthy eating;
n) Supports the “200 kilometre diet” (eating locally grown food) through expansion of farmers’ markets and local culinary tourism activities;
o) Minimizes the effects of climate change by encouraging farming methods that increase carbon sequestration and decrease water requirements, with financial rewards through domestic carbon trading;
p) Provides transitional assistance for those switching to certified organic farming practices;
q) Improves and strengthens the Canadian Organic Standard;
r) Specifies that research leading to the development of new cultivar varieties and animal breeds remains in the public domain;
s) Increases publicly funded research into seed stock, animal breeds and organic farming techniques
and establishes new policies for private research efforts to ensure that they are in the best interests of family farmers and consumers;
t) Promotes heritage seed banks and seed exchange programs; and,
u) Establishes greenhouse gas emission targets for all components of the agri-food system
and collaborates with industry in establishing plans for meeting them.
* Protect Canada’s agricultural resource base by:
a) Introducing cost-shared programs to help farmers protect wildlife habitat areas and marginal lands, maintain water quality in streams, lakes and aquifers and retain and improve soil quality;
b) Setting up an Environmental Farm Plan Program to provide new funding sources for implementation at the farm level;
c) Strengthening the Plant Protection and Health of Animals Programs with measures to ensure the integrity of farm food products; and,
d) Strengthening the role of the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA) and extending the scope of its work, such as arresting soil erosion, to all of Canada.
* Assist farmers in adapting to the unavoidable impacts of climate change by:
a) Improving forecasting techniques, developing appropriate technology and anticipating emerging challenges; and,
b) Restructuring Canada’s Business Risk Management Programs to help farmers cope with climate risk, especially in the areas of disaster assistance and production insurance.
* Promote roof top gardens, cultivation of green urban space for agriculture, food production in cities and suburbs and community gardens.
* Reform agriculture regulations to challenge corporate concentration, eliminate international dumping and subsidies and continue to allow seed saving by farmers.
* Work with provinces to ensure that all livestock waste is recycled safely
and no animal by-products are used in animal feed.
* Legislate to prevent the patenting of life forms
and to ensure that developers of genetically engineered crops are liable for any damage those crops cause.
14. Genetically engineered organisms
Genetically engineered (GE) organisms pose a potentially serious threat to human health and the health of natural ecosystems.
Many Canadians want to follow the example of the European Union and ban GE crops.
At a minimum, GE products must be labeled, giving consumers the right to know, as well as to say no to GE foods.
Although polls show that eight in 10 Canadians want mandatory labeling of GE foods and food ingredients, the federal government has not acted.
In 2004, the Standards Council of Canada adopted a Standard for Voluntary Labelling but it has not been widely adopted.
The government is not exercising enough oversight and control.
In fact, Agriculture Canada is promoting GE technology, forming partnerships with biotech companies and partnering in the research initiated by the biotech industry.
Agriculture has already experienced the harmful impact of GE crops.
Herbicide resistant (Round-up ready) Canola has escaped and become a noxious weed.
Our Vision
The Green Party believes that GE organisms and “terminator” technologies come with health and environmental risks.
All food products containing GE organism or their products must be labeled.
It is up to the companies that produce and promote GE organisms to prove that they are safe.
No such organism should be released into the environment until it is proven to pose no unacceptable risks to human or animal health or to the environment.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will work to: Ban experimentation with, planting and promotion of new GE crops.
This includes a ban on further GE research (except for traditional seed selection and grafting) at Agriculture Canada and a ban on companies such as Monsanto owning patents to GE products developed through joint research with Agriculture Canada.
* Implement the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, a protocol within the UN Biodiversity Convention, which Canada signed and ratified in 1992 and which came into force in 2003.
The Cartagena Protocol requires the adoption of new products to be guided by the precautionary principle, which balances the economic benefits of innovation with public health and ecological integrity.
* Require mandatory labeling of all GE foods and food ingredients.
* Support local, provincial and territorial GE organism free zones where these local jurisdictions declare that genetically modified plants and animals are not part of the agricultural mix.
* Prohibit field testing, commercial use, sale and importation of “terminator” (genetic use restriction) technologies).
* Maintain the ban on GE wheat.
* Place a moratorium on field-testing genetically modified trees while an expert panel of the Royal Society of Canada examines the risks.
15. Fisheries
Canada’s most conspicuous environmental and economic tragedy has been the collapse of our wild fisheries.
We thought that the sea would give us unlimited fish forever.
That erroneous belief led to the 1990s collapse of the Atlantic cod fishery after decades of year- round over-fishing by domestic and foreign fleets of large trawlers.
This ecological disaster, the result of federal government mismanagement, resulted in the loss of 30,000 jobs.
During the same period (1990 to 2002), British Columbia's salmon catch fell by 66 percent from 96,000 to 33,000 tonnes ($263.4 million to $51.6 million).
Over the last few decades, the fishing industry has installed large, powerful gear on ships equipped with sophisticated navigation and fish-finding technology.
This has caused serious depletion of cod, haddock, bluefin tuna and other species,
leading to the collapse of local economies and loss of important biodiversity from coast to coast to coast.
To save our gravely depleted fish stocks, something must go: either the high-yield fishing technology or the majority of the licenses to fish.
To make a dire situation worse, fisheries face other serious problems besides over-fishing: habitat destruction and a lack of scientific knowledge of the status of marine resources and the role of oceanic food chains.
Federal government policies allow the over-fishing of critical food chain species such as Pacific coast herring, ground fish and Atlantic coast capelin.
Current laws do not adequately protect marine habitat from a range of destructive forces, including the devastating practice of bottom-trawling, bioaccumulation of toxic chemicals that flow into the sea from various land practices and spillage from oil and gas exploration.
The coming years will see new threats to fisheries from ocean changes caused by climate change.
We must do the right thing today to protect our fisheries for tomorrow.
Our Vision
The harvesting capacity of our fishing fleets has far outdistanced our fisheries regulations, management skills and the ability of fish populations to recover.
But we believe that Canada can restore its wild fish populations and protect Canadian fishermen with strict regulations governing gear types, fishing practices and catch limits.
All evidence points to the need to ban bottom-trawling.
Yet the only instance of the current Conservative government differing from that of US President George W. Bush is its refusal to support international efforts to ban bottom-trawling.
Because fish cross international boundaries, we must lead efforts for a global ban on harmful open ocean fishing practices as part of a renewed commitment to fisheries management.
This requires reforming the federal government’s administrative and research priorities.
To protect precious fish habitat, we must also place a permanent legislated moratorium on oil and gas exploration and development in ecologically sensitive areas, particularly the west coast of British Columbia and the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Fishermen must be allowed to have a greater role in managing fisheries through co-management provisions yet to be activated through the Oceans Act.
We oppose the current approach that favours fish farms and presumes that aquaculture can make up for dwindling wild stocks.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will work to: Sign and ratify the global treaty to ban bottom trawling.
* Strengthen the Fisheries Act to:
a) Require evaluation of threats to fish stocks
and include provisions to protect fish stocks and the marine environment;
b) Make protection of critical stocks and habitat mandatory;
c) Require that the management and conservation of wild fisheries take precedence over aquaculture, wherever there are conflicts;
d) Increase penalties for contravening the Act; and,
e) Improve public participation in decision-making, under the principles of the Oceans Act, in particular engaging coastal communities in local fisheries management.
* Restructure the Fisheries and Oceans Canada and legislate to protect habitats against over- fishing and pollution.
* Give funding priority to small-scale projects to restore and enhance wild fish stocks, especially with aboriginal peoples and traditional fishing communities using traditional technologies.
* Enforce sustainable harvesting technologies such as long lines, cod traps or significantly modified mobile gear and monitor results to ensure the return of healthy stocks and biodiversity.
* Shift from intervention fisheries management practices to terminal fisheries.
* Ban bottom-trawling in domestic waters.
* Appraise and support development of different kinds of fishing gear that makes a profit while minimizing by-catch and habitat impact.
* Support development of more sustainable ways of harvesting marine resources, including value-added processing and developing environmentally friendly biochemical and pharmaceutical products.
* Support research and development of ecotourism as a non-consumptive use of marine biodiversity.
* Provide funding support to ecological research to discover what factors have enabled natural marine ecosystems to work so well in the past with the objective of restoring degraded systems.
* Establish an Independent Review Commission made up of marine biologists, ecologists and resource economists to investigate (with input from fishers, fishing communities and indigenous peoples) the causes of the enormous decline in Canada’s fisheries resources and recommend policies and programs to restore offshore and inshore fisheries.
* Repeal the Canada Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Act and the Canada Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Act and adjust regional agreements to give fisheries greater protection from petroleum exploration and development.
* Extend permanent bans on oil and gas exploration and development in ecologically sensitive areas, particularly the coast of British Columbia and the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
* Encourage a greater role for fishermen and aboriginal peoples in managing fisheries through co-management provisions in the Oceans Act.
* Work with provincial governments to eliminate aquaculture practices that damage the marine environment and human health and seek:
a) A moratorium on new open-ocean net-pen salmon farms and a phase-out of existing farms within 10 years; and,
b) In the meantime, the fallowing of sea pens during wild-hatch salmon runs.
16. Green forest vision
Canada’s incredible forest heritage - 300 million hectares or ten percent of all the world’s forests - is a source of enormous national pride and economic value.
Thirty percent of the world’s boreal forests grow in Canada and this great northern forest ecosystem, covering half of our country, acts as a huge carbon reservoir.
The value of these forests is difficult to measure, but can be expressed in several ways:
the wood and paper products industries directly employ over 350,000 people and generate over $58 billion in sales annually – more than half our annual trade surplus.
Economists estimate the value of Canada’s boreal forest at $3.7 trillion but arguably it is priceless.
Our Vision
The Green Party understands that forests are the foundation of complex ecological systems performing important services that purify our air and water, prevent floods and erosion and stabilize our climate.
Two-thirds of Canada’s plant and animal species live in forests.
Large expanses of forest, especially old growth forests, must remain intact to maintain natural habitats and biodiversity.
Our forests also sustain subsistence hunters and those who seek recreation and rejuvenation in the wilderness.
Canada cuts about one million hectares of forest a year.
We must improve our logging practices and become a world leader in sustainable management of this potentially fully renewable resource.
We must extract more economic value from every tree cut
and move quickly towards eliminating raw log exports.
We can reap better economic, environmental and social benefits from our forests.
A Green Party government, in partnership with the provincial and territorial governments with primary jurisdiction, will require that all of Canada’s managed forests be managed sustainably and certified by the Forest Stewardship Council within the ongoing Forest Accord process.
The forest products sector is a little known climate change success story.
It has not only achieved its Kyoto greenhouse gas reductions target, it has exceeded that target by a factor of seven.
The Green Party Government will support its claim for credit.
Meanwhile, all forest companies will pay a carbon tax to reflect the net loss of carbon storage from their lands or they will get a rebate to reflect net gain of carbon sinks, based on an independent audit every five years.
Working within the Canadian Boreal Initiative’s corporate, First Nation and conservation framework, we will also ensure that at least half of Canada’s boreal forest is protected, while all is maintained in a state of ecological integrity.
Its value as a carbon reservoir will far outweigh short-term economic gains.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will work to: Renegotiate trade agreements so that Canada has the power to encourage more domestic value-added manufacturing by restricting the export of raw logs with a substantial whole log export tax.
* Within the on-going Forest Accord process and in partnership with the provincial and territorial governments who have primary jurisdiction, shift all economic forests to eco-forestry practices, including certification by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).
* With the provinces, First Nations and the logging industry, devise incentives that promote the use of single stem selection logging and longer rotations that conserve natural forest ecosystems.
* Achieve the 2003 Boreal Forest Conservation Framework’s goal of protecting at least half of Canada’s Boreal Forest in a network of large interconnected protected areas
and instituting state-of-the-art ecosystem based management and stewardship on the remaining landscape.
* Provide more federal funding to research the best way to harvest pine beetle wood, while leaving unaffected trees, and to mitigate the economic impact of the pine beetle epidemic.
* Develop a Genuine Forest Health Indicator (GFHI) that assesses the state of the forests every decade and measures changes in all forest values, including those that mitigate climate change directly or indirectly.
* Promote hemp and agricultural cellulose wood waste as sources of paper fibre to reduce the pressure on standing forests.
* Promote the use of wood waste, rather than foods such as corn, to produce bio-fuels.
* Give FSC certified forest companies a full five-year full tax break upon certification.
17. Expanding eco-tourism
The tourism sector in Canada is unique in that it makes a significant contribution to every region’s cultural and economic well-being.
It goes beyond creating jobs and foreign exchange revenue.
It enables Canadians to explore our land and helps knit our country together.
With revenues of approximately $61 billion in 2005, tourism constituted over 2 percent of Canada’s GDP.
This is nearly as much as our forestry and agricultural industries combined.
Within the federal government the Ministry of Industry has the lead responsibility for tourism policy.
The 2004 Building a National Tourism Strategy – A Framework for Federal/Provincial/Territorial Collaboration outlined six key priorities for immediate action and collaboration.
Our Vision
The Green Party believes that we must foster a Green, low-carbon tourism industry and market it responsibly throughout the world.
We believe that we must provide exceptional tourist experiences by having the finest National Park system, the best museums and cultural events and the most hospitable service.
To do this the Canadian government must play a bigger role in coordinating and guiding efforts across the entire country.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Create a separate federal Department of Tourism to coordinate all aspects of tourism.
This ministry will focus on helping the fastest growing sector of global tourism, eco-tourism, become stronger
and through special programs encourage aboriginal Canadians to assume a bigger role in it.
It will also take a major role in making sure our borders are open and security measures are reasonable and not unwarrantedly excessive.
* Reverse the Conservative government’s decision to eliminate the GST rebate for foreign visitors.
* Build a low-carbon tourism sector based on intermodal rail and bicycle touring.
18. Mining
While the control of natural resources is allocated to provincial governments, the consequences of mining often encroach on areas of federal jurisdiction, especially on fisheries.
This energy intensive industry also contributes nearly twice as much to Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions as do all domestic flights in Canada.
Our Vision
The Green Party believes that triple bottom line analysis, measuring social, environmental and economic costs and benefits, must be conducted before approval is given for a mine.
We should not be mining products in Canada, like asbestos and uranium that are highly toxic to our environment and to human health.
The Green Party will require mine reclamation plans to include detailed plans to deal with acid mine draining and are in place before active mining begins.
The Green Party will also provide tax benefits to reward full recycling of metals, as recycling is a far more cost-effective way to produce metals than to mine virgin materials.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Call for government action to require life-cycle product stewardship of metals to ensure that once mined, they remain in economic service for generations.
* Vigorously oppose the permitting of any new uranium mines and notify current uranium- permit holders of plans to phase out this industry in Canada and any exports.
* Prohibit the export of fissionable nuclear material.
* Develop plans to fast-track the end to asbestos mining in Canada
and assist the Quebec government and industry in phasing out the chrysotile mining industry, providing transition support for affected workers, families and communities.
(Chrysotile asbestos is a known carcinogen with no known safe threshold to avoid sickness.
The European Union has banned importation of this mineral.
Currently Canada exports 220,000 tonnes of chrysotile asbestos mostly to developing countries that do not have the resources to handle it safely.)
* Shift Canada’s position to support Prior Informed Consent rules under the Rotterdam Convention for asbestos.
* Push for an end to all subsidies to the mining sector to ensure full-cost accounting.
* Work with provinces, territories and industry to ensure that all mining operations are insured for environmental liabilities and have an adequate pre-funded plan for remediation when the mine closes.
* Introduce a Corporate Social Responsibility Act to regulate the mining industry requiring the highest environmental practices
and ensure that waters are not contaminated during mining operations and after a mine closes.
19. Energy industry: no to nuclear
Can nuclear power meet our energy needs and be the solution to climate change?
Not when one considers the cost, pollution and threat to global security associated with nuclear power.
The Green Party believes that choices should be economically rational.
The best energy choices to respond to the climate crisis should be those that deliver the greatest reduction of GHG per dollar invested.
By this criterion, nuclear energy is among the very worst options.
Reactors cost billions of dollars, take more than a decade to build, operate unreliably after about the first dozen years of operation, and only produce one type of energy: electricity.
Even if the industry were “green and clean” as claimed by the pro-nuclear propaganda efforts, it fails on the economics.
Nevertheless, it is neither clean nor green.
Each gigawatt of nuclear energy requires 170 tonnes of uranium.
When the uranium is processed into fuel, 250,000 tonnes of carbon are emitted for every 1000 megawatts produced.
Nuclear energy produces huge amounts of greenhouse gases.
Recent studies also note that once the current high-grade uranium deposits are depleted, carbon emissions will greatly increase as low quality ores have to be refined.
In addition, radioactive emissions that routinely leak from current facilities in Ontario have a half-life of over 5000 years.
The spent fuel has over 200 cancer causing elements.
Plutonium, for example, has a half-life of 24,400 years while other harmful substances persist millions of years in our environment with no known safety treatment.
Nuclear energy is inevitably linked to nuclear weapons proliferation.
India made its first bomb from spent fuel from a CANDU reactor.
As well, depleted uranium waste is increasingly and routinely used to coat bullets and missiles in “conventional” warfare, leaving a legacy of radioactive contamination civilians post-conflict.
Our Vision
The least expensive energy alternative for Canada is investment in enhanced energy productivity through energy efficiency and conserving energy.
With existing technology, fully implemented, Canada could easily reduce energy demand by 50 percent.
The Green Party supports 100 percent clean and green power.
Canada’s potential wind and tidal resources are amongst the best in the world.
Yet, they have hardly been tapped.
The Green Party globally has said “no” to nuclear energy.
It is neither safe, nor clean, nor economical.
Federal climate change policies should encourage the most efficient, effective and environmentally friendly measures to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Work with Provinces to phase out existing nuclear power, to stem the buildup of nuclear wastes, and to institute a Canada wide moratorium on uranium mining and refining.
* Call for the federal government to stop subsidizing all phases of the nuclear industry and Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) and stop promoting CANDU reactors.
Federal insurance will no longer cover the risk of nuclear accidents.
* Demand that the operations of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) and AECL are transparent and at arms length from government and require the disclosure of the minutes of all meetings with AECL.
* Seek an amendment to the Nuclear Liability Act, increasing maximum insured liabilities from $75 million to $13 billion (the amount for which US reactors are insured).
Federal legislation will no longer limit the liability of the nuclear industry to a minuscule portion of potential costs of a nuclear accident.
PART 2: AVERTING CLIMATE CATASTROPHE
In 1988, Canada was actually in the lead in hosting the first-ever international scientific conference on climate change, “Our Changing Atmosphere: Implications for Global Security.”
It took place during a Toronto heat wave in the last week of June 1988.
The consensus statement from the assembled scientists was “Humanity is conducting an unintended, uncontrolled, globally pervasive experiment, whose ultimate consequences are second only to global nuclear war.”
That same year, the United Nations established the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (known as the IPCC) -- setting up a process that is essentially the world’s largest peer review.
Over 2,000 scientists, appointed by their governments, began meeting regularly to provide a consensus view and a special report called “advice to policy makers.”
By 1990, the countries of the world, through the UN, began negotiating a treaty to deal with the threat.
In 1992, at the largest ever gathering of heads of government, the Rio Earth Summit, the first legally binding climate change treaty was signed.
The Framework Convention on Climate Change was agreed upon by the governments of just about every country on Earth.
Meanwhile humanity’s emissions of greenhouse gases were going through the roof.
In 1996, the global level reached over 6 billion tonnes of carbon from fossil fuel burning.
The statistic is not meaningful in itself, but in context it is startling.
The 1996 level was four-times that of the late 1950s.
By 1997, the Parties to the Framework Convention met again, this time in Kyoto, Japan, to set out binding targets and timelines for greenhouse gas reduction.
Canada committed to reduce its emissions to 6% below 1990 levels between 2008-2012.
It was clear that Kyoto targets were only a small first step.
Even if fully implemented, including by the United States, the Kyoto reductions would not avoid an atmospheric doubling of carbon concentrations.
At best, Kyoto would delay the doubling point by ten years.
We have already, irreversibly, changed the chemistry of our atmosphere.
We now have more than 30% more carbon dioxide by concentration in our atmosphere than at any time in the last 650,000 years (by direct measurement of air bubbles in Antarctic ice cores), and more than twenty million years (if we work from proxy measurements.)
We are changing huge areas of the planet -- quite fundamentally.
Arctic ice is shrinking.
The polar bears are at risk because without ice, they have trouble hunting.
But it gets worse...As ice retreats, warming is intensified.
The ice bounces back the sun’s rays (the albedo effect).
Dark ocean water soaks up the sun’s energy, further warming the ice.
The permafrost from Siberia to the Mackenzie Valley is melting.
As it melts, whole villages face the need to relocate,
and caribou sink in the mud as they try to migrate.
The glaciers, whether in the Alps, the Rockies, the Yukon, or the Andes, are all in rapid retreat.
The intensity of hurricanes is increasing.
While some hurricane specialists are not yet convinced, increasingly research at MIT and Princeton demonstrate that the energy packed in the hurricane’s punch has increased by 50-80% from 1950 to 2003.
Warmer waters in the ocean lead to more severe hurricanes.
In the fall of 2003, Hurricane Juan was the first full force tropical hurricane ever to slam into Nova Scotia.
Normally, cooler ocean water to our south would have down-graded Juan to a tropical storm, but it hit Nova Scotia as a full force tropical hurricane.
Scientists are increasingly talking about climate as being less a dial, than a switch.
What is described in the literature as “non-linear perturbations” can be translated as “nasty shocks” or sudden and abrupt climate catastrophes.
A number of scientists have determined that the risk of “tipping point events” -- the loss of the Gulf Stream, the collapse of the Western Antarctic Ice Shelf, and the Greenland Ice Sheet -- is increased if global average temperature goes up by 2 degrees C above the pre- Industrial Revolution temperature.
This, they estimate, could happen if concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere were to increase to somewhere between 400 to 450 ppm.
We are 384 ppm now, up from 275 ppm in the 1800s, and now rising at 3 ppm per year.
Our responses to climate change are tepid at best.
Even those who champion action are afraid to call for the targets we really need.
Canada’s emissions are approaching 800 megatonnes (MT) a year.
Our 1990 level was 608 MT.
The Kyoto goal of 6% below 1990 is 571 MT.
To avoid the “tipping point” described above, we need reductions in greenhouse gas emissions of 30% below 1990 by 2020, of 80% by 2040.
The tar sands, covered in rows 4 and 5, now produce 28 MT a year.
This sets the stage for what is involved if we are to reduce our emissions to 80% below the 1990 level = 121 MT total.
"We are risking the ability of the human race to survive."    Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) http://www.ipcc.ch
1. Making actual reductions in CO2 emissions
Climate change is the number one issue on Canadians’ minds and the biggest crisis facing our planet.
It is not just an environmental issue.
It is an economic, social and global security issue.
According to the World Health Organization, 150,000 people already die every year from climate change related causes.
Canadians have felt the impacts in communities from coast to coast to coast: floods and firestorms; droughts and water shortages...hurricanes decimating treasured parks in Nova Scotia and BC; catastrophic wind and ice storms shutting down transport routes and power lines; insect infestations killing millions of hectares of trees.
In his report to the British Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir Nicholas Stern, former senior economist to the World Bank, warned that, left unchecked, climate change could constitute a $7 trillion hit to the world economy, create water shortages for 1 in 6 people planet-wide, cause the extinction of up to 40 percent of species and result in up to 200 million environmental refugees.
Taking action now, says Stern, would cost just 1-3 percent of global gross domestic product annually.
In Canada, based on our 2006 GDP of $1.37 trillion, 1 percent means about $13 billion—almost exactly the amount of the budget surplus last year.
Meanwhile, action on climate change can be good for our economy.
Countries that improve their energy efficiency and reduce their demand for fossil fuels by utilizing renewable sources of energy will be the least negatively impacted by a future energy crunch.
It makes sense for Canada, with our wealth of renewable energy sources, to be in the lead, not a laggard, in a green energy future.
Our Vision
The Green Party’s priority action to achieve actual reductions in Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) is in green tax shifting.
We will reduce income taxes and payroll taxes by shifting to pollution-based taxation.
A carbon tax is a critical step to getting the prices right, but a Green government will not rely solely on tax-shifting.
We will remove subsidies from the fossil fuel industry,  cap extraction levels of coal, oil and gas,  and instead offer significant tax incentives and support for energy conservation and renewable energy development.
Regulations and consumer-friendly programmes will also be needed to shift Canadian society to a low-carbon future.
Large industrial emitters will benefit from a cap and trade programme that puts a price on pollution so that carbon trading can work.
We will regulate for improved vehicle fuel economy,
improved energy productivity in large appliances,
and, in cooperation with provinces, improve energy efficiency of residential and commercial buildings.
Green Solutions
With each passing year of governmental inaction, GHG emissions in Canada increase.
As they increase, achieving our Kyoto target becomes increasingly difficult.
Even with international credits, it may now be impossible.
It is clearly impossible at this stage through purely domestic action.
Yet, we must start now.
A good faith effort to get as close as possible to our international commitments, and our willingness to continue within a framework of hard caps and penalties for non-compliance, is essential in order to participate meaningfully in the next (post-2012) phase of global action.
The commitment of the Green Party to Kyoto targets is not nullified even if full compliance is impossible.
It is based on respect for international commitments
and to the overwhelming scientific evidence that far deeper cuts will be required soon.
We must begin...
Green Party MPs will: Reaffirm Canada’s commitment to the Kyoto framework and further medium and long term targets:
6% below 1990 by 2012 = 570 MT = 29% below today’s 800 MT
30% below 1990 by 2020 = 425 MT = 47% below today’s 800 MT
50% below 1990 by 2030 = 304 MT = 62% below today’s 800 MT
80% below 1990 by 2040 = 121 MT = 85% below today’s 800 MT
5-yearly interim targets
* Adopt carbon taxes, immediate price of $50/tonne of CO2, equivalent (CO2e), measure impact and if required to achieve target reductions then increase up to $100/tonne of CO2e (the price the Stern Review put on the cost of climate change) by 2020.
1 litre of gas produces 2.34 kg of CO2, so $50 per tonne adds 12 cents to the pump price per litre, $100 per tonne adds 24 cents.
Carbon tax revenues will be used to reduce other taxes in a way that offsets any negative impact on low and middle income Canadians.
* Adopt carbon cap and trade and a carbon market.
Establish a cap and trade CO2e ceiling for Large Final Emitters (large industry), with a market price for carbon as soon as possible.
Auction and trading of CO2e allocations will be overseen by non-governmental body.
The Montreal Stock Exchange has publicly indicated an interest in this role.
Large Final Emitters produce around 50% of our total emissions.
They include companies in mining, manufacturing, oil, gas, and thermal electricity.
Their contribution today is around 400 MT.
Based on today’s emissions, we should propose caps as follows:
2012:  115 MT reduction (29% below today)
2020: 186 MT reduction (47% below today)
2030: 250 MT reduction (62% below today)
2040: 340 MT reduction (85% below today)
* Support global verification and certification standards for carbon credits.
Establish a Canadian Carbon Bank,
and create a federal framework for local and provincial carbon banks to encourage the purchase of local offsets.
* Negotiate the expansion and greater creativity in Kyoto beyond 2012 to (a) meet these reduction goals,
(b) include international aviation and shipping,
and (c) include commitments to ramp up solar energy, electric vehicles and other low carbon technologies (see Global, below).
Implement the following key components: Launch a plan for Canada’s Green Century, with a commitment to make Canada one of the most energy-efficient, sustainably powered nations in the world.
Green tools to achieve this include firm legislative and regulatory measures that include firm time-lines, tax credits, direct grants and rebates and tax penalties and fines for non- compliance.
Reaffirm Canada’s commitment to come as close as possible to Kyoto, and beyond 2012: 30% below 1990 by 2020, 80% by 2050.
Adopt carbon taxes, carbon markets, and cap and trade.
Apply “carbon conditionality clauses” to all federal funding to provinces, cities and institutions, requiring evidence of carbon reduction as a condition of payment.
Require all federal buildings to be retrofit to a high level of efficiency by 2025, using a variety of green tools.
Ramp up energy efficiency retrofits for residences and businesses through revolving federal loans.
Fund energy retrofits for museums, universities, schools and Hospitals.
Require all new buildings to be net zero energy (energy self-sufficient) after 2025, using a variety of green tools.
Establish a nation-wide program to retrofit all low-income rental housing by 2025, as Germany.
Solar hot water and pre-wiring for solar photo voltaic (PV) to be mandatory in the Building Code;
require solar PV installation itself as soon as the price falls to $2 per watt.
Require all appliances to meet Energy Star standards by 2015.
Inefficient appliances and light bulbs to be phased out, some by 2010.
Develop renewable energy sources so that by 2040, wind energy production reaches 50 GW, solar PV 25 GW, ocean energy 12 GW, geothermal 25 GW.
Various policies, including carbon conditionality clauses requiring provincial adoption of Advanced Renewables Tariffs (a.k.a. Standard Offer Contract, or Feed Laws).
All coal, oil, gas and nuclear power to be phased out.
Provide strong support for walking, cycling, transit, coaches, rail, tele-working and video conferencing.
Regulate vehicle emissions to fall by 85% by 2040, using a variety of methods.
Require all landfills to pay a methane tax, based on emissions with regulatory mandatory methane capture after 2015.
Ensure that federal disaster assistance is subject to carbon conditionality clauses by provinces and cities – similar to an insurance company refusing coverage on a building that does not meet the code requirements for fire safety.
Adopt Germany’s system of mandatory recycling and “design for recycling”.
Phase out Halocarbons (CFCs, HFCs, PFCs, SF6) by 2015.
Make funding available to develop alternatives.
Require all forest companies to pay a carbon tax based on carbon sources.
All Forest Stewardship Council (SFC) certified companies to get a 5-year tax break.
Plan for transition to 100% FSC certified forestry.
Pay farmers for carbon sequestration in soils within a domestic carbon market.
Plan for transition to 100% organic farming.
Remove immediately all subsidies to coal, oil, gas and coalbed methane.
Oil and gas extraction companies to capture and sequestrate an increasing percentage of released CO2.
New coal-fired plants to capture and sequestrate 100% of emissions.
Withdraw all government funding supports and guarantees for new nuclear plants.
* Support the role of international carbon credits.
Any shortfall in meeting our first phase Kyoto target will be made up as much as possible in international credits from Joint Implementation and the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).
Both of these mechanisms within Kyoto have the advantage of assisting other countries, particularly in the developing world, in re-orienting their economies and energy systems to a low-carbon future.
Such credits deliver cost-effective carbon reductions and pave the way for those nations taking on commitments in future Kyoto reductions.
CDM credits also have the advantage of including a small surcharge toward an Adaptation Fund for developing countries.
Because the problem is global, reductions in carbon emissions from developing countries are just as valuable in reducing the threat of climate change as those from Canada.
The cost per tonne is often lower in developing countries than in advanced industrialized nations.
The bottom line is: a tonne of carbon reduced in India or China or Malaysia is just as valuable in protecting Canadians from the dangerous impacts of climate change as a tonne reduced in Canada.
The atmosphere doesn’t care where the carbon emission reduction takes place; it only matters that it does take place.
2. Adapting to climate change
One of the binding commitments of nations signing on to the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was to prepare adaptation strategies to cope with that level of climatic disruption that is no longer avoidable.
If anything, this commitment has been ignored by Canada even more than the obligation to reduce emissions.
Sectors requiring immediate attention include agriculture, forestry, fishing and tourism.
Protecting vulnerable areas and population also need to be addressed.
Failure to act to reduce climatic impacts has already cost the Canadian economy billions of dollars.
Our Vision
The Green Party believes that the federal government must show leadership in developing an adaptation strategy in collaboration with the provincial/territorial governments and municipalities that aims to mitigate and reduce the impacts of climate change.
Even with significant global GHG reductions to stabilize the climate, it will take decades, perhaps centuries, to arrest climate change.
We must improve municipal infrastructure, especially water treatment facilities, to meet a changing water regime.
We are already experiencing increased deluge precipitation patterns in which current systems allow raw sewage to bypass treatment.
We must start curtailing developments in areas of high vulnerability (for example floodplains, low-elevation coastal areas, regions of permafrost, and places adjacent to forests at risk of increased fires).
We must undertake greater flood control measure like raising dykes in areas made more prone to flooding because of climate change.
The most urgent community crises are in the Canadian Arctic where peoples of the North face losing their hunting culture
and relocation of their communities due to the melting of permafrost,
and in the interior of British Columbia as economic disaster looms for forest dependent communities due to the climate-caused pine beetle epidemic.
Eighty per cent of this vast region’s forests are at risk.
We must act to reduce emissions and we must prepare for the “new normal” of a destabilized climate.
These are not, as often presented, mutually exclusive goals.
We need both and we needed them yesterday.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Establish special task forces involving all stakeholders, all levels of government and scientific experts to prepare over the next two years area-specific climate change adaptive strategies.
The first such task forces shall be set up in places particularly vulnerable to climate shift and disruptions, the Canadian Arctic, coastal zones, the Prairies, and the Interior of British Columbia.
* Set up a Climate Change Adaptation Fund to assist those areas hard hit by “natural” disasters linked to global warming.
* Increase financial support to the Developing World for adaptation strategies.
3. Leaving no stone unturned
In addition to carbon tax shifting, cap and trade and the purchase of international verified carbon credits, a Green government will leave no stone unturned to establish practical and pragmatic programs in all areas of the economy to accelerate our reduction in carbon emissions, including the following:
Government
Government operations.
The federal government should apply the same GHG reduction goals to all its own operations.
All new federally owned buildings must meet LEED Gold, leased buildings LEED Silver.
Carbon conditionality clauses.
A Green government will negotiate with the provinces and other players such that every business, NGO, institution, city, province or territory that receives funding of any kind from the federal government will need to establish benchmarks and policies to reduce its emissions in accordance with Canada’s goals.
After 2010, 25% of all funding will come with carbon reduction strings attached.
In 2015, this will rise to 50%; in 2020 to 75%; in 2025 to 100%.
These carbon conditionality clauses should be a sub-set of wider sustainability conditionality clauses, reflecting other changes that are needed on the road to full sustainability.
Buildings
Buildings account for as much as 33% of Canada’s GHG emissions when heat and power are combined.
Most of today’s housing stock will still be standing by 2040, when we seek an 85% overall reduction in Canada’s carbon emissions, so retrofitting Canada’s existing stock of buildings is all-important.
A Green government will set a goal to retrofit 100% of Canada’s buildings to a high level of energy efficiency by 2025
and require all new homes and buildings to be zero net energy after 2025.
Tools and policies to do this include: Refundable tax credits for all energy retrofit costs, based on before-and-after Energuide or infrared heat tests for residential, commercial, industrial and institutional buildings;
Tax-deductible Green Mortgages for home-owner energy retrofit costs;
A national program to energy retrofits public sector buildings such as universities, schools, museums, and hospitals;
100% Accelerated Capital Cost Allowance for all businesses for energy retrofit costs; and
Revolving federal loans for residential or business energy retrofits.
Working with the provinces, the Green Party Government will ensure a national effort to revise Building Codes to include, amongst other energy conservation and efficiency measures:
Mandatory installation of solar hot water systems and pre-wiring for solar PV on all new buildings, and whenever a house is sold.
Mandatory 2 kW solar PV system on all roofs two years after the price of solar falls to $2 per watt; and
All buildings to be labeled for energy efficiency before they are sold or leased, by 2010.
Funding for a nation-wide program to energy upgrade all low-income rental housing on a phased, year-by-year basis by 2025, as Germany is doing.
Provide grants for 50% of the cost of solar thermal roofs or walls including solar hot water, as in Sweden; Green Mortgage loans for the remainder of the cost.
Free energy audits for large industrial companies.
Provide refundable tax credits increasing to $50,000 for the purchase of R-2000 and other highly efficient homes, based on Energuide or infrared assessment.
GST credits for all materials used in LEED Gold and Silver buildings.
Efficiency
All appliances sold in Canada must meet an Energy Star rating by 2015.
Non-rated appliances will be eliminated from the market.
Incandescent light bulbs, energy wasting fridges and other very inefficient appliances will be off the market by 2010.
Industrial efficiency for Large Final Emitters (LFEs) (encouraged through cap and trade) will be supported by tax-deductible Green Industrial Mortgages, based on annual energy use per unit of production.
Renewable Energy
Power generation accounts for 17% of Canada’s emissions.
In 2000, Canada’s generating capacity was 113 GW of power, as follows: Hydro 67 GW; Coal 18 GW; Oil 7.5 GW; Natural Gas 5.5 GW; Nuclear 13 GW; Renewables 1 GW. By 2007, power generation capacity had risen to 118 GW.
If there was major success in the efficiency and building retrofit programs, the required capacity could fall by 25% from 118 to 90 GW by 2040.
Allowing for population increase, the required capacity could be 120 GW by 2040.
If we assume the primary use of Electric Vehicles (EVs) and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs), additional capacity will be needed, which can be met by load shifting and night time power generation.
If we assume continued power production from the large hydro plants (67 MW), we need to replace all of the coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear power generation capacity (120 minus 67 GW = 53 GW or, in round figures 60 GW) with renewables.
This becomes the goal for power generation by renewables by 2040.
This can be achieved by wind (25 GW), solar (20 GW), tidal/wave (10 GW) and other renewables (5 GW).
Work with the provinces to phase out all power generation from coal, gas and nuclear energy, creating a generating gap of 90 GW firm power equivalent that needs to be filled.
Since wind energy generates power 30% of the time, solar 20% of the time, and other renewables 30 – 50% of the time, the planned capacities from renewables need to be larger than capacities from firm power generation.
All carbon-based fuels will be subject to rising carbon taxes.
Federal approvals for oil, gas or coal-fired power generation will not be granted, where such approvals are required, unless they are accompanied by 100% safe, secure, long-term underground carbon capture and sequestration (not yet technologically proven).
Work with Canada’s wind industry to achieve CANWEA’s (Canadian Wind Energy Association) goal of 10 GW of wind by 2015.
Add further goals of 20 GW by 2025, 35 GW by 2030, and 50 GW by 2040.
This is the equivalent of 17 GW of firm power.
Retain the current 1 cent/kWh support for wind energy.
Increase the support to 2 cents/kWh for any province adopting the Advanced Renewables Tariffs (ART) (also known as Feed Laws, Standard Offer Contract) as in Europe with prices that deliver a return on investment sufficient to entice investors), net metering, peak power pricing, and plans for renewable grid extensions. (Call it ART Plus.)
Provide support to help local energy co-ops form in provinces adopting ART+.
Provide substantial R & D funding for ocean energy technologies in provinces adopting ART+.
Provide substantial R & D funding for electricity storage technologies in provinces adopting ART+.
Provide support for power grid extensions to bring wind and ocean power from remote areas (e.g. BC, Prairies, Quebec, Newfoundland, Labrador, Nova Scotia) in provinces adopting ART+.
Work with the solar industry to establish a goal for Canada to install 25 GW of solar PV by 2040.
[33 million people = 10 million homes.
Each home with a 2 kW system = 20 GW.
50% homes with 2 kW = 10 GW + other buildings 15 GW = 25 GW.]
Set interim goals: 1 million solar homes by 2020, 3 million by 2030 and 5 million by 2040.
This is equivalent to 5 GW of firm power.
Work with renewable energy industries to produce 12 GW of ocean energy by 2040 (40 GW potential),
and to set specific goals for production of biomass, and micro hydro energy.
Work with the geothermal energy industry and the oil industry (for their drilling expertise) in a well-funded R & D program to develop Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS),
drilling down to 10 km to extract 25 GW of power by 2040.
In January 2007 a major MIT study (The Future of Geothermal Energy) reported that the USA’s extractable EGS reservoirs contained 2,000 times more primary energy than the USA uses yearly,
and that with technology improvements, this could be expanded 10-fold.
The resulting energy would have an energy cost in the 6-9 cents kWh range.
By 2040, if these policies are successful, Canada’s power mix would be:
Transport
Transport accounts for 25% of Canada’s emissions.
When it comes to vehicle technologies, hydrogen is not going to deliver in the near term for a host of reasons, and corn or grain based biofuels pose an unacceptable challenge to farming, as well as having dubious net energy gains.
Cellulosic ethanol offers real potential in fuel switching in a transition to a technological leap.
During the last year, a consensus has emerged that electric vehicles are the way to go, especially Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV), which can be 100% electric for all short distance trips, but still have fuel capacity (from biofuels) for longer distances.
They are also remarkably cheaper to run than regular vehicles, averaging $10 a month for a small, lightweight EV doing 15,000 km a year.
Carbon conditionality.
A Green government will establish transport-based carbon conditionality clauses affecting all federal funds or loans.
Walking and cycling.
All bikes, bicycle gear, bike racks and showers will be tax deductible and GST free.
All federal staff will be given a cycling allowance equal to the vehicle allowance.
A Green government will match provincial and municipal investments designed to increase walking and cycling, with a baseline contribution of 25% of the total cost, rising to 50% where provinces pay bicycle allowances to their staff and equip all government buildings with cycling facilities, and where cities do likewise, having demonstrated progress in increasing kilometers of cycling lanes and trails, and established working policies to encourage smart growth and prevent sprawl.
Transit and Light Rail Transit.
A Green government will match provincial investments in transit with a baseline contribution of 25% of the total cost, rising to 75% where municipalities have established working policies to encourage smart growth and prevent sprawl and where transit authorities introduce progressive programmes designed to increase ridership such as annual U-passes for colleges, eco-passes for neighbourhoods, commuter- passes for businesses, and requirements that new developments must be served by transit and developers must provide 3 year transit passes for all residents (as Boulder, Colorado has done).
Long Distance Coaches.
A Green government will liberalize the licensing for long-distance coach lines to encourage competition and greater ridership,
while maintaining rigorous safety standards.
It will eliminate the fuel tax (but not the carbon tax) for companies that sign a carbon conditionality agreement to upgrade their fleet to high efficient technologies
and train their drivers in efficient driving.
It will provide federal funding for upgrades to coach stations to a standard that would be attractive to everyone.
Rail.
A Green government will re-invest in our national rail infrastructure and intermodal connections, increase joint federal-municipal light rail investments, as well as improve VIA rail service across Canada.
We will restore VIA rail service to all major regional cities
and create a national clean rail freight initiative that uses both regulatory means and financial incentives to improve fleet efficiency and safety.
Teleworking.
A Green government will pay a no-trip vehicle allowance to all federal staff working from home,
give a tax credit for the cost of establishing a home office,
and establish a parking cash-out system (cash to employees not using a company parking space) to encourage reduced use of cars and parking.
Vehicles
Work with the motor industry, the province and other partners to develop a sustainable vehicles strategy, leading to an 85% reduction in emissions below today’s level by 2040.
Adopt California standards requiring a 30% reduction in CO2 emissions from new vehicles sold in Canada by 2015.
It will require a 50% reduction by 2020, 90% by 2025.
This will drive the manufacture of zero emission vehicles.
It will also create fuel efficiency standards in line with leading US states for the 2011 model year.
Accelerate the market arrival of Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) or electric vehicles by signing the Plug-In Partners advanced purchasing agreement with a commitment to buy large numbers of PHEVs as soon as they are available (creating a federal buying pool).
Carbon conditionality clauses will include a requirement for the purchase of PHEVs as soon as they are available.
Work with all governments and businesses in Canada to join a Canadian green car buying pool and to join the Plug-In Partners buying pool.
Offer scale-based rebates of up to $5,000 for the purchase of efficient vehicles,
and fees on the purchase of inefficient vehicles.
Even with EVs and PHEVs, we will still require some liquid fuel, though possible as much as 80% less.
A Green government will provide continued R&D to develop cellulosic ethanol from farm and forest wastes, rather than ethanol from crops grown directly for this purpose.
It will establish a 10% ethanol and 10% biodiesel standard by 2010 (as Liberals), phasing this up to 100% cellulosic ethanol and biodiesel by 2040, thereby eliminate the use of oil.
Require mandatory vehicle fuel efficiency labeling,
adopting the European system.
Reduced taxes for more efficient company cars, instead of a blanket benefit.
Require all federal vehicles to become super-energy efficient, moving to EVs or PHEVs.
Provide incentives for Canadian manufacturers of super-efficient vehicles, EVs and PHEVs.
Establish a new authority to establish a just transition fund for the automobile sector, funded by an additional fee on all fuel inefficient car sales in Canada.
Trucks: A Green government will work with the trucking industry and other partners to develop a sustainable trucking strategy, leading to an 85% reduction in overall emissions by 2040.
All trucking companies, taxis and other commercial transport operators will be required to charge a federally set fuel surcharge, updated regularly, that reflects the price of oil (including carbon taxes and other charges).
This will eliminate the cut-throat competition among small businesses, which drives some to bankruptcy.
Trucking companies will receive Accelerated Capital Cost Allowances and other incentives for the purchase of hybrid trucks.
All trucks sold in Canada will be subject to scale-based rebates for the purchase of efficient vehicles,
and fees for the purchase of inefficient vehicles.
Aviation: A Green government will work with the aviation industry to develop a sustainability strategy, leading to an 85% reduction in overall emissions by 2040.
All aviation fuel will carry both a regular fuel tax and the carbon tax.
The carbon tax will be rated for the carbon equivalency of aviation impact.
Long-distance flights at high altitude and night flights will pay a carbon tax at up to twice the regular rate to cover the climate impact of nitrous oxide emissions (which convert to tropospheric ozone, a greenhouse gas) and high level cloud cover (which traps heat).
Video-conferencing facilities for meetings and conferences will be free of GST and will qualify for an Accelerated Capital Cost Allowance.
The federal government will achieve a 50% reduction in meetings that would otherwise involve flying by 2010, and an 80% reduction by 2015.
MPs with rural ridings will be encouraged to meet constituents by video- link.
The government will work with business partners to secure the installation of video- conferencing facilities in every community larger than 1,000 people by 2015.
Communities
Landfill gas accounts for 4% of Canada’s emissions.
All landfills will be charged a methane tax, based on emissions.
After 2012, the tax will increase by 50% a year, and after 2015 no landfill will be allowed to operate without methane capture.
All federal support for municipalities will be subject to carbon conditionality clauses.
All current federal funding that encourages urban sprawl and greater vehicle use will be eliminated.
The existing Green Infrastructure Fund, gas tax, and other funding will continue.
Support will be given to local non-profits and associations to encourage carbon reduction programs.
Street, community and business contests will be encouraged.
Federal disaster assistance will be available to help communities cope with climate change impacts (floods, storms, disasters), subject to carbon conditionality clauses.
Provinces and communities that do not satisfy the clauses will not be eligible for federal disaster assistance.
This is similar to an insurance company refusing fire insurance on a building that does not meet code requirements for fire safety.
Industry
Industry (Large Final Emitters) accounts for 50% of Canada’s emissions.
Large Final Emitters will be subject to the carbon tax and cap and trade policies described above.
All industrial buildings will be eligible for incentives to become more energy efficient, as above.
Use of the greenhouse gas halocarbons CFCs, HFCs, PFCs and SF6 will be phased out by dates between 2012 and 2015.
There will be federal support for R&D to develop climate- friendly, non-toxic alternatives.
A Nitrous Oxide Task Force will be established to recommend ways to reduce Canada’s N2O emissions by 85% by 2025.
All federal grants and loans to industry will be subject to carbon conditionality clauses designed to steer all industry and manufacturing to 100% sustainability (the Interface approach).
Megastore retail outlets which depend on customer use of cars will be encouraged to adopt parking charges, combined with transit access and the home delivery of purchases by means of conditionality clauses signed with municipalities seeking federal funds.
Introduce legislation that requires all manufactured goods, including vehicles, to be designed for easy dismantling, re-use and/or recycling, and that they contain 90% recycled materials by 2025 (as in Germany).
Introduce legislation that requires all appliance and equipment retail outlets to receive broken and dead goods they have sold for recycling or repair.
Industry will be helped to establish a national deposit system, recycling systems and third party management to help them fulfill the obligation (like Germany’s Recycling Law).
Forestry
If Canada’s GHGs from forest sources (73 MT) were included in the Inventory total, they would represent 9% of Canada’s emissions.
All forest companies will pay a carbon tax to reflect the net loss of carbon storage from their lands, or a carbon rebate to reflect net gain of carbon sinks, based on a 5-yearly independent audit.
All forest companies managing FSC certified lands will be granted a 5-year tax break for those lands upon certification.
Agriculture
Agriculture (55 MT) accounts for 7% of Canada’s emissions.
43% comes from dairy and beef herds emitting methane; 40% from poor soil fertilization practices releasing N2O; and 15% from poor manure management from penned livestock herds.
Because of the multiple benefits of organic farming methods, a Green government will work to assist non-organic farmers who wish to transit to organics to make the switch.
Local food production will be encouraged to reduce emissions from transport.
Urban agriculture will be encouraged to provide more local food,
as well as more green roofs, reducing air conditioning demand and run-off in deluge rains.
Fossil Fuels
Fossil fuel industries (146 MT) account for 20% of Canada’s emissions.
All subsidies and supports to the oil, coal, gas and coalbed methane industries in Canada will be removed.
The appropriate carbon taxes will be applied to all CO2, methane, N2O, fugitive, and other GHG emissions.
All members of the fossil fuel industry will participate in the LFE cap and trade system, as above.
Oil and gas extraction companies will be obliged to capture and sequestrate an increasing volume of released CO2 beyond that used for enhanced oil recovery.
This will start with 10% in 2012, 25% in 2020, 50% in 2023 and 85% in 2040.
Enhanced oil recovery through CO2 sequestration is not seen as a solution, since the storage of CO2 for this purpose facilitates greater production of oil and gas.
Where any federal permits are required for new coal plants, the Green Party Government will not approve such permits.
Most new electrical transmission facilities will fall outside federal jurisdiction.
Where any federal-provincial funding agreements are negotiated, closing coal plants and committing not to build any new plants will be a condition of funding.
Existing coal–fired plants will be required to capture and sequester 25% of their emissions by 2015, 50% by 2025 and 85% by 2040.
All coal will be sold with a carbon tax.
Federal funding will be available for clean coal R&D focused on achieving full capture and sequestration of CO2 emissions, and 99.99% reduction of mercury, particulates, and sulfur dioxide emissions.
A carbon tax will be imposed on all export of all coal, oil and gas from Canada, except to countries that impose their own carbon tax.
Nuclear Power
All subsidies and supports to the nuclear industry will be withdrawn.
Federal insurance will no longer cover the risk of nuclear accidents.
Global
Under a Green government, Canada will work with other nations to achieve the development of a new global Kyoto Treaty (Kyoto 2) with the targets outlined above in part 1.
Canada will work with other nations to include a series of Solutions Uptake Clauses in Kyoto 2 designed to accelerate the uptake of carbon-reducing technologies, using annual commitments by member countries to purchase or require the increasing use of solar PV, solar hot water, electric vehicles, PHEVs, carbon capture and sequestration, efficient light bulbs and appliances, and other technologies.
Canada will support the extension of Kyoto to cover international aviation and shipping.
Canada will support the development of Kyoto’s clean development mechanisms focused on verifiable greenhouse gas reductions in developing nations.
Canada will work to include China, India, the United States and all other nations in Kyoto 2.
PART 3: PRESERVING AND RESTORING THE ENVIRONMENT
Our natural environment is the source of our wealth and our health.
Canada’s forests, water, soil and energy resources fuel our economy.
However, if we treat our environment like a business in liquidation, those resources and our economy will suffer.
The lack of federal regulation, monitoring, and action has made Canada one of the world’s biggest and most tragic offenders against the environment.
We rank amongst the world’s worst for wasteful use of natural resources.
Our soil, air and waters are dumping grounds for toxic chemicals.
Through inadequate environmental protection we risk leaving our children the deplorable legacy of a debilitated and degraded environment.
How can we be so thoughtless?
Our Vision
The Green Party of Canada has set out its plan for a sustainable future grounded in fiscal responsibility, ecological sanity and social justice.
As the only party working within a triple bottom line (economic, ecological and social) approach to every policy, our position on key environmental issues is clear.
It is urgent that the Canadian government actually set real targets, with measurable objectives and put in place the resources to deliver on those goals.
Recent history makes it clear that purely voluntary efforts do not work.
Recent history also demonstrates that policies must be consistently applied.
For example, it is not possible to reduce greenhouse gases while providing massive subsidies to expanding the production to the planet’s most carbon- intensive oil – crude from the Athabasca tar sands.
We need to de-couple the perception that economic success is dependent on physical growth and build upon the benefits of a steady-state economy (non boom bust economy).
Continued exponential growth is counter to the realities of a finite planet.
1. Air Quality
Canada faces an epidemic level of respiratory diseases, exacerbated by poor air quality.
On smog alert days our emergency wards are packed.
Asthma is the leading cause of absenteeism from school and the third leading cause of work loss.
Three million Canadians, about 8.4 % of the country's population, and one in eight children suffer from asthma and the numbers are increasing rapidly.
Yet, Canada’s regulation of air quality lags behind that of other nations.
Canada allows sulphur dioxide at concentrations of 115 parts per million (ppm) while the European Union, for example, allows 48 and Australia permits 80.
The issue of air quality is intimately connected with climate change.
The formula is: pollution + heat = smog.
A failure to confront the climate crisis, directly and soon, will result in more extreme heat conditions during the summer months.
The more 30+ degrees C days that Canadians experience, the more smog days will occur.
Our Vision
The Green Party knows that regulating to reduce the precursors of smog (particulates, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide) as well as to reduce serious neuro-toxic contamination of air with mercury is necessary and is immediately possible within the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA).
Regulating to reduce these contaminants must be coupled with reducing the burning of fossil fuels that emits particulates as well as climate- warming greenhouse gases (GHGs).
Measures to meet Kyoto targets by reducing reliance on fossil fuels will have important benefits in avoiding ever worsening heat impacts and these contaminants.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Strengthen CEPA with specific and strong regulations to reduce particulates, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, mercury and other airborne contaminants.
* Address smog-causing heat and pollution through solutions outlined in the climate change/Kyoto sections of this document.
2. Water protection and conservation
Freshwater is the lifeblood of Earth.
Protecting and conserving freshwater is a major political challenge for the 21st century.
Looking down from space one sees that Canada encompasses one of the Earth’s most water-abundant regions.
On the ground, however, the story is different.
Our water use is geographically concentrated.
Sixty percent of our water runs north while over 90 percent of our population is concentrated along our southern border.
Sadly, Canadians are among the world’s most inefficient users of water, wasting more water per capita than any other nation on Earth except for the United States.
While Europe has considerably reduced its water consumption, Canadians continue to put a heavy strain on water infrastructures and drain our valuable freshwater reserves.
As stewards of nine percent of the world’s renewable water, we are ethically bound to conserving it for this and future generations.
While most citizens have access to safe water, Health Canada indicates that as many as 85 First Nations communities (under the sole jurisdiction of the federal government) are under boil-water advisories.
As our population, economic activities and communities grow, water problems will become increasingly common.
Some, like Walkerton and Kashechewan, are related to water quality;
others, like recent droughts in the Prairies and Southern Ontario are water quantity issues;
some span provincial borders; others national borders.
All speak to a need for renewed attention to water policy by the federal government.
Our Vision
Sustainable communities and sustainable livelihoods need healthy watersheds.
The Green Party is committed to responsible water stewardship.
That includes restoring and protecting watersheds from industrial activities.
We advocate a renewed federal government role in water management, focused on strong regulations and programs created in collaboration with provincial and municipal governments.
When it comes to our vision for Canada's freshwater, the Green Party’s message is clear: Keep it, conserve it, protect it.
Keep it.
Pressure is mounting to export freshwater south of the border, with trade agreements such as North American Trade Agreement (NAFTA) leaving us susceptible to relinquishing control over our water.
The Green Party supports current Federal Water Policy that emphatically opposes large-scale exports (bulk exports) of our water.
Conserve it.
The federal government must work to ensure sustainable use of our water resources
and at the same time maintain and improve access to safe water for all Canadians.
This includes water metering and pricing that both reflects a fair value for water and fosters efficient use,
and regulations that protect and enhance water quality
and ensure that Canada does not become a haven for water-wasting industrial technologies.
Protect it.
To protect and restore freshwater ecosystems and their ecological services (e.g. as habitats for fish and freshwater species; as domestic water supplies; for energy-generation and recreation; as sources of water for irrigation and other economic uses) the federal government has to use its powers, including the Fisheries Act, and its role in inter-jurisdictional water sharing.
This is especially important when considering the changes in quality and quantity of Canada’s freshwater that will occur due to climate change.
The Great Lakes’ levels will fall, resulting in higher concentrations of toxic chemicals and other pollutants;
B.C. rivers will become over- heated preventing salmon spawning,
and farmers will face increasing drought.
The Athabasca River is already experiencing significant declines in flow due to climatic impacts and tar sand developments.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Protect the fundamental right to water for all Canadians today and in future generations by amending the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to enshrine the right of future Canadians to an ecological heritage that includes breathable air and drinkable water.
* Push government to strategically implement the 1987 Federal Water Policy to meet the requirements of sustainable water management—equity, efficiency and ecological integrity— by:
a) Passing Federal legislation to prohibit bulk water exports;
b) Establishing regulations and product standards to promote water efficient technologies in Canada;
c) Ensuring secure, safe water supplies for all citizens with a focus on First Nations communities through establishing regulations requiring protection of drinking water at its source, public inspection of domestic water supplies and mandatory and regular drinking water testing;
d) Provide funding to municipalities through a new “Water and Waste Treatment Facilities Municipal Superfund” (see section on Federal-Municipal Relations) to enable replacement of chlorination systems with ozonation, ultraviolet sterilization, sand filtration and other safe water purification systems;
e) Conduct an inventory of all polluted groundwater and water bodies and develop and implement strategies for cleaning them up; and,
f) Enhance the capacity of federal departments and agencies to protect and restore the health of aquatic ecosystems
* Ensure that water is managed in a way that helps create healthy, sustainable communities and fosters sustainable livelihoods by demanding that government:
a) Replace federal guidelines for drinking water quality with binding national standards that secure clean drinking water and human health;
b) Make federal funding for urban water infrastructure contingent on water efficiency plans that include measurable and enforceable goals and objectives;
c) Provide adequate funding for local and regional flood protection and drought management planning;
d) Provide strategic climate change program funding for water conservation on the basis that water conservation results in energy savings and reduced greenhouse gas emissions;
e) Revive the InfraGuide program (quietly eliminated by Environment Minister John Baird) that supported graduate internships in leading edge municipal infrastructure projects
f) Shift subsidies and funding away from dams and diversions (including feasibility studies) toward comprehensive “ground to the glass” drinking water protection strategies, especially source water protection, watershed restoration and community- based water conservation and efficiency planning and programs; and,
g) Review federal agricultural subsidies and develop transitional strategies to shift production away from water intensive crops toward local sustainable agriculture.
* Address inter-provincial/territorial and international water-related concerns by demanding that government:
a) Restore ecosystem health to Canada’s coastline and inland watersheds by funding improvements to municipal wastewater treatment systems, with particular emphasis on ensuring shoreline communities and industries stop dumping untreated waste into rivers, lakes and oceans; and,
b) Ensure that binding water-sharing agreements among provincial, territorial and federal governments are created within the Mackenzie Basin (within 1 year).
The agreements must reflect contemporary scientific knowledge and principles of social equity, efficiency and ecological integrity.
Elements to include: 1) Capping withdrawals from the Athabasca River based on assessment of in stream flow needs;
2) Ensuring oil sands developers deal responsibly with polluted waters in storage ponds (largest man-made structures on Earth); and,
3) Placing a moratorium on further oil sands development (i.e. increases in annual production).
c) Review the Prairie Provinces Water Board Master Agreement on Apportionment to ensure it is consistent with contemporary scientific knowledge and principles of social equity, efficiency and ecological integrity;
d) Address invasive species in the Great Lakes by developing stringent, science-based protocols for ballast water flushing prior to entering the St. Lawrence waterway,
and funding for monitoring and enforcement of these protocols;
e) Strengthen the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement to ensure it deals emerging issues such as endocrine disrupters and pharmaceuticals;
f) Support international momentum for the human right to water by establishing a national legally binding human right to basic water requirements for all Canadians (both quality and quantity); and,
g) Increase Canadian aid for access to basic water requirements and sanitation consistent with the Millennium Development Goals.
* Fulfill the need to increase science capacity related to water issues by demanding the government:
a) Enhance funding for data collection and integrated information-systems on water use, availability and quality; and,
b) Link research spending in the natural and social sciences to water policy goals to ensure our higher education institutions create the knowledge for 21st century water management (i.e. emerging issues such as endocrine disrupters, pharmaceuticals and toxics, instream flows and sustainable groundwater yield, climate change adaptation).
3. National parks
Every Prime Minister of Canada for the last twenty years has committed to the completion of the national parks system and the creation of Marine Protected Areas sufficient to protect marine ecosystems
-- except the current Prime Minister.
The 2005 Liberal Budget committed $209 million over five years to capital maintenance and acquisition in existing parks, but did not increase funding to the creation of new parks.
Key ecological areas are under assault.
Unless government acts soon, areas like the South Okanagan, Canada’s only area of true desert, wilderness in Labrador, or the Flathead in British Columbia, will no longer be available for protection.
They will be lost due to development pressures.
The UNESCO World Heritage Committee has warned Canada that we are allowing dangerous erosion of existing parks that are designated as World Heritage Sites, particularly Banff, Jasper, Kootenay and Yoho National Parks as well as several provincial reserves.
The UNESCO Committee pointed to the risk of “adverse impacts of the operation of the Cheviot mine on the integrity” of parks, particularly Jasper.
UNESCO also warned that Canada was not doing enough to ensure that various mining, mineral, oil and gas explorations activities around Nahanni National Park, located in the southwest corner of the Northwest Territories, not be allowed to erode the ecological integrity of the park.
The progress on Marine Protected Areas is even worse.
While Canada has protected less than 1% of its marine areas, Australia has protected 7.5%.
Yet, Canadians do care.
Polls reveal that 90 percent of Canadians consider time spent in natural areas as children very important;
85 percent participate regularly in nature-related activities;
98 percent view nature as essential to human survival.
Our Vision
The Green Party is committed to reversing the disappointing recent trend of the federal government to devalue park protection, with firm and unwavering action to protect existing parks
and expand our terrestrial and marine park systems.
We must rapidly establish “no- take” marine parks as a last chance to save our vast tracts of critically threatened and over- fished coastlines.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Re-commit to the completion of the National Parks system that consists of a representative network of Canada’s terrestrial and marine ecosystems, setting a target date of 2015 with emphasis on:
a) Fast tracking the establishment of “no-take” marine protected areas.
Consultation with fisheries communities and sectors is essential drawing on experience from New Zealand and elsewhere where “no-take” areas actually improved the economically viable fisheries;
b) Extending, in partnership with provinces, territories, and aboriginal peoples, Canada’s network of land, freshwater and marine protected areas and linking them up with provincial and territorial protected areas wherever possible,
and establishing compatible-use buffer zones around national parks for the maintenance of natural biological diversity and ecosystem health; and,
c) Providing Parks Canada with the funding necessary to protect the ecological integrity of Canada’s National Parks.
* Establish a National Park Completion Budget of $500 million annually to meet the goal of completing our National Parks and Marine Protected Areas Systems by 2015.
* Implement the recommendations of conservation scientists for effective action to preserve:
a) Critically threatened habitats;
b) Keystone species, endangered species, or species of commercial or cultural value, especially those of First Nations value;
c) Habitats specifically threatened by global-warming; and,
d) Continuous interconnected tracts of habitat for wide-range migrating species sufficient to maintain viable populations.
* Advocate the purchase of private land, where necessary, to help protect critical habitats especially of endangered species.
* Increase monitoring and protection efforts, including park rangers and guides with interpretation skills to educate Canadians and visitors on the vast beauty and value within our National Parks.
4. Species at risk
Globally our wealth of species is being lost at an astounding rate.
Canada’s rich heritage of wildlife is disappearing.
While Canada’s Species at Risk Act (SARA), proclaimed in 2003, has some redeeming qualities, overall its flaws make it ineffective in protecting Canada’s threatened species.
It provides basic protection only for species on federal lands—about 5 percent of the lands in Canada.
It lets the federal cabinet rather than COSEWIC (the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada) scientists decide on which species are on the “species at risk” list.
Habitat protection and recovery plans are voluntary.
The legal listing of species at risk has become more political and less scientific each year.
Cultus Lake sockeye salmon were not listed to avoid “significant socio-economic impacts on sockeye fishers and coastal communities.”
Eight aquatic species recommended by COSEWIC were not listed by federal cabinet in 2006.
Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn said it was “to ensure that we don’t negatively affect the fishing industry.”
In the last few years, despite rhetoric about “safety nets”, the federal government has refused to issue emergency orders to protect critical habitat on non-federal lands.
Ottawa has looked the other way as the BC government has permitted logging in Northern spotted owl habitat, condemning the last few pairs to extinction in Canada.
Our Vision
The Green Party believes in the conservation of species diversity as an essential part of a healthy environment.
To do this we must strengthen the Species at Risk Act (SARA) and make it an effective tool that actually protects endangered species and their habitats everywhere in Canada including all federal, provincial, territorial, First Nations and private lands.
We envision an Act that includes powers to enforce prescribed measures to protect species at risk and stop acts of non-compliance.
We believe the COSEWIC scientists should have the final say on the designation of threatened species and not have its recommendations subject to Cabinet approval, a condition that greatly weakens COSEWIC’s power and ability to protect species at risk.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will amend the Species at Risk Act (SARA) to:
a) Ensure that listing under the Species at Risk Act is based on scientific, and not political, processes.
COSEWIC’s determination would be the actual legal listing.
Cabinet approval would be removed;
b) Ensure that recovery-planning efforts identify and then appropriately manage, protect and/or restore the habitat that species need to recover, through consultative, collaborative efforts with stakeholders, land-owners, provinces, municipalities, and First Nations governments; and,
c) Ensure that it is a criminal offence, made punishable as a mens rea offence, to kill a listed species, regardless of whether the offence occurred on federal or provincial land.
5. Toxic chemicals
It is shameful that Canada ranked nearly last amongst Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries in our generation of pollution and nuclear and hazardous wastes.
(The 30 OECD member countries represent approximately 60 percent of the world’s economy, 70 percent of world trade and 20 percent of the world’s population.)
Canada also lagged behind in the effectiveness of regulations covering toxic and chemical waste.
The Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) is now in the early stages of its legislated five-year review.
Industry groups are lobbying the government to water down the term “toxic” in the Act.
They are concerned about the “stigma” associated with the term when it is applied to materials they produce.
However, “toxic” accurately describes substances that are potentially harmful to human health and the environment,
and weakening the term sends a signal to the public and to government that taking action to protect Canadians’ health and the environment is not urgent.
It is therefore essential that the legal framework of “toxic” substances not be eroded.
The definitions within the act must remain unchanged, although the subject heading could be expanded to “Toxic and other harmful substances.”
CEPA should require that the onus be on industry to show that the products they produce are safe, contrary to the current onus on government to demonstrate harm from these products.
An industry onus is a key feature of the emerging REACH system for regulating chemicals in the European Union, expected to become law in early 2007.
Europe is the largest chemicals market in the world.
There is every reason for Canada to follow their lead.
The Green Party of Canada remains concerned that Canada’s key legislation to protect human health and the environment from threats posed by human-generated substances does not include pesticides or radio-nuclides.
Now is the time to remedy this gap and amend CEPA to cover the non-commercial aspects of pesticides, thus allowing the Pest Control Products Act to continue to regulate the registration and use of pesticidal products,
but allowing banning of dangerous substances and handling of disposal and spills to move into CEPA.
The historic tradition of secrecy surrounding the nuclear industry has kept emissions from nuclear power plants off CEPA’s list.
Levels of tritium in Ontario’s water are high enough to be of concern, but they fall into a regulatory lacuna.
Similarly, other harmful substances found in consumer products are not regulated by CEPA.
While other laws such as the Hazardous Products Act (HPA) and the Food and Drugs Act (FDA) can sometimes be used to regulate such products, these laws are inadequate in addressing the human health and environmental risks.
For example, the HPA bans lead in children’s jewelry, but allows this proven toxic in a wide range of other products.
The HPA and FDA also do not deal with substances that pose a threat to humans via their persistence in our environment, such as perfluorinated compounds and other substances that are persistent and bio-accumulative.
The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence basin is the world’s largest freshwater ecosystem.
It supports one third of Canada’s population and generates one half of our economic activity.
Nearly one half of Canada's air pollution is also generated within this region.
Some of the pollutants generated in southern Canada end up in the high Arctic (through airborne contamination - see Air Quality section), causing irreparable harm to wildlife and poisoning the food system that many Inuit rely upon.
Our Vision
The Green Party believes the onus should be on industry to show that the products they produce are safe, contrary to the current onus on government to demonstrate harm from these products.
An industry onus is a key feature of the emerging REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals) system for regulating chemicals in the European Union (EU).
Europe is the largest chemicals market in the world.
We believe that Canada must follow their lead.
It is essential that the legal framework of “toxic” substances not be eroded in CEPA, but rather, be expanded.
We believe CEPA must be amended to cover the non-commercial aspects of pesticides, thus allowing the Pest Control Products Act to continue to regulate the registration and use of pesticide products,
while banning of dangerous pesticide substances and handling of disposal and spills are dealt with by CEPA.
We believe CEPA should be extended to control toxic radio-nuclides, pesticides and many other substances shown to be of significant risk to health.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Amend the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) to:
a) Cover non-commercial handling and disposal of pesticides and radio-nuclides;
b) Cover regulation of all substances shown to be a significant risk of human health including those causing cancer, immuno-suppression, endocrine disruption, neuro- toxicity and/or mutations;
c) Register and restrict the use of the toxic chemicals mentioned in (b) above, with the goal of first eliminating the exposure of vulnerable groups within society (pregnant women, the unborn, children, the sick, the poor, the elderly and aboriginals) to them and ultimately eliminating their use altogether;
d) Require a precautionary principal towards chemical management.
Instead of determining the safety or harm of a product after it is already in the marketplace, companies that make a chemical should be responsible for proving the safety of it before it can be used, as is done with pharmaceuticals; and,
e) Adding pollution prevention to the CEPA mandate.
* Establish a significant Toxic Chemical Tax (CTC) on harmful chemicals to make industry accountable for chemicals it produces and to prod industry to reduce and eliminate the production of toxic substances registered under the CEPA.
* End the production and use of the most dangerous toxic chemicals in Canada by 2012.
* End the use of pesticides for cosmetic purposes in Canada by 2010.
* Create a large Clean Canada Fund to clean up toxic sites.
* Ban the importation of toxic waste and their incineration.
* Cleanup of all toxic waste sites by 2030, with a priority placed on those communities most at risk.
6. Environmental science support: reverse the “brain drain” in federal science capacity
In the last two decades much has conspired to erode the scientific capacity of the federal civil service.
The deep cuts in budgets through the “programme review” phase of the former Liberal Government happened to coincide with a widespread (or at least within the OECD) fad for “smaller government” and the injection of a managerial fetish in the civil service.
Many experienced scientists took early retirement on very favourable terms.
Managers from other departments, without any policy strength or scientific background moved into key positions in departments such as Environment Canada and Fisheries and Oceans.
Ottawa mandarins such as Gordon Ritchie and Harry Swain have also decried the shift to a managerial culture, in which policy expertise is degraded in preference to some generic management experience.
The professional union representing civil servants has also noted that the careerist ambitions of the new civil service culture do not serve the public interest.
While the Green Party is not in favour of big government for its own sake,
it is penny-wise and pound-foolish to allow government policy to be starved of solid scientific in-house expertise.
The Green Party notes another economic reality of operating with a “leaner” civil service.
Much ends up being “out-sourced” at a higher cost than if the government had its own scientific strength.
Our Vision
The Green Party believes that the federal government must signal to the civil service that it values and supports environmental scientists.
That includes regularly seeking scientific advice regarding all levels of environmentally related decision-making.
We decry the shift to a managerial culture, in which policy expertise is degraded in preference to management experience.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Direct the Clerk of the Privy Council to reform the civil service to elevate core competence over a managerial culture.
* Include $15 million annually to the federal budget to add knowledgeable scientific staff to Environment Canada, Health Canada and Fisheries and Oceans ($5 million each) thereby increasing their competency.
* Re-establish the post of Ambassador for the Environment and Sustainable Development.
* Ensure the independence of the Commissioner for the Environment and Sustainable Development, through a stand-alone piece of legislation allowing the Commissioner to report directly to the House of Commons.
7. Zero Waste
Earlier generations grew up with the aphorism “waste not, want not.”
Our generation seems to have embraced “want much, waste much.”
Landfills, formerly called garbage dumps, account for more greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than do mining, construction and domestic aviation combined.
Most of these GHG emissions are in the form of methane gas which is nearly 30 times more heat absorbing than carbon dioxide.
Landfills also leach toxic chemicals into soil and water.
There has to be a better way to deal with garbage.
Our Vision
The Green Party has adopted the goal of “zero waste.”
This means shifting from thinking of waste as a problem to considering waste as a resource.
Canada’s failure to manage waste properly represents a huge loss of resources and revenue.
Reusing and recycling wastes have been shown to generate ten to fifteen times more jobs than incineration or landfilling.
We believe that strong incentives must be in place for industry and consumers to reduce waste to zero.
Setting a goal of zero waste will provide direction and inspiration.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Work in cooperation with provincial and municipal authorities to find ways to expand the scope of product responsibility programs where manufacturers are responsible for the entire lifespan of their products including recycling it at the end of its usefulness.
* Provide assistance to municipalities (through the Waste and Waste Treatment Facilities Municipalities Superfund – see section on Federal-Provincial Relations) in carrying out major waste reduction activities including recycling and central composting facilities.
* Pass laws, such as those in Germany, requiring manufacturers to accept lifetime stewardship of all products, including packaging.
Once goods are returned to the manufacturer, the materials are better designed to be re-usable and recoverable.
* Move to full reclamation of all electronic and hazardous materials by placing a recycling deposit tax to be paid when purchasing goods.
8. Commercial seal hunt
The seal hunt is viewed by many people in Canada, and abroad, as an inhumane activity that is ecologically unsound and unsustainable.
This is particularly true now that climate change has increased pup mortality in spring due to a lack of, and thin ice.
The annual seal hunt is the largest killing of marine mammals anywhere on the planet.
Its enormity threatens Canada’s overseas reputation for little local value.
Our Vision
The Green Party does not support a commercial seal hunt in Canada.
We are not opposed to subsistence hunting by aboriginal peoples and local communities.
However, we consider seal hunting, like whaling, to be a threat to the marine ecosystem.
The loss of ice due to climate change threatens seal populations and exacerbates what many believe is an already unsustainable level of hunting.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: End federal assistance to the commercial seal hunt and support an end to the seal hunt.
* Work with other levels of government to find sustainable economic alternatives for sealers and their communities
and provide full compensation to sealers for lost income.
9. Animal Welfare
Everyone is against cruelty to animals, but factory farming has brought a new level of inhumane treatment.
Chickens are packed tightly in cages their whole life, cattle crowd in feedlots, and pigs are kept indoors in cages on slatted metal floors all their lives.
Most people believe that animals, including domesticated animals, have the right to be treated humanely.
The current Federal laws protect animals from cruelty under the Criminal Code, but animals fall into the property section, thus Cruelty to Animal offences are among the very few offences that can only be convicted as summary convictions (minor offences, with limited penalties).
As well, the Criminal Code uses the term ‘willful intent’ making it very hard to prove a person has violated the code.
Our Vision
We believe that animals should be treated humanely and with respect at all times.
Farming practices must allow animals to live without undue stress and in conditions where they are able to exercise normal behaviours.
Many animals that live in intensive farming systems show signs of stress such as stereotypies (repetitive behaviours with no purpose) and aggression.
Some animals are kept in a state of starvation such as chicken breeder broilers and sows (mothers of pigs used for meat) in order to keep them at a healthy weight, despite their bred-in genetic predisposition to gain weight.
Mortalities, disease and injuries from long transport are a common occurrence since abattoirs are often long distances from farms.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Adopt animal welfare legislation to prevent inhumane treatment of farm animals including intensive factory farming methods.
The act will set minimum standards of treatment and have a timetable for the phase out of intensive factory farming and other inhumane animal husbandry practices.
It will set standards for distances live animals can be transported, conditions of animals in slaughterhouses, auctions, entertainment, and it will prohibit trade in exotic animals.
10. Green Arctic Strategy
The Canadian Arctic is a stunningly beautiful environment.
It has been home for millennia to Inuit and Dene peoples.
And it is among the planet’s first victims of climate change.
The North is also experiencing unprecedented levels of development pressures.
Diamond mines, oil and gas exploration and the potential Mackenzie gas pipeline all threaten to change the way of life for indigenous peoples forever.
One can argue whether the changes are for good or for ill, but there is no doubt that many of these impacts will be devastating for the fragile Northern environment.
The United States has been issuing oil and gas leases in disputed areas off shore from the Yukon, and this is only the beginning of disputes in our territory, as several nations claim some of the water between our islands is international water.
Our sovereignty is in dispute, in spite of the fact that Inuit have continuously occupied and used the land and ocean there for over 5000 years.
Our Vision
Canada has 202,075 kilometres of coastline and most of it lies in the Arctic.
Tourists, miners, business people, and those of all ages will gravitate to the coast.
People will require policing, lifesaving rescue, medical help, accommodation, and direction.
There are six major east-west routes for shipping through Arctic islands in Canadian territory,
and we are the only nation willing to clean up oil spills and govern the territory.
It is essential that Canada clarify its rights and obligations with respect to the Arctic region with protection of people, wildlife and the fragile ecology in mind.
There is a clear rationale for a pan-Arctic waste management strategy that includes wastes from all diverse sources as they all share the same Arctic waters, air and land.
Most importantly they all directly affect Inuit and the wildlife that sustains them.
It is urgent that Canada clarifies its rights and obligations.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Ask the United Nations to rule on the sovereignty of waters between our islands, and the sovereignty of the land off the Yukon coast, including the validity of oil and gas leases issued by the United States for land near the Yukon.
* Support the United Nations draft declaration on human rights of Indigenous peoples.
Support the training and equipping of rangers, Canadian Inuit who live throughout the Arctic and are experienced survival experts on land and sea.
They would comprise the backbone of the emergency support groups on thousands of Arctic islands.
* Develop a comprehensive pan-Arctic waste management strategy that addresses issues like dumping of wastes into water and open dump burning on land and that integrates community, mining, fishing, cruise ships, tourism, commercial shipping and military waste management strategies.
* Commission a major class of icebreaker, capable of rescue work with any likely depth of ice.
* Require that any foreign ship passing through the six Northwest Passages, or into any Canadian water within 200 miles off any Arctic island, be registered for using the passage.
* Fund installation of listening devices throughout waters of the Arctic,
intercept ships not registered, fine any failing to cooperate,
fine any discovered to be polluting the ocean or fishing and hunting without a license,
and provide all forms of law and order.
* Establish terrestrial and marine protected areas in an ecologically representative network in the three northern Territories.
* Improve and increase monitoring of indigenous food (e.g. Caribou meat, etc.) to ensure Inuit and Dene people, particularly pregnant women and nursing mothers, are not being over-exposed to persistent organic pollutants and heavy metals that build up through the global food chain and pool at high levels in the Arctic.
Work to develop collaborative community based education programmes to promote the use of food with less toxicity.
* Invest in renewable local energy sources (wind and solar to avoid the hugely expensive and polluting dependency on imported diesel.)
* Restore funding to the Northern Climate Exchange (recently cut by the Conservatives) and expand funding for Arctic science, particularly critical in light of the climate change threat in this, International Polar Year.
* Restore the post of Ambassador to the Circumpolar North.
11. Measuring and protecting Canada’s natural accounts
The Green Party will support extending Canada’s existing system of national accounts to include measures of annual changes in the depletion and addition to Canada's principal biological resources.
Wild fish, natural forests and productive agricultural soils represent some of the real wealth of a nation.
It is felt that as depletion or addition to fish, trees and soils takes place, these should be reflected in measures of Canada's worth.
A serious analysis should be made of the economic costs/values/benefits of key ecological functions.
This would allow better public policies and more comprehensive statements about the true economic value of biodiversity as a whole.
Purely economic measurements – such as GDP – ignore key factors underpinning well- being.
The Green Party believes that the application of an evaluation method that seeks to account for key social, environmental and long-term economic features in different parts of the country and local communities could provide new insights and rationales for the conservation of local and regional biodiversity.
These tools stand to play a key role making citizens aware of the attributes of strong biodiversity
and help achieve the intent of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Our Vision
The Green Party will continue to support 'quality of life' evaluation methods such as the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) as a means to improve quality of life and protect biodiversity.
The Green Party will also support research into the economics of protecting biodiversity
and the development of fiscal tools to limit the negative impact of human activity on the Ecosphere.
Eliminating capital gains on donations of ecologically significant land and more appropriate land-use taxes are key measures to limit demand-side pressures on biodiversity.
Part 4: PEOPLE
Once we envision the society we want, we clearly see its outlines.
Vibrant communities are places where, as Jane Jacobs described, people know their neighbours, streets are safe and friendly, and volunteering for the public good is common, leading to feelings of affiliation, belonging, and empowerment.
Without intending to do so, government policy, by treating such goals as peripheral to economic growth, has allowed feelings of alienation, hostility and selfishness to crowd out shared values of decades ago.
As Martin Luther King Jr. noted, you cannot legislate morality.
Nevertheless, when the human scale of government policy is ignored, when the tax system, employment strategies, and labour policies all mitigate towards less leisure and family time, more time in long commutes, and an increasingly “time-stressed” population, as measured by Statistics Canada, government policy should adjust its goals to re-balance and protect these fundamental pillars of our civilization – family and community.
In the last few years, quality of life, as measured in our ability to get ahead and enjoy more leisure time, has declined for 90 percent of Canadians.
Homelessness, mental health and drug addiction problems have increased.
The cost of post-secondary education and training has sky-rocketed.
The gap between rich and poor in Canada has widened.
Women, on average, still earn far less than men.
The middle class is struggling.
Given the wealth and resources of our country, this is tragic.
1. Family-focused programme
Increasingly, national and international studies document significant stress on Canadian children and their parents.
While it is true that an unacceptably large number of Canadian families live in poverty, many more are suffering from “time poverty.”
Statistics Canada tracks time stress of Canadians and reports a steady increase in Canadians who report not having enough time in their lives to accomplish all required tasks.
Longer commutes rob Canadians of time at home.
Longer working hours rob community members of time for volunteer activities.
Poorly planned transit and the lack of convenient workplace child care spaces rob parents of time with their kids.
There is a real cost to society as citizens have less and less time to contribute to community and school activities.
Not surprisingly, Statistics Canada also reports a steady decline in volunteer hours donated by Canadians.
Lack of time to contribute to community also leads to feelings of loss and alienation.
On the other hand, time spent in effort to better our society leads to positive feelings of affiliation (belonging) and of empowerment (knowing one’s actions make a difference.)
The Green Party wants to address this multi-layered problem in many parts of our policies: fiscal, labour and social programmes.
The tax policy of the Green Party Government will increase the opportunity for Canadians to spend more time with family.
Increasingly, adults are stressed and stretched to care for elderly parents, children, partners or spouses with debilitating illness, and any family members with disabilities.
Other families may choose to have one partner work from home, maintaining a family garden, pursuing a career in the arts where steady paid work is hard to secure, or for any number of reasons.
Our Vision
The Green Party of Canada is committed to nurturing families and communities through integrated policies that focus on the welfare of the child, starting with prenatal nutrition all the way to affordable housing
and accessible post secondary education.
We believe we must stop designing our communities around the car and start designing them around families and children.
There are no easy solutions.
We have to address the multi-layered problems facing families through new, innovative fiscal, labour and social policies.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Urge reforms to our tax and labour policies in ways that will increase the opportunity for Canadians to spend more time with family.
* Promote an integrated programme of supports, tax cuts, and awareness raising that time spent with children, time spent in community, time spent in interdependent healthy relation as community is essential for the continuation of our society.
2. Relief for the middle class
A healthy democracy requires a large, strong, healthy middle class.
The well-being of Canada’s middle class is threatened as the gap between the rich and the poor widens and middle class families find it harder to meet all their needs, in terms of both money and time.
Our Vision
The Green Party believes that one way to provide relief for Canada’s middle class is through revamping our tax system to enable income splitting within families, and thus a joint calculation of income that will reduce taxes.
Approximately 18.7 million Canadians live in families with two or more income earners.
Households where one partner is in a higher tax bracket than the other will end up paying less tax when they are allowed to income split on their tax return.
So far the government has only allowed the splitting of pension income, not total income, between senior couples.
The public groundswell for allowing income splitting of all incomes by all couples is growing.
The Green Party acknowledges that income splitting does not benefit low-income families or families where income earners earn about the same amount.
However, failure to solve all problems through one measure is not a good reason to fail to solve many problems.
Those not impacted by the income-splitting move will be helped through targeted programmes to assist low-income families.
A major criticism of this measure will increase pressure on women to stay at home to raise their children.
The Green Party believes it will allow one spouse to take a lower paying job in charitable or NGO work.
It will allow one spouse to work from home in growing a garden, in developing artistic talents, in writing for perilously low income.
The argument that income splitting will be a socially regressive measure is an important consideration and can be met with programmes to ensure women who wish to maintain an unbroken career path after having children, or who wish to return to the workforce after the early years at home, are supported to do so.
Because any parent should be able to choose to stay at home with young children, or equally, be supported through high-quality child care if they wish to remain in the workforce, we advocate a range of programmes.
There is no cookie-cutter, one size fits all, solution for Canadian families.
What matters is that programmes support choice and the well-being of that which is most precious – our children.
Income splitting, with an estimated “economic hit” estimated to be from $3 to 5 billion will be made possible through a carbon tax.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Modify the Income Tax Act to enable income splitting, which offers tax benefits particularly to middle income couples where there is a significant differential in the level of income between partners.
* Reduce income taxes through revenue neutral tax shifting made possible through the carbon tax.
3. Child care
Canadian families need access to affordable, high quality child care as an aspect of early childhood education.
There are also clear benefits to maximizing time together for parents with young children.
Canadians want a programme with flexibility.
A cheque for $100/month does not begin to address these needs.
Our Vision
The Green Party believes we need a high-quality federally-funded universal child care program in Canada.
Workplace child care has been shown to improve productivity, decrease employee absenteeism, ensure quality care for children (because parents can “drop in” at any time to see their young children), and permits longer breast-feeding of infants.
Work-place child care spaces create other benefits, recognizing the emerging literature that children benefit enormously from time with their mothers, especially when very young.
The beneficent spiral of providing workplace child care also includes making it easier for many working Canadians to use mass transit.
When parents and children are traveling to the same destination, the trip can often be made in less time on public transit,
while parents are able to spend more time with children.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Restore and revamp the 2005 agreement reached between the federal government, provinces and territories to achieve a universal child care programme in Canada.
*Specifically ensure that Canada’s universal child care programme provides workplace child care spaces wherever possible.
* Tax shift to make advertising directed at children ineligible for corporate tax write-offs.
* Accelerate the creation of workplace child care spaces through a direct tax credit to employers (or groups of employers in small businesses) of $1500 tax credit/child per year.
* Value the decisions of parents who choose to stay home with children.
* Promote and facilitate access to Roots of Empathy Programme to every Canadian child at some point in their elementary school years.
4. Seniors
Aging baby boomers are swelling the ranks of seniors.
Canada’s senior population is growing in both number and as a proportion of Canada’s total population.
Many anticipate a crisis for health care and social services.
It is true that seniors use a disproportionate amount of health care dollars.
Dementia is a growing concern as the number of Canadians with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) or other dementia, estimated to be 420,600 today, is expected to quadruple by 2047.
The Alzheimer Society of Canada estimates the current cost of treating people with dementia at $5.5 billion a year.
Some analysts predict that over the next 25 years, AD and other forms of cognitive impairment will have the highest economic, social and health costs of all diseases in Canada.
Our Vision
The Green Party recognizes that seniors have a wealth of experience and have contributed immeasurably to the development of the nation we currently celebrate.
They should be involved in creating the solutions to our society’s problems and challenges; not considered as one of the “problems.”
We believe that all seniors have the right to live their retirement years in dignity
and continue to contribute to society to the best of their abilities and desires.
Government must provide the supportive services and opportunities to make that possible.
We believe that the government must take the lead in educating the public about end of life issues, including the limits to artificial life support systems, surgical operations and chemical therapies to extend life and postpone the inevitable transition from life.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Review workplace policies to end mandatory retirement and provide for flexible retirement benefits for those seniors who want to continue working.
* Develop, in collaboration with provincial and territorial governments, a set of national home care objectives in a National Home Care Policy, that incorporates and improves upon existing policies affecting eldercare, including but not restricted to: ensuring couples needing support and care can continue to live together; economic allowances (such as tax rebates); living choices; transportation and respite care.
* Require that all corporate pension plans be audited to ensure that they are adequately funded and properly managed and set a policy directive to take corrective action when they are not.
* Ensure all seniors who qualify are made aware of available federal income supplements available and instructed on how to apply for them.
* Review in collaboration with provincial and territorial governments, the current social and legal policies to ensure that citizens and law enforcement officials recognize elder abuse, prevent it where possible, and proceed with appropriate charges and punishment when elder abuse has occurred.
* Help develop national guidelines for care of the frail elderly who have special needs and require care by geriatric specialists.
* Establish and fund a special program to provide grants to non-profit societies setting up palliative care hospices.
* Guarantee people the right to draw up a “living will” that gives them the power to limit or refuse medical intervention and treatment so the person has the choice to die with dignity.
5. Healthier people - healthier health care
Governments keep telling Canadians how they are going to “fix” the health care system.
Yet many problems are actually getting worse including longer wait-lists for diagnosis and surgery, over-crowded emergency rooms and increasing shortages of family doctors.
The state of our health is getting worse, too.
One in five Canadian children have asthma.
Almost half of us face cancer at some time in our lives.
There is an epidemic of obesity in adults and children.
Close to one million Canadians have been diagnosed with Multiple Chemical Sensitivities.
Skyrocketing PharmaCare costs have now eclipsed all other health care expenditures.
Throwing more money to the provinces, as the federal government has been doing in the last two governments, is not achieving concrete results.
The 2004 First Ministers Health Accord committed $41 billion to health care system improvements, including $5.5 billion over 10 years to reduce wait times.
Benchmarks were established in December 2005 in five key health care areas that have been prone to longer waiting times.
Experts tell us that spending more money does not necessarily produce better results.
Economies of scale can be achieved through creating centralized wait lists, moving from a paper system to electronic technology to share information, addressing the staffing shortage and in some cases, the facility and equipment shortages.
These steps can help in reducing wait times, but the truth is that Canada does not have enough doctors, nurses, radiologists and other health care providers.
Short-sightedly, government cut back on the training of doctors in the 1990s and failed to help fast-track the certification of foreign-trained doctors and nurses.
Now Canada ranks among the lowest of 30 OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries in the ratio of doctors and acute care beds per thousand people.
In some parts of Canada, 60 % of people have no family doctor.
It is a matter of training more doctors
and ensuring better allocation of doctors—more family doctors, fewer specialists
and channeling more doctors into working in rural areas.
We have also focused on treating acute health problems after they arise,
and failed to place sufficient priority on preventing illness in the first place.
Our Vision
The Green Party subscribes to the World Health Organization’s definition of health as “a complete state of physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”
Our present health care system addresses only one dimension – the treatment of disease and/or trauma by qualified professionals in publicly funded medical facilities.
The Green Party believes that we can solve health care problems, including excessive wait times for surgeries, within our public health care system, as they are doing successfully in Alberta (hip and knee replacement program) and many parts of Europe.
The Green Party of Canada fully supports the Canada Health Act (CHA) and all of its principles.
We oppose any level of privatized, for-profit health care.
The five criteria of the CHA guiding the provincial public health insurance plans, which we believe to be non- negotiable, are:
1. Public Administration: The public health insurance plan must be managed in a public, not-for-profit fashion.
2. Comprehensiveness: All residents must be covered for “medically necessary” health services.
3. Universality: All residents must be covered by the public insurance plan on uniform terms and conditions.
4. Portability: All residents must be covered by their public plan, wherever they are treated in Canada.
5. Accessibility: All residents must have access to insured health care services on uniform terms and conditions without direct or indirect financial charges, or discrimination based on age, health status or financial circumstances.
The threat of a NAFTA challenge from the American for-profit health care industry cannot be over-estimated.
Allowing for-profit health care would be the thin end of the “wedge” that jeopardizes our entire health system.
Based on the rules for “national treatment,” if Canada allows increasing numbers of for-profit facilities, we run the risk of losing our entire universal single payer system in a NAFTA challenge.
We cannot take that risk.
Fixing our health care system means protecting the core elements of universal single-payer health care.
In order to keep health care spending from continuing to skyrocket we must find a way to control the cost of drugs.
The best ways to do this is to set up a Universal PharmaCare program, a bulk drug purchasing agency,
and make new drug patent protection times shorter.
We used to have a successful generic drug market in Canada, but changes to the patent laws have almost wiped it out.
The expiry of patents for a number of commonly prescribed drugs in the near future presents a great opportunity for government to step in and help provide far less expensive generic drugs.
The Green Party accepts the principle advocated by the Canadian Diabetes Association that no Canadian should spend more than 3% of their total after tax earnings on necessary prescribed medications and other treatments.
The Green Party of Canada understands that health is about more than “health care.”
We are in the midst of a cancer epidemic, and no one is willing to speak of it out loud.
Hundreds of chemicals used in our everyday life carry risks of increased cancer, infertility, learning disabilities and other intellectual impairment, and damage to the immune system.
There are less toxic substitutes for these products,
but industry lobbies to maintain their registration and legal use drowns out the voices of concerned health professionals and families concerned about health.
As noted above in the toxics section, the Green Party of Canada will act to remove from use those chemicals known to have a significant risk of human cancer, immuno-suppression, endocrine disruption, neuro-toxicity and/or mutagenicity.
The substances will be regulated within CEPA to restrict use and registration with the goal of reducing and/or eliminating exposure to vulnerable groups within society (pregnant women, the unborn, children, the sick, the poor and the elderly).
In addition, emissions of these substances will be subject to a Toxic Tax, offset by reductions elsewhere in the tax system.
We will eliminate toxic waste sites over a multi-year plan, with a priority on those communities most at risk.
The Green Party of Canada will not rely on “risk management.”
A Green government will operate to reduce and manage hazard, not delaying action based on discredited modeling designed to protect chemicals, not people.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: 1) Improve Our Existing Acute Care System
* Use the full force of the Canada Health Act, federal spending power opposes any steps that open the way to two-tier health care in Canada.
* Address the cost crisis that produces long waitlists by providing more money to hire staff to open currently closed beds, fully utilize existing operating rooms in hospitals and purchase new diagnostic equipment.
* Provide funds immediately to begin training more doctors and nurses.
* Work with the CMA (Canadian Medical Association) to immediately establish qualification standards and on-the-job mentorship programs to fast-track certification of foreign trained health care professionals.
* Provide student loan forgiveness incentives for graduating doctors, nurses, paramedics and other health care professionals who agree to staff rural facilities and family practice clinics where recruitment is currently a problem.
* Provide funds to expand provincial health insurance to cover proven alternative therapies that are less expensive and invasive such as chiropractic, massage, acupuncture.
* Improve access to midwifery services across Canada.
2) Improve Our Chronic Care System
* Enshrine a policy that seniors’ care must be provided in the communities where they or their families live.
* Expand home support and home care programs and assisted-living services to support people with chronic care needs, including many seniors who wish to stay in their own homes and communities.
* Transfer funds to provinces to build and open more long-term care beds.
* Educating Canadians about end-of-life issues;
increase funding for palliative care hospices in hospitals and our communities;
enact “living-will” legislation that guarantees people the right to limit or refuse medical intervention and treatment so people have the choice to die with dignity. (See Seniors section above)
3) Reduce the Costs of PharmaCare
* Initiate a public inquiry into the rising costs and over-prescription of drugs.
* Immediately embark on a commission to study and conduct a cost-benefit analysis on the feasibility of establishing, in cooperation with the provinces, a new crown corporation to bulk purchase and dispense generic drugs to pharmacies
and the feasibility of establishing a national PharmaCare Program that ensures that effective pharmaceuticals are available to all Canadians who need them.
4) Achieve Better Health through Prevention
* Remove from use those chemicals known to pose a significant risk to human health. (See Environment Section.)
* Increase taxes on products known to be deleterious or potentially deleterious to peoples’ health. (See Agricultural Section.)
* Move to extend medically required and preventative dental care to the current list of treatments covered by Medicare.
Due to costs of this measure, it is a multi-year goal.
* Provide more information to Canadians about healthy food choices and lifestyles.
* Commission Health Canada to do a nationwide body burden study identifying the presence of carcinogens, neurotoxins, hormone disruptors, and the toxicity levels of Canadians.
* Ensure clean drinking water for all Canadian communities by 2010.
* Prohibit by law human reproductive cloning and require a Health Canada license for any organization or institution that performs genetic manipulation for commercial or scientific purposes.
5) Promote Fitness, Sport and Active Living
* Promote a broad-based national program of active living as a prescription for better health and lower health care costs, to be delivered in partnership with provincial, municipal and non-governmental bodies to achieve the goal agreed to by all ministers responsible for physical activity across Canada of increasing physical activity by 10% over the next five years.
* Introduce a national standard of daily, quality participation in physical activity in schools, colleges and universities to combat the epidemic of youth obesity.
* Make a strategic investment through Health Canada of $500 million over five years to aggressively address inactivity and obesity.
* Re-introduce a national school-based fitness-testing program.
* Promote the “Walking School Bus,” as developed by the Toronto Atmospheric Fund, in which adult volunteers supervise neighbourhood children walking to school thereby reducing pollution,
improving fitness,
and promoting community street safety.
* Endorse and promote the Olympic Movement’s Agenda 21 for Sport, which advocates sport and recreation management practices that are sustainable and encourages sustainable practices at all sports events and facilities.
* Establish an Olympic Spending Accountability Act, to ensure the effective long-term use of taxpayers dollars provided to the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
* Support the development of high-performance athletes both by encouraging broad-based participation in sport, and by contributing to the provision of essential facilities, coaching and medical support for high-performance athletes, as outlined in the 2003 Canadian Sport Policy.
* Structure the spending for sports to ensure there is a practical progression of long-term financial support for sport at all levels in the sports continuum.
* Establish a Canadian Sports Spending Accountability Act, to ensure the effective long-term use of taxpayers dollars provided to high performance sports programs.
6) Recognize Environmental Sensitivities as a Health Care Issue
* Implement legislation that will result in increased public health protection, by reducing the quantities and variety of toxic chemicals in products, buildings, landscapes and foods, as Canadians move to using only least-toxic strategies, products and materials.
* Promote the inclusion of environmental sensitivities in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD) that is published by the World Health Organization.
* Earmark funding to provinces to include environmental sensitivities/MCS (multiple chemical sensitivities) in provincial health care billing codes.
* Work with provincial and territorial governments to ensure workplace accommodations, medical accessibility and treatments, access to buildings and other public areas, social support systems and adequate monetary assistance for people with environmental sensitivities.
7) Attain Better Health through Addressing Social and Mental Needs
* Increase transfer funding for non-institutionalized mental health patients including children and youth to provide adequate community-based support and outpatient and inpatient care by mental health practitioners, including in rural Canada where lack of facilities and trained professionals is acute.
* Support a public health initiative to reduce the use of psychoactive drugs through better rehabilitation and prevention programs especially for children.
* Require greater involvement of people dealing with personal mental health problems in research planning, policy development, program evaluation and other decisions that affect their lives and communities.
8) Reduce Drug Addictions
* Address drug addiction as a health problem by legalizing marijuana and focusing efforts on harm reduction, treatment and prevention.
* Provide much greater funding to the provinces earmarked to increase the number of detox facilities and treatment beds for drug and alcohol rehabilitation, establish more safe injection clinics, needle exchange programs, to provide certified addicts with prescriptions procured drugs in small safe doses, and develop educational prevention programs.
9) Prevent the Spread of HIV/AIDS and Better Manage Its Impacts
* Reduce the stigma associated with having HIV.
This stigma is the significant barrier to delivery of effective, non-judgmental prevention and treatment programs.
* Put greater resources into the treatment and delivery of antiretroviral therapies to HIV positive drug users, a marginalized group in Canada, which is receiving third-world medical support.
* Put greater resources into harm reduction, prevention and education efforts directed towards high-risk populations.
* Eliminate bureaucratic barriers of misunderstanding and prejudice for HIV positive foreigners to visit Canada.
* Be a world leader in providing low-cost AIDS medicines and medical services for HIV positive people in third-world countries, especially the most impacted countries of Africa.
6. Health Promotion
“ It is equally common sense for our health care system to place greater emphasis on preventing disease and promoting healthy lifestyles. This is the best way to sustain our health care system over the longer term. Keeping people well, rather than treating them when they are sick, is common sense”. Roy Romanow, Future of Health Care in Canada, 2002
Health is more than health care.
Prevention and Health Promotion save lives and money.
A significant proportion of illnesses and deaths in this country are preventable.
Many Canadians do not have the necessary information, the tools, or the encouragement, to lead healthier lives.
Much needless suffering, premature loss of life, and considerable healthcare costs can be avoided through improved health research, screening programs, more timely diagnosis, earlier treatment, improved lifestyles (diet, exercise and smoking cessation), and healthier public policies and environments.
For example, at least 50 percent of cancers are preventable.
Yet funding allocated for health promotion has fluctuated in the vicinity of 1 percent of overall health system funding, despite the demonstrated cost effectiveness of many disease prevention and health promotion programs.
Health promotion is about more than health care or health education.
It is about recognizing the profound health impacts of determinants of health outside the formal healthcare system and working with many stakeholders (policy-makers, NGOs, health agencies, multiple levels of government, the private sector, and most importantly, affected communities themselves) to reduce, eliminate, or overcome those factors that harm health or act as barriers to health enhancement,
and to promote those factors that enhance the health, well-being and quality of life of all Canadians.
The Green Party of Canada recognizes the value of good health as a fundamental human right,
but also the key to the most vibrant, inclusive and sustainable Canadian society possible.
Green Vision
To towards Canada being the world's healthiest country by making improved and sustainable health for all a national priority.
To make this vision a reality will require a long journey, a comprehensive effort touching many aspects of Canadian society.
In the short term we recommend the following actions to begin this journey.
These recommendations can have an immediate, positive, and measurable impact on Canadian's health and turn us away from a health system focused on disease treatment to one where disease prevention and good health promotion are the priority.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Push for renewed Canadian leadership in health promotion both nationally and in on the international stage.
We have some of the best minds, training programs, experienced practitioners, and progressive health promotion coalitions in the world.
These can be key building blocks in a renewed federal leadership in health promotion.
Specifically, we recommend the following actions to take place immediately:
Restore funding for the Canadian Health Network, a key national resource for individuals and health professionals across the country
Create a Federal Healthy Community Initiatives Fund to which community organizations could apply for innovative local projects utilize community development principles and practices to address both human and ecosystem health at the local level
Protect children from inappropriate exposure to marketing (especially of junk foods and soft drinks - see development of a National Food Policy below)
Create the Canadian Healthy Living Guide, similar to the recently revised Canada’s Food Guide but more comprehensive in scope.
Work with provincial stakeholders to better compensate family physicians and other health professionals for health education and health promotion services work with key stakeholders such as the Chronic Disease Prevention Alliance of Canada (CDPAC), the Canadian Lung Association, the Heart and Stroke Foundation, and others to promote integrated, innovative, evidence-based, inter-sectoral and comprehensive approaches to disease prevention and health promotion.
Institute a GST Health Benefit Reduction for those products/services deemed to have significant health benefit such as sports equipment, fitness centre fees, and some health promoting health services.
Institute a Corporate Health Tax Reduction for workplaces that institute a qualified workplace health model or comprehensive healthy workplace settings approach such as that offered by the National Quality Institute
Work to reduce the use of pesticides, growth hormones, antibiotics and other chemical and pharmaceutical agents in agriculture
Phase out the use of genetically modified food products and ‘terminator’ seeds
Promote environmentally sustainable, organic farming practices that protect the health of the land, farmers, and consumers
Restore funding for critical food safety testing and new produce approvals processes
Institute a National Junk Food Tax for non-essential, empty calorie foods and beverages
Develop a federal Health Impact Assessment Board to incorporate health impact assessment as part of all federal government policy reviews, similar to the current Environmental Assessment Board
Support the development of initiatives to reduce the use of psychoactive drugs through better rehabilitation and prevention programs, especially for children
Restructure education of health care professionals to incorporate adequate training in health promotion
Provide computerized health promotion aides and make them accessible freely to all Canadians
Expand healthcare coverage to include basic preventive dental care
Expand healthcare coverage to include qualified complementary/alternative health professionals such as naturopaths, chiropractors, and dietitians
Establish a minimum budget for health promotion at 1.5% of the total federal healthcare budget
7. Ending the war on drugs
In 2005, according to the Treasury Board, Canada spent $368 million targeting elicit drugs, with 73% of that money going to law enforcement.
Most of that was for the “war” against cannabis (marijuana).
Marijuana prohibition is also prohibitively costly in other ways including criminalizing youth and fostering organized crime.
Prohibition, which has gone on for decades, has utterly failed and has not lead to reduced drug use in Canada.
Our Vision
After analyzing the recommendation of the Canadian Senate’s 2002 Special Committee on Drugs and the examples of strategies used by some European countries, the Green Party of Canada has come to the conclusion that it is time to legalize the adult use of marijuana.
Furthermore, the Green Party believes that drug addictions should be treated as more a health problem than a criminal offence.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Legalize marijuana by removing marijuana from the drug schedule.
* Create a regulatory framework for the safe production of marijuana by small, independent growers.
* Develop a taxation rate for marijuana similar to that of tobacco.
* Establish the sale of marijuana to adults for medicinal or personal use through licensed distribution outlets.
* Educate the public about the health threats of marijuana and tobacco use.
* Launch a public consultation on the decriminalization of illicit drugs, considering the high costs currently used on the law enforcement effort,
as well as for treatment facilities, rehabilitation of addicts, and consider shifting to prevention through educational programmes instead.
8. Rights, respect and dignity
Wome’s equality
Women make up over 50 percent of Canada’s population, the majority of seniors, and a disproportionate share of the people living in poverty in Canada.
Pay inequity is still the rule.
Women make, on average, only 71 cents for every dollar earned by a man.
Women within visual minorities earn 64 cents and aboriginal women earn 46 cents.
Lack of access to affordable housing, affordable post-secondary education and affordable child care make the lives of women, who head up the majority of single-parent households, much more difficult.
Women under 30 earn less than women in that age group, when adjustments are made for inflation, than they did twenty years ago.
Women make up only 21% of the MPs in Canada’s parliament.
This past year the Conservative government pushed the clock backwards on women’s rights in Canada.
They refused to accept the recommendations of the Pay Equity Task Force that calls for proactive pay equity legislation to bring Canada in line with its national and international human rights obligations.
They rolled back the commitment to establish a national affordable child care program.
They removed the mandate for promoting women’s equality, and even stripped the quest for “women’s equality” from the mandate of Status of Women Canada (SWC).
Our Vision
The Green Party of Canada will vigorously defend every hard-won victory for women’s rights in Canada and to advance forward towards full equality.
Women’s equality is fundamental to a just society.
We feel that one of the best ways to break down barriers and advances opportunities for women is through a poverty-eradication, a national affordable child care program, programs to eliminate the financial barriers to post-secondary education, programs for affordable housing and the adoption of a Genuine Progress Indicator that includes measures of unpaid and voluntary work by women (see other sections in this document).
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Oppose any possible government move to diminish the right of a woman to a safe, legal abortion.
We fully support a woman’s right to choose.
We will also expand programmes in reproductive rights and education to avoid unwanted pregnancies,
and expand supports for low-income mothers.
* Pass pay equity legislation, as recommended by the Pay Equity Task Force, immediately implement full pay equity for women employed in the federal sector and develop tax incentives for companies to meet the highest standards of gender and pay equity.
* Establish specific job re-entry programmes for women with children who want to restart their working life either part-time or full-time.
* Reestablish funding for Status of Women Canada and for a Women’s Program that funds not-for-profit women’s groups that advocate women’s rights.
* Ensure that the criteria for a new independent agency appointing members to public boards and agencies include equal opportunity for women.
* Support greater engagement of women in the political life of Canada by advocating that all political parties nominate, train and support more women candidates.
People with disabilities
Canadians with disabilities and their families live with disproportionate levels of poverty and exclusion.
To better understand the underlying factors, the Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD) and the Canadian Association for Community Living (CACL) commissioned the Caledon Institute of Social Policy to study the situation and propose solutions.
It concludes that: a) Canadians with disabilities are more likely to live in poverty than other Canadians.
Poverty is both a result of exclusion and lack of supports, and it contributes to further exclusion and vulnerability in a ‘vicious cycle’;
b) Children with disabilities are twice as likely as other children to live in households that rely on social assistance as a main source of income;
c) Poverty rates of Canadians with disabilities result in large part from the lack of needed disability supports, which enable access to education, training, employment, and community participation;
d) Canadians with disabilities are too often exiled to inadequate, stigmatizing and ineffective systems of income support that were never designed to address the real income needs of Canadians with disabilities; and,
e) The federal government has a key role to play in addressing the poverty and income security needs of Canadians – they have done this through Employment Insurance, CPP/QPP, Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement, the National Child Benefit, and Child Disability Benefit, and various tax measures.
The Caledon Institute propose that the federal government invest in a new initiative, which they have called the Basic Income Programme to best provide the support that Canadians with disabilities desperately need.
Our Vision
The Green Party of Canada believes that it is time to treat Canadians with disabilities with dignity.
We endorse the Basic Income Programme proposed by the Caledon Institute, which asserts, when all factors are taken into account, will actually save the government money.
We urge the adoption of this income security programme for people with disabilities as soon as possible as an interim measure to a full poverty eradication federal-provincial program is established to provide for income security for all Canadians.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Institute a basic income for people living with disabilities so that none of them live in poverty by:
* The conversion of the Disability Tax Credit (DTC) to a refundable credit as a first step in creating a national Basic Income program for working age adults with disabilities;
* Establish rigorous “needs based” eligibility standards for basic income to permit an affordable benefit system that provides adequate benefit levels; and,
* Use a redesigned Canada Pension Plan/Disability Benefit (CPP/D) test to incorporate the DTC definition of disability and permit employment, rather than the CPP/D definition that requires a ‘severe’ disability to be life-long and to be the cause of any incapacity to pursue ‘any gainful occupation.’
The revised definition allows individuals to work while retaining eligibility for basic income.
Immigration and new Canadians
Canada is a multicultural society with a strong history of welcoming immigrants and celebrating cultural diversity.
Canada currently accepts about 300,000 new immigrants annually.
Opportunities for new immigrants, however, vary.
Studies show that immigrants from some countries do a lot better than others in securing jobs with decent incomes and opportunities for advancement.
Access to immigration itself varies, as well.
The criteria for granting landed immigrant status to refugees and other immigrants seem at times arbitrary and the process is frustrating and stressful for many.
The backlog of files is too long.
Over cautious security officials have in some cases put the civil liberties of new Canadians at risk.
Recent reforms to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act have fostered a culture of fear and discrimination.
Canadian citizens, like Maher Arar, have experienced their rights as Canadians discarded by allies who are too willing to break international law to fight a “war on terrorism.”
Our immigration policies must be revamped to ensure we stay true to our identity as a just, fair and open country,
and to be prepared for new challenges that are predicted to arise with increased numbers of environmental refugees seeking a safe new home in an increasingly perilous world.
Our Vision
Canada’s multicultural diversity is an essential part of our national identity.
New Canadians are a source of incredible skills and potential for our country.
Immigrants and refugees come to Canada in search of a safer, more fulfilling life for themselves and their families, and to be full participants in Canadian society.
We must make sure they are supported in achieving their hopes and ambitions as new Canadians.
Our national tradition of welcoming newcomers and embracing social and ethnic differences gives us a unique opportunity to exert a positive influence on the rest of the world.
Canada must embrace the energy and creativity of all our cultural communities and ensure genuine equality of opportunity and equal treatment of all Canadian citizens, regardless of their country of origin.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Press professional societies to remove unnecessary barriers recognizing the professional credentials of immigrants.
* Ensure such professionals being considered for immigration will have the licensing requirements for their profession clearly explained before entry.
Landed immigrants with professional qualifications will be supported and given the opportunity to obtain Canadian licenses consistent with public safety.
* Allocate much greater funding for training in official languages –ESL and FSL for new immigrants through earmarked transfers to the province for primary, secondary public school and free night school programmes.
* Establish a program to deal with the estimated 200,000 people living in Canada without official status that leads to full landed immigrant status for those who have become contributing members of Canadian society.
* Work with municipalities and provinces to improve the integration of new Canadians into the multicultural fabric of our country.
* Support multicultural communities by assisting cultural organizations to obtain charitable status.
* Seek to have the regulations governing the practices of immigration consultants toughened and enforced and increase penalties in the Criminal Code for those convicted of human smuggling.
* Amend Anti-Terrorism Act and the Public Safety Act to require after a reasonable length of time formal charges are brought against all those detained.
* Open an investigation into allegations by the United Nations Human Rights Committee of Canadian officials cooperating with foreign agencies known to use torture.
* Ensure the “lost Canadians” quietly being denied citizenship through archaic laws are protected and their citizenship restored.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans-gendered rights
Canadians believe in freedom from discrimination.
This includes people having the right to live their lives without being discriminated against for their race, creed, ethnic background, political beliefs or sexual orientation.
A majority of Canadians applaud the fact that Canada was one of the first countries to sanction same sex marriage.
Canada's Charter of Rights and laws now do a reasonable job of prohibiting discrimination.
However we must be vigilant to ensure these laws are respected in practice and delivery.
Our Vision
In 1996 the Green Party of Canada became the first federal party to officially support the inclusion of same-sex couples in civil marriage, and we are pleased that this issue is now settled.
However, much prejudice and discrimination remains, and trans-gendered people are rarely even considered when laws and public policies are created.
Our vision is of a world free from discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, a world in which difference is accepted and even celebrated.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Amend the Canadian Human Rights Act to explicitly include gender identity and gender expression as protected grounds of discrimination.
* Amend the Criminal Code to include gender identity and gender expression in the hate sentencing and hate propaganda provisions.
* Repeal s.159 of the Criminal Code.
* Support public education to end prejudice and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
* End the targeting by Canada Customs of LGBT bookstores and other LGBT businesses.
* Ensure Canada advocates internationally for an end to state-sanctioned discrimination and violence against LGBT people.
Aboriginal policy
The glaring exception to everything one loves about Canada can be found in the profound inequality of life on First Nations Reserves and life for off-reserve urban aboriginal people across Canada.
Water that is too hazardous to drink, serious health problems from diabetes to tuberculosis, addiction and suicide, unacceptably poor housing stock, high unemployment rates -- all make a mockery of our progress elsewhere maintaining our “social safety net.”
Canadians like to forget that white South Africa based apartheid on the Canadian aboriginal policy.
Many non-natives are unaware of the fundamental human rights violations occurring within our midst.
Canadian aboriginal peoples, First Nation, Métis and Inuit, know that the fundamental assumption of colonial powers since the first Europeans arrived in what is now Canada has been a policy of assimilation.
Unbeknownst to most non-native Canadians, and even some First Nations, the ultimate disposition of land claims agreement is the extinguishment of aboriginal title.
This is an inherent right of indigenous people and its extinguishment violates international human rights law.
Various human rights committees within the United Nations system have frequently been critical of Canada’s treatment of and laws regarding aboriginal peoples.
Little wonder then, that after years of international negotiations, the current government of Canada opposes the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
As government, the Green Party will speedily move to support and implement the UN Declaration.
We will also restore the $5.1 billion commitment and the specifics of the Kelowna Accord.
One of the central features of the landmark Kelowna accord, reached between federal and provincial, territorial and First Nations governments in Canada, is the creation of “baselines.”
Baselines are critical to assess the levels of aboriginal health and well-being.
The issues impacting aboriginal people in Canada are complex and cannot be assessed without a full sense of the searing violence of generations of occupation and assault upon traditional culture and values.
No Canadian should be satisfied with the failed policies of the Indian Act and the huge bureaucracy of DIAND, the enormous outlays of funding for lawyers and “experts,” in the interminable comprehensive claims policy.
Something fundamental needs to shift.
That shift must begin with dignity for all aboriginal peoples.
Respect.
An end to policies of assimilation.
Strong support for health and education on reserve and off.
Health specialists and behavioural experts need to be trained from within communities to know the proper disciplinary approach for fetal alcohol syndrome children.
Work must be intensified to ensure more programmes for mentoring from elders to young people.
Employment opportunities in resource-based industries on aboriginal territories will be encouraged.
Trap lines will be protected.
We will fight to salvage the Inuit hunting culture under rapid assault due to the impacts of the climate crisis.
The Green Party of Canada will ensure that governments and corporations alike respect the Sparrow decision and the right of aboriginal peoples to be consulted about decisions that impact their resources and their future.
We must work together to ensure no more communities are added to the catechism of shame in Canada: Oka, Ipperwash, Gustafson Lake, Sutikalh, Sun Peaks, Cheam or Caledonia.
Never again.
Our Vision
Our shift in attitude will mean true nation-to-nation dialogue and negotiations.
It will mean a just accommodation of aboriginal peoples’ aspirations and an equitable sharing of Canada’s natural resources.
It will mean full recognition of the cultural, political and economic contributions of First Nations, the Inuit, Innu and Métis people to Canada and an end to the prejudice.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Honour Canada's fiduciary responsibility and the aboriginal rights, treaty rights and other rights of aboriginal peoples, including their inherent rights of self-government.
* Review the existing federal policy on self-government, in consultation with aboriginal representatives, to ensure that it is achieving the goals of aboriginal peoples.
* Ensure that negotiations of treaties and self-government are not based on the extinguishment of aboriginal title and rights and assimilation, but on reconciliation of rights and title,
and that negotiations recognize the diversity of traditional self-governance.
* Fully implement the recommendations of the 1996 Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, thereby embarking on true nation-to-nation negotiations on a full range of outstanding legal issues and land claims.
* Ensure that Canada supports and implements the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
* Support the restoration of the $5.1 billion commitment of the landmark Kelowna Accord reached between federal and provincial, territorial and First Nations governments in Canada in 2005,
with the proviso that the ensuing programs do not lead to greater infringement on aboriginal and treaty rights.
* Ensure that governments and corporations respect the Sparrow decision (recognizing the aboriginal right to fish) and the Haida decision (the right of aboriginal peoples to be not just consulted but their concerns accommodated regarding decisions that may impact their resources and their future).
* Negotiate and legislate primary hunting, fishing, trapping and logging rights for aboriginal peoples on traditional lands, especially lands under federal jurisdiction, subject to standards of sustainable harvesting.
* Launch and maintain new processes driven by aboriginal priorities and legal entitlements, to provide for interim measures prior to settlement of treaties and address governance issues, a just and fair share of lands and resources, legislative inconsistencies, policy inequities, reconciliation and, if in accordance with the wishes of First Nations, the phased- out elimination of the Indian Act.
* Promote aboriginal culture, language and history as a fundamental source of Canadian identity.
* Support the development of aboriginal education curricula that is language and culture specific.
* Assist the delivery of health care, education and other services in a way that incorporates traditional practices and recognizes the role of extended families and elders.
* Set up task forces to address the treatment of aboriginals in the Canadian justice system and to investigate and address the disappearance of aboriginal women.
Protecting access to excellence in post-secondary education
Jane Jacobs warned in Dark Age Ahead that our process of mass amnesia includes a forgetting of the educational experience as we trade “higher education” for “certification.”
Tuition fee increases and increased student debt is pushing post-secondary education out of reach for many Canadians.
Meanwhile, universities are squeezed for resources and erode the quality of education through dependency on corporate research and proprietary information.
Students move through large classrooms, pay their ticket and wait for their certificate as proof of readiness to enter into the workforce.
Increasingly, newly minted PhDs are a cheap labour pool for short-term contracts within universities that have fewer and fewer tenure track positions on offer.
The prime barrier to accessing post-secondary education, both academic and trades training, is the price tag.
While education is primarily a provincial matter, the federal government can, through earmarked transfer payments, provide funding to both enable public post-secondary institutions to open more spaces for students and offer needs-based scholarships and bursaries so that anyone who qualifies for entrance can enroll without financial encumbrances preventing them from doing so.
Our Vision
The Green Party believes that universal access for every qualified individual to affordable post-secondary education and training is a basic right and we would make it a priority to eliminate the financial barriers that currently stand in the way of access.
Good education benefits not only the student but also their community and the country at large.
Education is the key to equity of opportunity, personal growth and enrichment, informed democratic debate and decision making, social mobility and the research and development that is essential to deal with climate change and a multitude of other challenges.
It is the key to a good economy and prosperous society.
Post-secondary education should not be a debt sentence.
Targeted grants for low-income students could reverse this trend.
Students should not be graduating with a debt the size of a mortgage on a home.
Accessibility to higher education is one aspect of a serious poverty reduction policy.
European nations, such as the Netherlands, Sweden, and Ireland, offer their citizens free post-secondary education or very nominal tuitions because they see it as a social good and an investment in the future.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Launch a comprehensive “access to education plan” to include, but not be limited to, budgeting of adequate federal transfer payments to post-secondary institutions and direct financial aid for students,
as well as working with the provinces to set goals for tuition fee reduction to manageable levels.
This plan will include measures to: * Increase funding for a needs-based Canadian National Student Loan and Bursary Program with low interest rates and reasonable repayment schedules.
This loan program will replace the Millennium Scholarship Foundation.
* Forgive 50% of a student’s loan when they complete a degree or certificate program
* Increase ear-marked federal transfer payments to provinces for post-secondary education to enable post-secondary institutions, academic and trades, to increase spaces for student enrollment in exchange for tuition fee reductions.
* Support expanding industry-based job training and apprenticeship programs to address massive shortages of trained workers.
* Restore and expand the federal government’s student summer job program.
* Fund universities to create more tenure track teaching positions, regardless of perceived commercial value of the area of pedagogy.
* Create a fund for excellence in post secondary teaching in which funding is increased as the student to professor ratio decreases.
* Urge targeted research grants to institutions with a specific focus on applied research including community colleges specifically to support development of new technologies in the fields of renewable energy, smart growth and energy conservation.
10. Striving for justice
Reforming the Divorce Act
Many Canadian couples experience a marriage or partnership breakdown.
For those who enter the world of court-resolved divorce and child care disputes, years of unhappiness can follow.
Increasingly, the non-custodial parent lacks meaningful access to his or her children.
Grandparents can also be cut off.
There are no winners in these cases and children are the primary victims.
Our Vision
A society where the suffering of children, grandparents and former spouses does not block the courts and enrich lawyers.
Green Solutions
To avoid children being treated like the spoils of war, the Green Party believes the Divorce Act must be over-hauled.
We will launch a consultation with Canadians, with the legal community, family therapists and other experts to seek ways to reduce, and preferably eliminate, the adversarial nature of family law.
Criminal justice
It is all about our communities.
Safe, strong, and vibrant communities are at the heart of the Green Party’s vision for the future of Canada, a Canada where we share responsibilities and respect for each other.
We are dedicated to responsible governance that protects our country and our fellow Canadians.
This commitment shapes our approach to tackling crime, delivering justice, reducing re-offending, protecting Canada’s borders, and combating terrorism.
The Green Party is also a practical party.
In all our policies we seek to avoid over-the-top rhetoric and partisanship and focus upon tackling the important issues.
We take this same pragmatic and level-headed approach to the tough issues of criminal justice.
Simply put, there are some problems with our justice system.
Many Canadians see a disconnect between the severity of the crime, the length of prison sentences and the availability of parole.
Many Canadians support restorative sentencing which promotes a sense of responsibility in the offender and secures amends for the victims of crime.
And, many Canadians recognize that offenders are often unaccountable to the community upon their release from prison.
The Green Party will meet these challenges.
We will ensure that those who break the law are held responsible and the needs of victims are recognized.
We will ensure that offenders who are released into our communities are held accountable.
Our Vision
Our vision is of a legal system that is tough and fair, connects with communities, simple and transparent as well as fast and effective -
while maintaining Canadians’ traditional commitments to justice and the rule of law.
It is also true that the Green Party does politics a little differently.
One of the things this means is that we strive to get at the root of problems in our society and take a more integrated approach to governmental action.
For example, it will not be uncommon for Green candidates to begin speaking about health care, affordable housing, and education when asked about problems of crime.
We are always seeking to get at the root of a problem.
The Green Party understands that true justice and real security cannot stand alone from our social and cultural context.
We are committed to addressing underlying causes of crime such as poverty, racism, and inequality
while ensuring offenders are dealt with fairly by means of proportionate sanctions.
We believe a responsible government will see the big picture and have well-integrated policies that truly prevent crime and truly protect our communities.
Below you will find practical and integrated measures that will make Canada a safer place for raising your family, being active in your community, and being productive in your workplace.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Increase funding for and promote the use of restorative justice programs for first time non-violent offenders, in which wrongdoers make reparation to victims and their community.
Oppose any attempts to privatize prisons in Canada.
Dedicate resources to computer crimes specialists combating the online sexual exploitation of children through child pornography and Internet luring.
It is important that the RCMP is provided with the necessary resources and tools to tackle this problem on a national scale.
Ensure that bail determinations for those accused of violent crime include actual posting of bail.
Those who post bail need to be held accountable if the accused does not show up in court.
Ensure meaningful and appropriate resources are available for communities who wish to use restorative justice and community healing.
Focus upon education and meaningful work for offenders in order that they might pay at least part of the costs of their crime and housing in jail as well as prepare for reintegration into society upon their release.
Revise laws to increase penalties for domestic violence and ensure protection for the victims and survivors of domestic violence.
Reducing the risk of re-offending must be a priority.
Provide guidance for judges making bail determinations to avoid release for crimes involving weapons and violence when there is a risk a re-offending.
Restore merit as the criteria for selection of judges with balanced review panels where no one political or ideological viewpoint is dominant.
Anti-terrorism and border security
A fundamental obligation of government is the protection of public safety.
The Green Party is wholly committed to ensuring the security of all Canadians and we will remain vigilant in our opposition to those who would threaten the safety of our communities.
However, we also believe what Canadians believe—true security within a democratic society will be gained from good governance and fair procedures that are administered according to the rule of law.
The Green Party views terrorism as an especially dangerous criminal offence and an aggressive, illegitimate political act.
We believe that a responsible government will work diligently to prevent terrorist acts by also addressing the root causes of the crime.
The focus must be on peaceful assistance to local and international organisations working to resolve conflict,
to protect local culture and sustainable practices,
and to engage in the building of strong democratic institutions.
Our Vision
The safety of Canadians depends upon the effectiveness of our counter-terrorism and security laws.
The Green Party is committed to ensuring our intelligence and law- enforcement agencies have adequate resources and the political leadership to deal effectively with these criminals.
The Green Party seeks security procedures that provide rigorous standards of procedural fairness and allow meaningful defences for all detainees.
A responsible government cannot sacrifice human rights in the name of security or we will actually be opening the door for greater injustice and insecurity.
Canada’s security policies must be consistent with the values of the society we seek to protect, or else they will undermine those very values.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Introduce a Comprehensive Security Plan that will provide coordinated direction to the RCMP, CSIS, the Canada Border Services Agency, the Coast Guard, and the department of Foreign Affair and International Trade.
Effective security measures must be coordinated between departments and agencies.
Provide CSIS, RCMP, and the Canada Border Services Agency with sufficient resources to conduct effective operations involving the gathering of intelligence, detention, and prosecution of those who threaten our security.
Ensure that individuals held under security certificates are given access to legal assistance and the right to trial within a reasonable period of time.
In addition, this detention under security certificates must be subject to prompt and fair review by an independent and impartial court.
Cracking down on white collar crime
Canada is widely understood to be soft on organized and white collar crime.
We have a two- tiered justice system where people with money can work the system for their own advantage.
The challenges involved in tackling economic crime are complex and require clear leadership from the federal government and concrete steps that will create tangible results.
But, we can make a difference.
Economic crimes are far from victimless.
In a real sense, they are a theft of public property and harm all Canadians.
Clamping down to protect our investments and businesses will ensure that we secure not only the confidence of investors, but also the revenues needed to support our social programs.
Tax evasion and fraud drain significant resources from the public purse and cannot be tolerated by a responsible government.
Our Vision
Economic criminal investigations are often quite complex and require highly specialized legal teams and sophisticated information management.
Federal prosecutors must be given enough resources to build up the necessary legal teams to conduct effective and timely prosecutions of these commercial fraudsters.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: a) Make sure those who commit crimes that cost the public money through police investigation or embezzlement repay the costs of their misbehaviour as much as possible.
Although criminal charges for economic crime is important, simply placing people in jail is not the answer.
b) Amend the laws to provide for stiffer sentencing and full restitution in white-collar crimes.
It is important that the sentences fit the severity of the crimes.
c) Provide guidance to judges in order to make it clear that economic crimes are to be met with significant consequences.
A responsible federal government can make combating economic crime a priority.
d) Allow for greater freedom in the issuing of subpoenas that would require witnesses to give a sworn statement during white collar criminal investigations.
Corporate accountability
The growth of multinational enterprises and global supply chains has been accompanied by growing concerns regarding labour standards, environmental protection, and respect for human rights in developing nations.
The public is increasingly aware of the social and environmental impacts of business practices and more and more people are beginning to demand that Canadian corporations come to terms with a much broader set of interests and expectations.
Our Vision
The Green Party understands the need for greater corporate accountability and the lack of legal provisions that allow civil actions against the big polluters in Canada.
Our businesses need to be both competitive and accountable and our government needs to create a legal environment that will make this happen.
We recognize that Canadians want to feel proud of the corporations that represent them abroad
and we will take practical and balanced steps to ensure Canadian corporations are leaders around the globe.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Introduce legislation to begin holding Canadian corporations that are working overseas to the same environmental and human rights standards as they are in Canada.
Prevent legal intimidation of ordinary people by limiting the rights of corporations to sue groups and individuals only for actual loss.
Develop laws similar to the US’s Alien Tort Claims Act that will allow those who are not Canadian to sue Canadian corporations for damages that result in their own countries.
Empower Canadians whose environmental rights have been violated to take corporations and individuals to court for violation of these rights.
Gun control and ownership rights
The Green Party believes that a responsible government will balance the need for public safety and the freedom of law-abiding citizens.
As a party dedicated to practical solutions and clear results, we recognize the fact that guns are too often a part of violent crimes in our cities
as well as the reality that many rural Canadians are responsible hunters and marksmen.
Our Vision
The Green Party understands that it is time to get tough on gun smuggling across the US border.
Thousands of handguns are coming across the border and into our urban centres.
We need to work with the Mexican government to press for US action against gun smugglers
and investment in tougher border measures to halt the movement of unlawful firearms.
The Green Party will scale back the bureaucratic burden of the current gun registry in consultation with hunters, First Nations, gun collectors, and sportsmen.
We will develop a registration system that effectively aids our law enforcement officers
without criminalizing responsible citizens.
The risks created by having dangerous weapons in our urban centres are significant.
We will introduce balanced and fair measures to eventually ban handguns and semi-automatic firearms.
At the same time, the use of guns in our urban centres is typically not the same as the use of guns in our rural communities.
We will ensure that law-abiding citizens are free from unreasonable fees and the threat of criminalization.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Provide increased support for Integrated Border Enforcement Teams made up of officers from the RCMP, Canada Border Services, U.S. Customs and the U.S. Coast Guard in their gathering of intelligence and arresting of gun smugglers.
Put strict measures in place for those who try crossing the Canada/USA border with weapons.
Work hard to create a registration system that is fair, free, and easy to use.
We will eliminate registration fees
and decriminalize registration for hunting rifles
and ensure law-abiding citizens do not have their firearms confiscated.
Phase out the personal use of handguns and semi-automatic weapons by means of careful review and consultation, an enhancement of gun registry, and the development of other programs to control gun use and ownership.
11. Eliminating poverty
“I am now convinced that the simplest approach will prove to be the most effective -- the solution to poverty is to abolish it directly by a now widely discussed measure: the guaranteed income.” Martin Luther King Jr., Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?, 1967
The National Council of Welfare has estimated that over 15% of Canadians are living in poverty -- about 4.9 million people.
In a wealthy country such as Canada, this is unacceptable.
Eliminating poverty while supporting healthy communities will pay for itself in reduced health care costs as poverty is the single largest determinant of ill health.
Eliminating poverty will pay for itself in reduced crime rates.
Failure to eliminate poverty will cost our society far more than a civilized programme to make poverty history in Canada.
Our Vision
The Green Party of Canada believes it is time to re-visit a major policy initiative -- the use of a negative income tax, or Guaranteed Livable Income (GLI) for all.
The use of a GLI could eliminate poverty and allow social services to concentrate on problems of mental health and addiction.
The essential plan is to provide a regular annual payment to every Canadian without regard to a needs test.
The level of the payment will be regionally set at a level above poverty, but at a bare subsistence level to encourage additional income generation.
No surveillance or follow-up is required.
Unlike the current welfare (provincial) and Employment Insurance (EI) schemes (federally), additional income is not “clawed back” until a higher level of income, above subsistence, is achieved.
The incentive to illegal, under-the table, economies is vastly reduced, although not entirely eliminated.
Additional income is to be declared until the wage-earner becomes a taxpayer.
For higher income Canadians, the amount of the GLI is merely taxed back in whole.
Through policy coherence, municipally, provincially and federally, savings in servicing the poor, with the additional negatives of a shame-based system that perpetuates poverty, can be reduced.
To be cost-effective, however, government will require time to negotiate a coherent programme with the provinces/territories and other levels of government.
Various “poverty-industry” programmes of welfare, disability pensions, seniors benefits, unemployment insurance, would all be collapsed within one simple single payment system, administered through taxes.
The Green Party believes it is time to advance bold and controversial ideas, such as this.
Nevertheless, it needs time for study, reflection and greater support from all three levels of government.
We are committed to opening dialogue on the idea, while pursuing short-term measures to make progress in the near term.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Remove taxes from lowest categories so that no taxes are paid by those below the poverty line (Canada’s Low Income Cut-Off measure).
Allow income assistance recipients to keep 100% of the wages they earn up to the Low Income Cut-Off level to encourage people to get back into the job market.
Offer people the mobility they need to find work, shelter and other necessities through free transit passes for those on income assistance.
Extend maternity/paternity leave for new parents outside of EI to two years and one additional year for other parents who pay into EI.
Increase Guaranteed Income Supplement for seniors by 25%.
Top up the income support for single parents on welfare during the time they are attending school or in job training programmes.
As a first step towards universal GLI, provide additional income support of $5000/year to adults currently receiving provincial welfare cheques.
Through negotiations with each province this modest income support payment will not be subject to claw back.
Ensure financial assistance for low-income spouses and relatives who provide end-of-life care at home for patients who would otherwise need to be hospitalized or in institutional long term care.
Augment the government’s measurement of “progress” (our Gross Domestic Product-GDP) with a Genuine Progress Indicator - a Canadian index of well-being (that annually measures how well we are doing on quality of life indicators, including eliminating poverty. (See economy section.)
Eliminating child poverty
Of all of Canada’s social problems, child poverty is probably the most shameful.
In 1989, the old-line political parties voted unanimously to end child poverty in Canada by the year 2000.
Since then, at least in part due to the shortsighted cuts to our social programs, the percentage of children living in poverty has remained unchanged at around 15 %, or 1 million children.
Child poverty rates are even higher among new Canadians, Aboriginals and single parent households headed by women.
Canada now ranks a dismal 26th out of 29 ‘developed’ countries in terms of child poverty rates.
There is no silver bullet to eradicate poverty.
Better food banks cannot bridge the growing disparity between wealthy and poor Canadians.
Poverty is a systemic problem that arises from low minimum wages, a precarious job market and a shortage of social housing, reductions in EI benefits and cuts in social programs.
Our Vision
We can eliminate child poverty in Canada.
The Green Party believes that Canadians are willing to pay to do it.
We must start by recommitting to a vision of Canada as a just society built around a progressive, fair and compassionate social safety network.
European countries, such as Denmark, Finland and Norway, that have made a similar commitment, have kept child poverty rates below 3.5 %.
Unlike the old-line parties, the Green Party believes reducing child poverty is more important than allowing our richest citizens to get richer.
The Green Party believes reducing child poverty starts with a stronger commitment to guaranteeing that every family has the ability to provide for their children.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will work to: Develop comprehensive plan to improve our social safety network so that it eliminates child poverty,
modeling this plan on European countries’ programmes that have the best track records in eliminating child poverty.
Eradicate the most severe poverty of families through measures described in section 11, above.
13. Ending homelessness
We have witnessed the disintegration of our social safety net to the point where many Canadians, through no fault of their own, have been forced into unsafe, unhealthy living conditions.
Some are on the streets.
Others are barely getting by.
Homelessness began to escalate during the 1990s with federal government cuts to social housing programs and cuts in income support programs by both the federal and provincial governments.
As housing prices increased, even people working for minimum wage are increasingly unable to afford rental housing.
If the people who need help are not properly cared for, this puts a strain on everyone.
Basic needs are not being met for a significant number of Canadians, and the gap between the rich and the poor is widening.
The Green Party believes that we have enough resources to care for all residents of Canada.
Our Vision
The Green Party believes it is the right of every Canadian to have affordable, safe and secure housing.
It enhances people's health, dignity and life opportunities.
It is an essential prerequisite to an equitable society.
The Green Party supports the delivery of social housing dollars to provincial, territorial and municipal governments through the traditional vehicle of the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
The funding for social housing needs to be dramatically increased.
CMHC programs must be directed to the communities most in need and fast-tracked to provide homes for people at risk.
The housing provided must be designed with energy conservation in mind.
Access to housing should be free from discrimination, including, but not limited to, ethnicity, race, cultural background, language, class, income, age, gender, sexuality, marital status, religion, political or other opinion, ability, health, status or other personal characteristic or circumstance.
Universal housing will alleviate poverty.
Universal housing provides a basis for employment, schooling, community services and contacts.
The development and delivery of adequate universal housing and emergency accommodation should be a high priority.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Create a National Affordable Housing Program that provides sufficient funds annually through the Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) to community-based agencies across Canada to:
a) Build new subsidized affordable homes: 20,000 new and 10,000 rehabilitated affordable units per year for the next ten years using capital grants and changes in tax and mortgage insurance regulations;
b) Provide rent supplements or shelter assistance for an additional 40,000 low- income households per year, for ten years;
c) Provide credit and loan guarantees to non-profit housing organizations and cooperatives for the building and restoration of quality, energy-efficient housing for seniors, people with special needs, and low-income families;
d) Subsidize private developers to include a percentage of affordable housing in their housing projects;
e) Extend provisions in the Income Tax Act to offer tax incentives to build affordable, healthy, energy-efficient, multi-unit rental housing and to include tax credits for gifts of lands, or of land and buildings, to community land trusts to provide affordable housing; and,
f) Dedicate funding to the co-operative housing sector to enable more new affordable housing projects to proceed.
14. Beauty and integrity
“Arts and cultural activities are at the heart of communities – they make communities more attractive places to live, they help bring a community to life, they define a community’s unique characteristics, they attract tourists and they help communities compete economically around the world.” The Canada Council for the Arts
We couldn’t resist.
Shouldn’t at least one political party speak in praise of beauty?
We live in times of increasing utility and growing ugliness.
Strip malls, parking lots, urban littered and graffiti-ed streets do not ennoble us as a people.
It would be a fairly dubious notion that government anywhere could create beauty, but government can create the right conditions to protect and support those who do.
At every level of our society, arts and cultural activities help define our identities and communities.
They unlock our individual and collective creativity, and help Canadians share our ideas worldwide.
From surreal circus to incisive films, to renowned actors and singers, Canadians are experiencing cultural breakthroughs on the international arts and culture scene.
Today, over 600,000 Canadians are employed in the cultural sector.
Our Vision
The Green Party understands that our future, our sense of who we are as a nation, depends on policies that ensure a thriving, diverse and socially responsible cultural community as part of an inclusive Canada.
We will continue and increase support for those cultural institutions that are within the Heritage Canada portfolio: Canada Council, the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC), the National Film Board (NFB), and Telefilm Canada.
We will reverse the funding cuts of the Harper government for the exchange of artists and the performance of Canadian arts abroad as they are a vital aspect of effective diplomacy and artistic expression.
We plan to establish the equivalent of the Japanese National Treasure programme where outstanding individual artists are supported to perfect their craft.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Increase funding to all of Canada’s Arts and Culture organizations including The Canada Council for the Arts, Telefilm Canada, orchestras, theatres and publishers.
The goal will be to make increases in this sector commensurate with increases in support over the years for other sectors of the economy such as transport, the auto industry, health care, and the oil and gas industry.
Provide stable base-funding for the CBC so it can continue to provide quality Canadian content television and radio programming in both official languages to all Canadians.
Ensure that the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) reserves more bandwidth for independent and non-profit stations.
Enact legislation that requires cinemas and video chains to have at least 20 % Canadian content.
Restore and improve arm’s length principles in the governance of arts and cultural institutions and agencies under the federal jurisdiction.
In keeping with such a position, we believe that the heads of Canada’s cultural organizations such as the CRTC, Canada Council, CBC and Telefilm Canada should not be appointed by the political party in power but by an arm’s length committee made up of competent people representative of the various diverse stakeholders in Canadian society.
Eliminate current legislation before the Senate that would give politically-appointed censors the right to deprive films of the right to a tax credit if their content is deemed “unfit.”
In such a context films by some of Canada’s most internationally celebrated film-makers--including Egoyan, Cronenburg, and Arcand--would likely never have been made.
Increase support for community arts programs and facilities across Canada by establishing stable base-funding at a set percentage of the federal budget.
Equalize federal funding for Arts and Culture among provinces, territories and municipalities to make it consistent with the provinces and municipalities that have the highest current standards.
Provide incentives to all provinces and territories to restore and improve Arts and Culture components to schools and extra-curricular activities not only in urban but also in rural areas.
Extend income tax relief and incentives to artists (on the very successful models established by Ireland and the city of Berlin).
Doing so will: encourage artists to settle in Canada and build businesses here
result in other (usually) white collar “clean” industries that follow the arts jobs and dollars
help to provide meaningful jobs to university and college graduates
enrich schools and their offerings thereby attracting immigrants to settle in rural areas
revitalize and discover talent in communities where traditional industries are declining and young people are leaving
Follow and implement recommendations of Canadian Conference of the Arts in order to enable artists to access various social programs including Employment Insurance, Worker’s Compensation and Canada Pension Plan.
Change the Canada Revenue Act to allow arts and culture workers to benefit from a tax averaging plan that will take into account the fact that lean years often precede and follow the good year when a show is produced, a book is published and a grant or a prize is won.
Protect Canada’s cultural identity during trade negotiations.
Restore the government provided transport service (eliminated by the Harper government) to allow the transport of exhibitions between museums and galleries;
Protect the copyright for artists such that they are not surrendered to museums and galleries in the process of permitting exhibits.
Economic Rationale
“People want to live and work in vibrant communities filled with creative people and educational opportunities. An active Arts and Cultural life in a community draws members of the creative class to it. Thus not only for quality of life reasons but also for hard-nosed economic motives it is important to support a vibrant Arts and Cultural life in communities in order to attract talented people and companies to power the economies of those communities.” Richard Florida, The Rise of the Creative Class
The Green Party of Canada applies “Full Cost Accounting” to its understanding of economics.
We recognize that compared to other sectors where government support is allocated, the arts and culture sector is under-funded.
We will pay for improved support for this sector by using the tax & subsidy systems available to government to encourage “clean” industries and discourage polluting industries as follows:
Given that Arts and Culture provide great quantifiable benefits to health and education, investments in Arts and Culture across communities and educational establishments may fall, in part, under investments in health and education.
Taking into consideration Full Cost Accounting, the Green Party of Canada is able to substantiate that investment in the arts rapidly pays for itself many times over.
Revenue Neutral Tax Shifting taxes what society does not want, such as pollution, and removes taxes from what society does want, such as employment and creativity.
The Green Party of Canada will redistribute funds in a revenue neutral manner, allowing the tax system to favour non-polluting, high-employment, highly creative, knowledge-based economic activities without increasing personal income taxes.
For example, the Green Party of Canada will remove the GST from Arts and Culture products and services while imposing a carbon tax on burning hydrocarbons and releasing their by-products into the atmosphere.
The Green Party of Canada will maintain breadth and flexibility in its economic calculations.
We are able to think in terms of GDP and quantifiable economics-- which can demonstrate that Arts and Culture not only makes an enormous contribution to the economic activity of this country -
but also contributes to the Well-being Index, now also used by Statistics Canada.
PART 5: THE PLANET NEEDS CANADA (AND VICE VERSA)
The Green Party is the only true global party, with Greens in 70 countries and elected members of parliament in Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
Together we work to press the nuclear super-powers to meet their obligations for disarmament, to reduce and eliminate the nuclear threat.
We work to shift military budgets to peace making and peacekeeping.
We work to ensure the education, health protection and economic autonomy of women and girls around the world to reverse the dangerous trend of increasing human numbers.
1. Canada’s role as global leader in peacemaking and poverty alleviation
"To meet the challenge of our times, human beings will have to develop a greater sense of universal responsibility. Each of us must learn to work not just for his, or her, own self, family or nation, but for the benefit of all mankind. Universal responsibility is the real key to human survival. It is the best foundation for world peace, the equitable use of natural resources, and through concern for future generations, the proper care of the environment." Dalai Lama
The Green Party of Canada believes Canada has, under the Harper government, strayed dangerously far from our roots as a peacemaker.
The Nobel Prize awarded to Lester B. Pearson, and in a position of pride in the lobby of the foreign affairs headquarters, was, on February 23, 2007, physically screened off to allow a photo op of former Foreign Minister Peter MacKay, with his US counter part Condeleeza Rica and their Mexican colleague.
The three were meeting to pursue the Security and Prosperity Partnership.
That action, of blocking out our proudest history as we face the brave new world of “Fortress America” was more than merely ironic.
In many ways, it was a metaphor for the choice Canada must make.
The Green Party as government will tear down the photo op wall and restore pride of place to Canada’s role as peacemaker.
Canada’s foreign policy has been emblazoned with the label of 3-D approaches.
The D’s are Diplomacy, Development and Defense.
They are not pursued in that order.
In fact, there is an emerging diplomatic deficit as key core capacity of the Department of Foreign Affairs in its previously excellent role in diplomacy is increasingly eroded.
In 2006-07 Canada contributed $6.2 million to UN peacekeeping missions and $1.4 billion to the NATO mission in Afghanistan.
In 2006 there were approximately 2,500 members of Canadian Forces in the Kandahar Province of Afghanistan, but just 56 Canadian troops on UN peacekeeping missions worldwide.
Our Vision
The Green Party envisions Canada re-establishing itself as a global leader in peace-making.
We were proud of our previous government’s decision to say “no” to joining the US invasion of Iraq.
We believe our foreign policy objectives must include multilateral disarmament, particularly nuclear disarmament,
and support for United Nations peacekeeping operations.
The Green Party sees international law and its institutions as the roots of international justice and stability.
Detainment without access to a fair trial and the use of torture in questioning suspects held in military detention centers contravenes international human rights treaties and institutions.
Respect for international law and international conventions are not only the baseline for moral activity but is, in fact, the foundation of a just and sane world.
We would restore Canadian capacity in mediation and diplomacy.
We would increase our overseas development assistance and revamp Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) to focus more on developing green economies and on poverty alleviation.
We would expand our defense role in UN-led peacekeeping missions and in emergency and disaster relief and equip it accordingly.
The Green Party as government will restore the capacity for superb diplomacy, a traditional Canadian strength.
The Green Party Government will also restore and improve our development efforts within CIDA.
Lastly, the Green Party Government will confirm the core role of our military, clarify its purpose and equip it accordingly.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Re-align our defence spending to increase our capacity to deliver disaster assistance (e.g. through the DART—Disaster Assistance Rapid Response Team) and our contributions to UN peacekeeping forces and missions,
and decrease our contributions to NATO war efforts.
Play a lead role in establishing a standing UN Rapid Response Force with a mandate for peacekeeping and environmental restoration in both international crisis situations and domestic catastrophes like floods, earthquakes, storms and fires.
Advance the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and ensure its principles are at the core of Canadian foreign policy.
Shift from a Department of Defence to a Department of Peace.
Review Canada’s membership in military alliances including NATO and NORAD to ensure that they are meeting Canada’s priorities of diplomacy and development as well as defense.
Press urgently for global nuclear disarmament and the conversion of military industries in Canada and worldwide into peaceful and restorative industries.
Pursue international criminal investigations of existing military detention centers where human rights violations have been reported in Iraq, Cuba, Afghanistan and elsewhere.
Oppose the use of Canada’s public institutions being devoted to the development of military technology.
Oppose the development or use of space-based weapons on Canadian soil or in Canadian waters.
Oppose the militarization of space.
Insist on the adherence to the Geneva Convention by Canada and its allies.
We must no longer turn a blind eye to Guantanamo Bay or the fate of detainees in Afghanistan, practices that weaken international law and civil society and therefore represents a serious security threat and advocate for the closure of military detention centers that exist outside of international law.
Advocate that responses to terrorism must be carried out within a framework consistent with international law.
Terrorism must be fought with the traditional tools of criminal investigation and prosecution.
Promote the Earth Charter and approve it in the Canadian Parliament.
“We must base ourselves in international law. It is the rock you can stand on when things become confusing.” Paul Heinbecker, Former Ambassador for Canada to the United Nations, February 17, 2007 addressing the Green Party foreign policy forum
2. Making poverty history
The current state of planetary health and equity is not encouraging.
Despite years of rhetoric and broken promises, despite real progress in development, the number of people living in absolute poverty, defined as living on less than US$2 a day, is now nearly half of the world’s population.
Those living on half that now number 1.2 billion people.
Poverty is fatal.
50,000 people die from poverty-related causes every day.
The situation for children under five is worse.
Every three seconds a child dies from poverty related causes.
Canadians have rallied to the call to Make Poverty History.
In 1992 at the Rio Earth Summit, Canada re-committed to increasing Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) to 0.7% of our gross domestic product (GDP).
This commitment represented a target set by Lester B. Pearson when he chaired a World Bank Commission.
In 1992, Canadian ODA stood at 0.45% of GDP.
In the “programme review,” deficit cutting era of the Chrétien Liberals, ODA dropped to 0.25% of GDP in 2000/2001.
Subsequently, in 2002, Chrétien set a goal for 8% annual increases in ODA.
The 8%/year commitment doubles aid from 2001/02 to 2010/11, with a one-time $320 million increase for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2006.
This last amount implements the first tranche of the $500 million two-year budget deal between the NDP and Liberals (Bill C-48) in April 2005.
When the Harper government came to power, Canada was still below the 1992 levels.
The Harper government has been silent as to Canada’s obligations to alleviate poverty around the world and to increase aid to reach the target of 0.7% of GDP. Both Harper budgets did not commit to any new aid resources.
Both budgets did, however, continue with the implementation of Liberal aid policies and funding commitments.
For the first time since the late 1990s there are no new aid commitments and not even a mention of international cooperation.
Under the Harper government, the development priorities have shifted more than usual, and they were always influenced by non-poverty concerns, to strategic priorities.
The largest recipient of Canadians aid this year was Afghanistan.
Our Vision
The Green Party believes that Canada must meet its commitment to allocate 0.7% of GDP to ODA.
This level of funding is essential to meet the most basic of goals: to make poverty history, cure disease, foster democracy, and support ecologically sustainable economies.
This will make the world a better and safer place for everyone.
We will ensure our commitments for the provision of HIV/AIDS retroviral drugs for Africa is fulfilled, and that Africa will be a significant focus of our development priorities.
This will include support for African plans for adaptation to the increasingly devastating impacts of climate change in Africa.
“I said earlier this year that we are ‘sleepwalking towards disaster.’ In truth, it is worse than that -- we are asleep at the controls of a fast-moving aircraft. Unless we wake up and take control, the outcome is all too predictable.” Kofi Annan, former Secretary General to the United Nations, November 28, 2006
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Increase ODA by 0.05% of GDP ($650 million in 2007) to reach the target of 0.7% of GDP by 2016.
Revamp CIDA to focus more on developing community-based green economies, on poverty alleviation and programmes to combat and adapt to climate change, especially strengthening its Partnership Branch for the delivery of ODA.
3. Stabilizing global currencies: Tobin Tax
Fulfill our commitments for the provision of HIV/AIDS retroviral drugs to Africa.
Originally, the mandate of the International Monetary Fund was to set currency rates.
Ever since 1971, currencies have been allowed to “float.”
The system has been rife for speculation.
Global currency speculation disrupts economies and can destabilize nations, leading to increased suffering for those who can least withstand the shocks.
The 1994 peso crisis, the collapse of the so-called Asian Tigers in 1997-98, with currency devaluations of the Thai Bhatt and other currencies throughout Southeast Asia, the Russian currency crisis in 1999, among others, have been linked to the impacts of rampant currency speculation.
For those with enough money to gamble, the world currencies represent a giant casino.
Betting a few dollars on the difference between the peso in the morning and the yen at night won’t get you anywhere.
Betting a few billion can make the rich very much richer indeed.
In 2004, $1.9 trillion was traded every day in global currency markets.
Exchange rate speculation accounts for 80% of this astonishing movement of capital.
Only $9 trillion a year is due to currency exchanges necessary for the trade in goods and services.
Eighty per cent is non-productive economic activity.
Even major industrialized countries are not immune from the impacts.
The speculative activity of one billionaire, George Soros, is blamed with having once devalued the British pound.
In response to the threat posed by rampant currency speculation, Nobel Prize winning U.S. economist James Tobin proposed a very small tax on each transaction, between 0.1% - 0.25%.
It was designed to be sufficiently small that it would not deter legitimate currency transaction, but sufficiently large to take the profit margin out of gambling on very small margins.
In Tobin’s words, it would “cool down the hot money.”
The proceeds of such a tax would be approximately $300 billion a year.
This amount is more than the entire annual budget of the United Nations.
In fact, the UN budget is only $10 billion/year.
The Tobin Tax could provide the funds to meet the Millennium Development Goals and have funds left over.
Of course, just like the Green Tax Shift, as the tax reduced the unproductive activity it might not remain at such a high level.
The primary goal of the Tobin Tax is to make the domestic currency of countries around the world more stable.
Our Vision
The Green Party believes a Tobin Tax would contribute to enhanced global stability while providing much needed funds to end poverty globally.
The Canadian Parliament passed a non-binding, all party resolution favouring the Tobin Tax in 1999.
It is time to act on this declaration of support.
Green Solutions
The Green Party of Canada would make the Tobin Tax a priority in international relations.
We would negotiate to have acceptance of a Tobin Tax brought within the GATT as a prerequisite for admission to the World Trade Organization.
It will not be possible to implement the Tobin Tax effectively without every nation participating.
The focus on the Tobin Tax in multi-lateral negotiations is long over-due.
4. Press for the elimination of all nuclear weapons
According to the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, and leading Canadian experts like former Ambassador for Disarmament, the Hon. Douglas Roche, the world has quietly entered a second nuclear age.
On January 17, 2007, world scientists moved the hands on the “Doomsday Clock” two minutes closer to midnight in light of the dual threats of climate change and the increasing effort to build nuclear weapons, not in Korea or Iran, but by the United States.
This year, the Bush Administration dedicated $6 billion to rebuilding its nuclear arsenal.
Not since the bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki has the world been closer to the threat of nuclear war.
Canada has simply not been doing its part to stop the spread of nuclear weapons and to protest when allies violate the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Canada continues to press for sales of nuclear technology around the world, without adequate safeguards.
Canada has sold reactors to dictatorships, such as Argentina in the junta era.
The CANDU reactor waste in India allowed that nation to join the nuclear club.
Phasing out nuclear energy as an aspect of nuclear military disarmament is essential.
Our Vision
The Green Party of Canada is aiming towards global disarmament, and towards contributing to the conversion of all military industries in Canada and worldwide into peaceful industries.
We, at the Green Party, realize that it is difficult for a single country to disarm unilaterally under the threat of another arming state, and that disarmament can be best achieved multilaterally, in harmony and communion universally, and at a global level, notably through the UN.
The Green Party of Canada is proposing to convert the military-industrial complex and its destructive jobs into occupations that would serve people's well-being, welfare, and happiness, within a system of Peace and a sustainable economy.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Declare Canada a nuclear free zone.
End subsidies to AECL to promote over-seas reactor sales, refuse to finance such “sales” with tax dollars.
Strengthen the role of the International Atomic Energy Agency to ensure nuclear reactor fuels never find their way into nuclear weapons.
Press NATO allies to get out of the nuclear weapons business.
Move rapidly to multi-lateral negotiations to eliminate all nuclear stockpiles and prevent rebuilding of nuclear arsenals using such UN processes as the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty (CNTBT), a Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty, taking US and Russian nuclear weapons off alert status, legally binding guarantees by nuclear weapons states not to attack non-nuclear states and enhanced verification techniques.
“In protecting the environment and promoting sustainable development, the Green Party should also highlight the imperative of the total elimination of nuclear weapons.” The Hon. Douglas Roche, O.C., February 17, 2007 addressing the Green Party foreign policy forum
5. Reform the United Nations
The United Nations (UN) has grown since its foundation by 50 countries in 1945 to 191 members today: the only international organization to which virtually every country belongs.
The UN has sent 59 peacekeeping missions into areas of conflict and peacefully resolved 175 international disputes.
Unfortunately, the UN suffered a “crisis of credibility” in 2003 when the UN Security Council split over the use of force in Iraq to oust Saddam Hussein.
The US led war in Iraq was clearly illegal.
At the same time, the UN has proved ineffective in preventing genocide, as in Rwanda.
Some countries now doubt the UN’s ability to prevent war.
Canada’s role in UN peacekeeping efforts has diminished over time.
In August of 1991 Canada had 1,149 military personnel on UN peacekeeping missions worldwide.
In August of 2006 we had 56.
While there are more than 70,000 peacekeeping blue berets deployed worldwide today, Canada’s contribution numbers only 327; ranking 32nd amongst the UN’s member states.
Our Vision
The Green Party supports the role of the UN in diplomatic intervention and international peacekeeping, including acting with a “responsibility to protect” people in situations where a state is not protecting its own citizens, such as in Darfur.
We believe Canada can and must increase its commitment to the UN
and that there must be significant UN reform to make the organization more effective, especially within the UN Security Council.
The Security Council vetoes must be re-examined in a post-Coldmust be achieved within the Security Council.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Increase our commitment of resources, especially funds for peacekeeping and adequate training and provisioning of troops, to the United Nations.
Promote the democratic reform of the UN Security Council to include more balance in north-south representation, less bias in the treatment of Israel by the General Assembly, and remove the use of vetoes.
Re-organize other powerful multilateral institutions, the World Trade Organization (WTO), the IMF and the World Bank, placing these institutions under the authority of the UN General Assembly,
and shift the direction of international trade away from free trade to fair trade focusing on the global protection of human rights, labour standards, cultural diversity, and ecosystems.
Move to make the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) a funded organization of the UN system from its current status where donations from member nations are voluntary.
Expand the UNEP mandate to a supervisory one over all multilateral environmental treaties, much as the WTO supervises all trade agreements within the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).
Launch a global dialogue on the notion of a bi-cameral UN, with one house being the general Assembly of nation state representatives, and another Peoples’ Assembly,
as in the European Parliament, with direct election on behalf of the worlds’ peoples.
6. Redesign Canada's role in Afghanistan
Canada’s 3D (Diplomacy, Defence, Development) mission to Afghanistan needs significant change.
Despite some recent adjustments, it still continues to be heavily weighted to combat and combat-training operations in Kandahar Province and seriously under-weighted in appropriate development assistance and creative regional diplomacy.
Canada has committed $1 billion in development assistance for the period 2001 to 2011, but this pales in comparison with the projected $6 billion plus military investment over the next four years.
The overall political and security situation in Afghanistan continues to worsen despite increased International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) strength.
Notwithstanding statements to the contrary and attempts to win hearts and minds, the heavy emphasis by the NATO/U.S command to military tactics and operations stimulates rather than dampens the insurgency.
In response, greater insurgent recruitment and activity further unbalances the 3D mission.
The Taliban benefits from and intends this self-perpetuating cycle of violence because their strategic time frame is much longer and their month-to-month operational costs substantially lower.
Domestically, the Karzai government is increasingly viewed, even by former members of President Karzai's cabinet, as a failed administration.
Extensive bureaucratic corruption undermines public confidence and support, and,
illegal poppy production expands yearly providing a valuable source of funding for the Taliban and corrupt elements within the government.
Most disturbing, there is less and less real difference between the oppression of women and abuse of power by some powerful factions within the Afghan government and the Taliban they replaced.
Despite this disheartening situation, there is also a very high risk that the immediate removal of all foreign troops would lead to the outbreak of a full-scale civil war and a humanitarian catastrophe.
Accordingly, the Green Party believes we need to shift as rapidly as possible away from the current US-led NATO command mission, to a more ethnically balanced and regionally represented United Nations command effort and a greater security role for the Afghan National Army.
This mission redesign improves the probability that over time the conditions will emerge for a viable political solution to the conflict.
And we need to be much more innovative in embracing essential anti-poverty and employment programs like Poppies For Medicine (P4M) and shrewd in creating the conditions for the development of better governance models.
The flow of insurgents across the border with Pakistan together with the threat of Afghan/NATO/ISAF intrusion into northern Pakistan creates a dangerous risk of a larger regional war.
Suspected support by Pakistan military intelligence and other outside players of Taliban and other destabilizing forces casts doubt on the ability to determine ‘legitimate targets’.
It must be remembered and understood that it was these outside influences that gave rise to the Taliban and their eventual triumph in Afghanistan.
We cannot trust that history is not again repeating itself.
There must be a significant re-design of the international mission to Afghanistan before it is too late.
Our Vision
Canada’s role in Afghanistan must shift to the provision of significantly more strategic development and creative peace-building diplomacy.
The Green Party does not support further Canadian participation in the NATO-led combat mission to Afghanistan beyond February 2009.
We do not consider NATO to be the appropriate command structure for security operations against an insurgency.
We will support, as part of this withdrawal from the NATO mission, a continued small Canadian military presence in Kabul beyond February 2009 to further the development of the logistics support functions of Afghan National Army in order to accelerate their independent operational capacity.
Crucial to success will be innovative and appropriate development and diplomatic strategies that targets deep structural poverty and gains the goodwill and support of the Afghan people.
That is why we fully support the recommendations put forward by the international Senlis Council to create a legal poppy-growing economy in Southern Afghanistan that would supply low-cost narcotic medicines to developing countries as part of a renewed International Aid effort.
Together with this support of the Senlis Council recommendations, is also the need for increased support of other traditional agricultural products and harvests.
Although it is a slow and long-term process, diplomatic efforts must be increased to improve domestic governance mechanisms and democratic institutions.
The Afghan government also needs to be strengthened institutionally and practically so that it so that it no longer succumbs to the corruption of drug lords.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Begin the process of withdrawing Canadian NATO Forces from Afghanistan as soon as reasonably possible and not later than February 2009.
Extend a time-limited offer to the Afghan government to provide Canadian military logistics support and legal experts to assist in accelerating the development of the logistics support capacity of the Afghan National Army.
This would be outside of NATO command, limited to two years and subject to a bilateral agreement between Canada and Afghanistan.
It would be understood that this contingent would also provide training in international human rights law and the Geneva Convention.
We will be mandated to document human rights violations with a commitment to bring any breaches or war crimes, including rape, to the appropriate military and/or war crimes tribunal.
Provide police training through the RCMP for the Afghan police force focusing on human rights, treatment of prisoners adhering to U.N. conventions, civil rights in accordance with Afghan law with the further encouragement to adopt civil rights laws that adhere to U.N. conventions.
Push for a U.N brokered regional peace conference to help bringing stability to the region through respectful co-existence, non-aggression, and respecting the semi- autonomous history of the region.
Such a larger regional peace conference should include Pakistan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, representatives of various tribal leaders in the autonomous regions of northern Pakistan and China with the further participation of Russia and India.
Advance the Senlis Council recommendations to implement a comprehensive strategy to break the cycle of illicit poppy growing and violence that has kept Afghanistan in turmoil for decades with a licensing and quota system for growing poppies and selling the products to legal drug firms that produce morphine and codeine for legitimate legal painkilling use.
This legal opium market would produce essential medicines to help the millions of people in developing countries (including Afghanistan itself) who are unnecessarily dying in pain because they don’t have access to these medicines.
Green MPs would also urge Canada to purchase such opiate drugs and distribute them as part of our health and poverty related ODA programs.
Focus and strengthen CIDA efforts on poverty alleviation, reconstruction and development programs to supplement opium cultivation in Afghanistan.
Significantly expand economic assistance and development for agriculture in the south and east of Afghanistan through access to credit, loans, grants, for the purpose of developing multi-use farms with the further development of water infrastructure for irrigation and potable water supply.
Invest in more robust diplomatic efforts focusing on improving domestic governance mechanisms and democratic institutions and protecting the slowly emerging democracy and civil society in Afghanistan.
Protect the right of Afghanis to maintain the control over and the right to ownership of their resources and infrastructure and oppose privatization of natural resources in Afghanistan as part of reconstruction programs.
7. Stopping the genocide in Darfur
The Darfur crisis in western Sudan has claimed more than 200,000 lives since it began in 2003.
As many as 2.5 million people have fled the area and are now refugees in nearby countries such as Chad.
The ethnic groups that are the subject of targeted joint attacks by the Sudanese government and Janjaweed, a rebel militia force, face genocide.
The United Nations calls the conflict in Darfur, Sudan the world’s “worst humanitarian crisis.”
In August of 2006 the United Nations Security Council approved a 1,300-troop UN peacekeeping force to supplement the 7,000 troop African Union (AU) Stabilization Force.
The AU force has been plagued by a serious lack of financial and logistical resources to carry out its mission, including fuel to power its older-model armoured personnel carriers on loan from Canada.
Sudan strongly objected to the UN resolution and said it would consider the UN force as “foreign invaders”.
We must avert a catastrophe in Darfur.
Our Vision
The crisis in Darfur is crying out for global intervention and Canadian statesmanship.
The Rwandan genocide must not be repeated through a failure of political will and heart.
Canada must assume leadership in rapidly organizing an international emergency initiative to deal decisively and effectively with the situation
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Based on the Green Party’s holistic approach to international affairs, using a combination of diplomacy, defense and development, we not only reiterate our consistent pleas for action of past years but now urgently call on the government of Canada to take an immediate ‘whole of government’ approach to the region and related conflicts in order to force a stop to the fighting
and force humanitarian assistance to be provided on an urgent basis.
We call on Canada to move boldly on multiple fronts to:
Provide new, increased financial, political and logistical support to the UN/AU mission in Darfur
and encourage it to accelerate its deployment and strengthen its capacity to protect civilians at risk.
Provide Canadian diplomatic assistance as needed and determined by the African Union to keep all parties negotiating towards a new comprehensive peace agreement that delivers democracy, shared power, shared wealth and stability;
and ensure the collective adherence to existing agreements.
Demand the Sudanese government end its blocking of the deployment and acceptance of the UN force and recognize its authority to intervene when necessary under a legitimate responsibility-to-protect UN-sanctioned process and mandate.
Demand the government of Sudan comply with UN Security Council resolutions and fulfill its legal obligation to arrest and surrender Ahmad Harun to face charges of war crimes and human rights abuses in Darfur.
Sudan has the ability to do so and as a member state of the U.N. Sudan cannot ignore the law.
Insist the UN Security Council apply sanctions against any party that violates negotiated ceasefires or attacks civilians, humanitarian workers or peacekeepers and to interpret and enforce its mandate to the fullest extent possible.
Mobilize additional emergency humanitarian aid and support aid organizations struggling to deliver essentials to those in desperate need both in Darfur and in nearby regions such as Chad where over 2 million refugees have fled.
Encourage the UN/AU Mission to coordinate efforts with the French led EU mission in Chad and Central African Republic to provide safe ‘corridors’ between refugee camps to facilitate increased protection of, and delivery of, international aid
and encourage the governments of Chad and the CAR to permit this.
Increase pressure on the Sudanese government to achieve a ceasefire and no-fly zone over Darfur to stop the bombing and killing and enable safe delivery of aid.
Pressure China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to use their political influence to further push Sudan into accepting the UN/AU mission and adhere to all negotiated peace agreements to which it is a signatory, both within Sudan and neighbouring countries.
Recognize the larger regional factors of the conflict, offer diplomatic and development assistance to accelerate further cooperation between Chad, the Central African Republic and the negotiated peace settlements between them and rebel factions within their two countries and increase our role in supporting the Great Lakes Region Security and Development Pact to which the CAR and Sudan are signatories.
Recognize that climate change and environmental degradation is at the origins of the regional conflict
and in light of the recent rejection by the UN to declare access to water a basic human right, the Canadian government should actively engage and encourage the African states comprising the AU and the signatories of the Great Lakes Region Security and Development Pact to declare and enshrine access to water as a basic human right within their respective agreements and constitutions
and further act in solidarity by declaring it a basic human right within Canada.
Refocus long-term aid on efforts to cope with desertification, drought and climate change.
Finally recognize the larger collective need for development throughout the region,
the futility of and excessive financial burden of military solutions,
and immediately move to meet our Millennium Goals obligation of 0.7% of GDP and accelerate poverty alleviation and development of sustainable communities
and strong, sovereign governments on the African continent.
8. Address the crisis of global population growth
The world’s population has been growing at an exponential rate.
Two thousand years ago, when the historical Jesus of Nazereth was born, he was one of 200 million people on the planet.
It took 1,500 years for human numbers on the planet to double to 400 million.
In the last fifty years alone, human numbers doubled from 3 billion to 6 billion.
The United Nations estimates that, thanks in part to reduced fertility levels, the population will not double again, but should stabilize at 9 billion people by 2050.
The Worldwatch Institute warned us in 1999 as we reached the 6 billion mark, that we were outrunning our water supply.
Water tables were already falling on every continent, rivers were being drained dry before reaching the sea, and millions of people are lacking enough to satisfy basic needs.
The question of the Earth’s carrying capacity is a critical one.
How many of us can live on this planet.
Are we like the Easter Islanders, about to cut down all our resources?
Are there too many of us on this Island?
That is not a simple question.
The answer depends largely on whether human beings live at the levels of consumption of the average Canadian or, instead, at the levels of the average person in sub-Saharan Africa.
If the former, there are simply not enough resources, at least five more planets with the attributes and resources of Planet Earth would be needed to meet our needs.
We only have one Earth.
If we don't voluntarily and rapidly develop a way to reverse the dangerous trend of increasing human numbers, nature will do it for us, but in a way that is very painful and perhaps too late, at a time when it will no longer be possible for human life to continue on this planet.
The problem is compounded by over consumption and a global economy that encourages people to live beyond the means afforded by their natural habitat.
While consumption is a key issue, so is technology.
Our ability to split the atom, or exhume the fossil fuels from their burial places to burn them at profligate rates, threatens to tip the planet from its life sustaining cycles into catastrophic die-offs of human and non-human life forms.
Issues of migration, trade, equity, militarism and environmental degradation are all important factors in the question of whether there are too many humans.
Yet, ideas for curbing population growth have, in the past, been ineffective and unacceptable.
Some have violated basic human rights.
Forced sterilizations of women are but one example of the worst aspects of misguided population policies.
Our Vision
Fortunately, the solution to population growth is within our grasp.
It is well established that when poverty is alleviated and particularly when women and girls are educated, access to primary health care, political autonomy and economic power, fertility rates drop.
This has been demonstrated time and time again, in nations around the Earth.
One particularly instructive example is Saudi Arabia.
It is the only nation where literacy and health care and economic well-being have not led to declining fertility.
Women there lack economic rights and political autonomy.
All elements are essential to respect women’s human rights and to reduce the dangerous spiral in population numbers as much as possible.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Ensure that Canadian Overseas development assistance is focused on meeting the needs of women and girls.
Integrate goals for reduced fertility into the overall efforts to eliminate poverty.
9. The Israel – Palestine Conflict
The conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians is often viewed as intractable and irresolvable.
More than three regional wars and two Intifadas have left deep scars on the bodies and in the minds of the people of this troubled region.
Strongly held views and historical claims are well entrenched on both sides, making this a complex and crucial conflict to understand.
It is an unfortunate and continued source of tension for many in the Middle East and around the world.
It should be clear that continued support and use of military or insurgency strategies will not bring about an end to the conflict.
The cycle of violence, loss of life and desecration of human rights must no longer be allowed to continue.
Our Vision
The Green Party of Canada believes that any effort aimed only at one side in this conflict will not end the violent responses that exacerbate human suffering.
Canada's role in the Middle East should be to reduce tensions, find working solutions and uphold international humanitarian law, not to take sides in this chronic conflict.
We must work towards a mutually acceptable compromise that will achieve a lasting peace between, and among, the Israelis and Palestinians.
The Green Party supports a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict that addresses the security, economic, and religious concerns of the both sides.
Second-track diplomatic efforts to build constructive relationships between the two communities are required.
Continued dialogue will build community support for the negotiated peace agreement, and will ease implementation and ensure that it does not break down from pressures within the Palestinian and Israeli communities.
Green Party MPs will: Support a two-state solution to the Israel- Palestine conflict that adheres to pre-1967 borders
and also seeks to incorporate an international plan for stimulating economic prosperity in both nations.
Call on both sides to immediately stop the killing of civilians and adhere to international law.
Encourage the Canadian government to press for a mutually agreed upon honest broker to engage in bi-literal and multi-lateral peace talks involving Palestinians and Israelis.
Call on Arab countries to use their influence to broker an agreement between Hamas and the Palestinian National Authority to facilitate the promotion of peace amongst the competing Palestinian interests.
Call for an end to the collective siege of Gaza so that medical and humanitarian aid can be provided.
Actively support the efforts of civil society groups working for peace, human rights, and justice in the region.
10. Rebuild Canada’s traditional diplomatic muscle
Canada has traditionally had a fine foreign service.
Its officers represent a standard of excellence envied by the world.
Fallen heroes, like Gwynn Berry, who was killed in the line of diplomatic duty in Afghanistan, must not be forgotten.
The Canadian Foreign Service is suffering from the neglect of successive governments.
The Harper government, in particular, has under-estimated the importance of a robust diplomatic core with highly trained officers.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Restore adequate financial support to the hiring and training of a continuing foreign service and embassies, consular services and High Commissions around the world.
11. Maintaining a healthy relationship with our closest neighbour
Canada must never ignore the importance of a healthy relationship with the United States.
No matter who is in the White House and no matter how different our national perspectives may be, a close relationship is dictated through trade and history and geography.
Canada’s level of respect and influence in the world is strangely measured both by how well we work with the United States, as well as by, simultaneously, how well we hold our course if different from that of the White House.
That relationship must be built at many levels: federal government to federal government, as well as federal government to civil society, and other levels of government.
Our Vision
Canada and the United States share much.
Together we should be capable of developing continental strategies for greater peace and security.
We should be able to advance shared democratic ideals.
At the core of our relationship, must be a respectful tone, even when we disagree.
Core trading relationships are fundamental to both economies.
Nevertheless, protecting those trade relationships depends agreement.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Build and strengthen relations with all levels of US government -- municipal, state and federal -- and with US civil society.
Expand networking opportunities for corporate Canada with an emphasis on small business to promote Canadian exports.
Expand partnerships between cultural institutions, scientific research, universities, and municipalities.
Expand and promote mutual tourism opportunities, especially for young people, through low-carbon VIA-Amtrak partnerships.
Promote Canada to US visitors as a “Safe and Friendly Neighbour” to help break down the fear-factor that increasingly isolates our US neighbours from the world.
Develop shared missions to alleviate global poverty and show leadership on environmental goals.
Launch an adept rapid-response to US media myths about Canada.
Act within minutes to correct false statements about lax Canadian security, urban myths about any link to 9/11 terrorists and Canadian immigration laws.
Stay positive, friendly, but firm.
Expand public awareness in both nations of our extraordinary good fortune and our ability and moral obligation to help less fortunate globally.
12. Trade and sovereignty
Robert Frost wrote that good fences make good neighbours.
The Green Party supports fair, global trade.
We support trade that puts global equity, Canadian sovereignty, human rights, and the environment first.
Over the last fifteen years, international free trade agreements have become an important part of Canada's economy.
Despite acknowledged benefits, there are some clauses and sections in these agreements that are not balanced.
They put foreign and corporate business interests first.
Trade isn't just about the export and import of goods and services.
Trade agreements also impact on human rights, labour standards, cultural diversity, environmental laws and even constitutional rights.
The North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), for example, limits our government's will to enact new environmental legislation, labour standards and human rights laws because they might be challengeable under NAFTA.
Many Canadians and public policy think tanks now admit that NAFTA has not lived up to its promises.
Some of these failed promises include: promises that the income benefits of NAFTA would be widely shared;
promises that NAFTA-led integration would increase productivity;
promises that NAFTA would help us escape the resource export trap as hewers of wood and drawers of water among others.
Our Vision
The Green Party supports fair trade that puts sovereignty, human rights, and the environment first and not trade agreements that put the rights of multi-national corporations first.
We recognize that trade is an important component of a sustainable economy
but that it cannot hamper or undermine sovereign efforts to protect and enhance local quality of life and build local economies.
The Green Party is about shifting - shifting mind sets, shifting taxes, shifting emphasis in trade from a failed free trade model to a proven fair trade model and it is about shifting emphasis from global to local development because we recognize the limitations of fossil fuel for global trade and transportation and the need for local and community participation to achieve sustainable communities.
Green Solutions
In each of the following areas related to trade agreements, Green Party MPs will: NAFTA: Immediately provide the required six months' notice of withdrawal from NAFTA.
Re-negotiate deals with the US and Mexico whose principles are centred on fair trade and which remove offensive disciplines like national treatment, and undemocratic decision-making tribunals.
In particular the GPC would remove Chapter 11, take water out of any new agreement, remove and re-negotiate the energy provision of NAFTA, recognizing Canada’s need for an energy reserve, control over exports to be governed by environmental frameworks and an emphasis on inter provincial provision first.
Rewrite a fair trade agreement based on principles that protect human rights, workers rights, jobs, and that recognize limits to growth and resources,
and ensure that Canada retains its Charter position on limiting property rights.
BI-LATERAL TRADE AGREEMENTS: Renegotiate bi-lateral trade agreements to follow the format set for NAFTA as noted above.
FTAA: Whereas the last meeting of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) in Miami failed, where as many of the key South American countries have stated they do not want to be part of FTAA and whereas these countries already have emerged a valuable trading block, the Green Party would respect that wish and attempt to negotiate fair trade agreements in the region where appropriate.
WTO: Propose reform of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, placing these institutions under the authority of the UN General Assembly,
and shift the direction of international trade away from free trade to fair trade focusing on the global protection of human rights, labour standards, cultural diversity, and ecosystems.
TILMA: Urge British Columbia and Alberta to pull out of the Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement (TILMA)
and devise agreements to ensure the sovereignty of sub-national governments, energy security, food security for all Canadians
while ensuring Charter rights and refraining from embedding the supremacy of property rights into trade agreements.
Negotiate a new multilateral Agreement on Corporate Rights and Responsibilities:
The effort to negotiate a Multilateral Agreement on Investment in the OECD was a failure.
This was largely because the proposed text created new rights for corporations and new obligations for governments.
It was lopsided, failing to create any balanced corporate responsibilities.
The Green Party Government will press for new global negotiations to create a level playing field for multinational corporations.
The template would be that found in the European Union (EU) in which no country’s environmental and labour laws can fall below the very most rigourous of any EU state.
By ensuring that all corporations in the world must adhere to minimum standards to protect children, the environment and labour rights, no company could gain competitive advantage by trampling on these fundamental elements of responsible corporate citizenship.
13. Security and Prosperity Partnership for North America
The Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) encapsulates US post - 9-11 concerns about security, addresses US energy needs with Canada portrayed as “domestic supply” for the US energy appetite,
and addresses Canadian concerns to ensure that the border remains open to trade in any eventuality.
It builds on NAFTA, but is different from NAFTA by moving Canada and the US much closer to a common market and customs union.
Some have described it as a North American Union (NAU) similar to the European Union.
The SPP has many profound differences from the EU model.
The EU requires that the toughest environmental and labour standards of any one nation be the minimum standards for all.
The EU model includes the direct election to a supra-national Parliament.
The citizens within the EU move more easily between borders.
The SPP model operates from a hyper-security mentality that involves anti-terrorism legislation, Smart Border Accord, security certificates, harmonizing immigration polices and military integration for homeland security.
The work to realize the objectives of this partnership is going on largely without public scrutiny.
Nevertheless, it appears to be moving very rapidly towards military, energy, natural resource, security, social and environmental policy integration en route to NAU.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Scrap the Security and Prosperity Partnership.
Part 6: GOOD GOVERNMENT
Canadians have become cynical about politicians and government.
The Quebec sponsorship scandal is one of many scandals and broken promises causing Canadians to lose trust.
People are also disillusioned with MPs’ allegiance to parties instead of constituents, government inefficiency and wasteful spending,
and the failure of government to address critical issues like the climate crisis.
On top of this, we have an outdated voting system where the popular vote is not translated into seats, leaving many voters unrepresented.
Many citizens, especially youth, are frustrated that their vote “doesn’t count” and so don’t even bother to vote.
Our Vision
When our government is at its best, it represents all of us and brings us together to accomplish things we cannot accomplish alone.
Our parliament should be a model of statesmanship and cooperation, working for the good of all Canadians.
It should deal creatively and constructively with issues and spend taxpayers’ money prudently.
MPs should be elected through a fair voting system that ensures parties get a share of seats in Parliament that is equal to their share of popular vote.
Canadians should be proud of their government and trust that it is acting in their best interests.
1. Democratic renewal and proportional representation
Over 660,000 Canadians voted for the Green Party in the last federal election without electing a single Green MP.
Yet it took an average of 37,000 voters to elect one Liberal MP, and only 31,000 votes to elect one Bloc MP.
Our electoral system unfairly punishes Conservative voters in cities, Liberal and NDP voters in the west, and Green voters throughout Canada.
Our electoral system also elects far more men then women and gives some provinces an unfair share of power, based on their population, than others.
Ultimately, it does not produce governments that reflect the diversity of people in Canada,
nor do a good job of accurately reflecting voters’ wishes.
Canada is one of the last few parliamentary democracies in the world to still use the antiquated first-past-the-post voting system, and Canadians are ready for positive change.
Our Vision
The Green Party of Canada believes that Canadian democracy would benefit by reducing the financial barriers to running for political office,
lowering the voter age to encourage more youth participation,
and changing to a voting system that more fairly translates peoples’ votes into representation in parliament.
We also believe that democracy, by definition, must be decided by citizens, not politicians.
We have ideas to improve the system, but we’d rather hear yours.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Create a Citizens’ Assembly, like the one struck provincially in Ontario, to study electoral systems used around the world, with a view to designing several models that are proportional and fairer than our current system.
The recommendations of the Citizens Assembly will be presented as options to Canadian voters.
Present a ballot question to voters at the next federal election on whether they want to change our voting system and which one of the options prepared by the Citizens’ Assembly they prefer.
The threshold for the ballot question to change our voting system should be fifty percent plus one.
Introduce fixed election dates permitting political stability and fair elections.
Reduce the mandatory $1,000 candidate deposit to encourage more Canadians to participate in the democratic system.
2. Increasing government accountability and ethical conduct
The Conservative government has been the most centralized and secretive government in recent history.
It brought in legislation to ostensibly clean up “Liberal corruption.”
Remarkably, it has actually made things worse, as it abandoned numerous promises it made while in opposition regarding transparency and accountability.
Its ironically named Accountability Act has twelve new blanket exemptions and exclusions preventing certain kinds of government documents from being released,
and provides for the possibility that wrongdoing exposed by whistle-blowers could be sealed for up to fifteen years.
The Conservative government “reform” has removed the “duty to act honestly” from the code of ethics governing the Cabinet and senior civil service.
Our Vision
The Green Party believes in the de-centralization of decision-making powers and in open, honest government.
Green Solutions
Green MPs will work to: Amend the Accountability Act to ensure that all those who monitor government are selected at arms length from those they monitor,
to eliminate the blanket exemptions on public release of government documents
and to guarantee transparency and openness for all government activities.
Restore Parliamentary Committees as a vehicle for non-partisan, constructive improvement of legislation
and require that the improved version of such legislation be the version put to Parliament for vote.
Enact effective whistle-blower protection for public and private sector employees.
Institute a code of conduct and an independent complaints process to ensure that tax dollars are not used for pre-election partisan purposes.
Institute mandatory training in ethics for MPs and their staffs, requiring all MPs and staff to take in-house training on the basics of good management and ethics in Parliament.
Reform the appointments system to discourage patronage by establishing an independent agency for ensuring that appointments to government tribunals, boards and senior positions are done through a qualification-based process and are not politically motivated patronage appointments
Strengthen the mandates of Independent Officers of Parliament, including the Auditor General and the Information Commissioner.
Implement stand-alone legislation to create an independent Commissioner on the Environment and Sustainable Development, removing the office from that of subservience to the Auditor General.
Replace the current Ethics Commissioner, who reports privately to the Prime Minister, with an independent Ethics Commission reporting to Parliament and appointed through a merit-based process with strong powers to investigate government officials and lobbyists.
Provide parliamentarians with independent regulatory audits through the Auditor General’s office on the effectiveness of government regulations in meeting their stated public purposes.
Make service improvements a higher priority for all agencies and departments, with systematic citizen feedback and a schedule for periodic program review.
Require the independence of public sector employees who oversee industry, such as those responsible for such areas as fisheries, science and drug licensing, from those industries.
Require long-term public departmental service plans to report on government program purposes, costs, reforms and performance.
Strengthen the rules of conduct for lobbying.
All lobbyists’ contacts with politicians and government bureaucrats both formal and informal must be reported and made public.
3. Making government a leader in ethical purchasing
The federal government buys goods and services based primarily on the lowest price or bid.
It does not consider other criteria that are essential to developing a just and sustainable society.
Our Vision
The Green Party believes that the federal government should set an example in its purchasing policies, ensuring that its expenditures support a strong Canadian economy,
good labour practices and environmental protection.
Green Solutions
Green MPs will work to: Require that government purchase Canadian-made products and services wherever possible and,
if imports are necessary, procure certified fair-trade goods (produced with good labour and environmental practices) wherever possible.
Require that all government departments and agencies incorporate a “triple bottom line” (social, economic and environmental cost/benefit) analysis in purchasing goods and services and assessing their operations and programs.
Require that all government departments and agencies meet the highest environmental standards including full recycling, purchase and use of small energy efficient vehicles, energy efficient and toxic-free buildings with toxic free ground maintenance.
4. Supporting the free flow of information
The Internet has become an essential tool in knowledge storage and the free flow of information between citizens.
It is playing a critical role in democratizing communications and society as a whole.
There are corporations that want to control the content of information on the internet and alter the free flow of information by giving preferential treatment to those who pay extra for faster service.
Our Vision
The Green Party of Canada is committed to the original design principle of the internet - network neutrality: the idea that a maximally useful public information network treats all content, sites, and platforms equally, thus allowing the network to carry every form of information and support every kind of application.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Pass legislation granting the Internet in Canada the status of Common Carrier – prohibiting Internet Service Providers from discriminating due to content while freeing them from liability for content transmitted through their systems.
5. The RCMP
The RCMP truly is a national symbol.
It has long been one of the most respected police forces in the world.
It has a proud tradition of even-handed law enforcement,
but it appears at every level that something is wrong within the RCMP’s governance and over-sight.
It is a fundamental principle of a free and democratic state that its police must be exemplary and above reproach.
They must be independent of the political powers and entirely committed to enforcing the law in an impartial and professional manner.
The Green Party supports a professional RCMP force that has the highest conduct standards and commands the respect of all Canadians.
We believe that responsible leadership from the federal government will ensure that the RCMP is not run like a business, but as a national institution in service of the public good.
If our families, communities, and businesses are to be safe and secure, those who commit crimes must be brought to justice.
Our Vision
In the past twenty years the RCMP has become too politicized.
The police need to be independent from the government and free to investigate corruption wherever it may be found.
The government should have a very limited role in criminal investigations.
At the same time, the federal government needs to be accountable to Parliament and the Canadian public for the actions of the RCMP.
A commitment to accountability and transparency is essential in building greater trust in the RCMP among its members and the public.
Over the years, the RCMP has been taking on too many roles—from enforcing federal laws, to policing in our cities under contract, to serving as security officers—and lacks clear direction.
The Green Party will work in cooperation with the provinces and territories to establish the RCMP as a truly national police force dedicated to the enforcement of federal laws.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Provide guidance to the RCMP in cultivating a promotion system that is based upon performance, skill, and ability.
The morale and discipline of the force depends upon clear and transparent guidelines for the personal advancement of officers.
Direct the RCMP to develop areas of specialist expertise that will allow for a more professional and effective enforcement of the law.
Refocus the RCMP upon the enforcement of federal laws as a truly national body.
Ensure the RCMP has the freedom and independence to conduct investigations into government officials, bureaucrats, and corporate executives without interference from politicians.
Pass legislation that establishes an independent body to investigate complaints regarding the conduct of RCMP officers with full judicial inquiry powers and the requirement that it make public reports.
An independent complaints and oversight commission would serve as the central body receiving all complaints against the RCMP, regardless of the source.
Provide more funding for the RCMP, specifically to give greater training to new recruits and specialists.
6. Rebuilding federal/provincial/territorial relations
After the 1982 repatriation of the Constitution and the refusal of Québec to sign the Constitution, after two failed federal accords, two referendums, asymmetrical federalism, a sponsorship scandal, and “nation within a nation” legislation, many Quebecers and Canadians ask the obvious question: “Where do we go from here?”
Our Vision
The Green Party proposes to make Canada a true functioning Confederation in which the provinces and territories are more empowered and financed to meet the needs of their communities.
Québec and the rest of Canada must work together as partners, in the true spirit of confederation,
and work to solve their fiscal and cultural imbalances.
Federal powers to regulate the highest standards of environment, health and labour standards must be strengthened as funding and implementation moves to more local implementation.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will: Rebalance the funding formula to ensure fairness across regions and provinces.
Remove the false choice for Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador to allow access to funds for health, education and other services provided through equalization,
and remove any requirement to abandon rights under the Atlantic Accord.
Recognize a clear result to a clear question in the event of a future referendum in Québec regarding Québec separating from Canada and forming an independent country.
The Green Party is committed to a strong and united Canada, respecting each region for its unique contribution to the beauty and strength of the whole.
Quebec is too important to all of Canada to surrender.
MAKING LIFE MORE AFFORDABLE FOR FAMILIES  -CREATING JOBS
The people who have been running Canada promised to put jobs first.
They didn’t.
While they stand by, good jobs are disappearing,
and many of our jobs are being shipped overseas.
Thousands of hard-working Canadians are struggling to pay the bills and support their families because they are forced to rely on a succession of insecure, low-wage jobs.
We can do better.
Every worker deserves a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work,
respect in the workplace,
and a secure pension.
Jack Layton and the New Democrats will act on your priorities at the kitchen table, not just the boardroom table:
We will provide leadership to keep jobs in Canada,
encourage innovation,
and help you balance your budget by putting a stop to consumer gouging.
We will invest in new energy solutions,
affordable housing,
and education and training for workers and young people.
We will ensure that opportunities are shared with working families and individuals, not taken away through tax giveaways to those who need them least.
Canadian workers have the ingenuity, work ethic and desire to be successful.
Jack Layton and the New Democrats will ensure that every Canadian can share in our country’s opportunities and potential.
We will put you and your family first.
CREATING JOBS AND INNOVATION IN A NEW ENERGY ECONOMY
Jack Layton and the New Democrats will implement a prudent and sensible plan to keep good jobs in Canada,
encourage innovation,
and get the Canadian government engaged in creating good jobs in the new energy economy.
1.  Create a Green-Collar Jobs Fund of $750 million a year to train new workers and re-train displaced workers.
This will provide the skills to install and maintain energy efficient and renewable energy technology.
It will support the transition from jobs in older, higher-pollution energy systems.
2.  Appoint a Job Protection Commissioner to investigate major layoffs and shutdowns.
The Commissioner will work with workers, the affected businesses, stakeholders (such as banks) and communities to maintain and develop good employment for Canadians.
3.  Introduce an environmental automobile strategy:
Invest in Canadian production of low-emission cars to ensure our auto industry remains viable.
This will include aggressive incentives for manufacturers who develop and manufacture in Canada cars with low or zero greenhouse gas emissions.
Provide federal government support for pedestrian walkways and bicycle paths in communities as part of our commitment to sustainable transport.
In addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions,
improved pedestrian and cycling infrastructure will have health benefits for Canadians who choose to walk or cycle.
Bring in mandatory vehicle emission standards for all vehicles sold in Canada based on leading  North American standards.
Require vehicle fuel consumption labelling so consumers have better information about every vehicle’s environmental performance and efficiency savings.
Reduce pollution through an Early Adopters Program that encourages the purchase of commercial electric hybrid vehicles.
4.  Create and support pan-Canadian sector-based strategies.
Experts agree we need a pro-active plan to keep our country, our industries, and our workforce in a leading global position.
All over the world, industries, government and workers are collaborating to build new opportunities for jobs and innovation.
Canada has taken the opposite approach of picking winners, like the banks and oil companies, and losers, like manufacturers and the forest industry.
Sector-based strategies will include: lumber; pulp and paper; energy and petrochemicals; tool and die; machinery and equipment; aeronautics and transportation; fish and food processing; steel; mining exploration; environmental technologies; information processing; pharmaceuticals; health equipment and supplies; tourism; telecommunications; shipbuilding and repair; media and cultural industries; and agriculture and food industries.
These sector-based strategies will be accompanied by a systematic review of sector-specific tax  measures.
We will eliminate those that are economically or environmentally counterproductive.
We will add new measures to stimulate investment in the broader public interest.
5.  As part of our job protection strategy, New Democrats will stand up against our jobs being exported out of Canada by implementing job-focused trade strategies.
We will: Make it harder to import from countries with unacceptable environmental, employment and wage  standards.
Make it easier to export from Canada by supporting industry.
Influence competitive advantage by ensuring that the macro-economic environment is growth-oriented.
ADDITIONAL MEASURES TO PROTECT GOOD JOBS  AND BUILD OPPORTUNITIES FOR NEW JOBS
Invest the equivalent of one cent of the GST in increased funding of the important priorities of our cities and communities by 2011.
This will address the growing infrastructure deficit,
and help cities and citizens avoid massive property tax increases.
This increased infrastructure commitment,
phased in over 5 years, will include increased investment and jobs in:
Expanded public transit.
Affordable housing.
Expanded child care.
Building retrofits and environmentally friendly renovations.
Immigrant settlement.
Roads, highways and border crossings.
Public libraries.
Community centres.
Sewer and water treatment facilities.
Expand employment in our communities,
build new markets for Canadian suppliers,
strengthen sustainability commitments,
and encourage Canadian entrepreneurship by adopting a Made-in-Canada procurement policy for the federal government and its agencies.
In negotiations with provinces, municipalities and other stakeholders, we will develop Made-in-Canada procurement protocols for federal investments in public transit, infrastructure and other investments.
A BETTER BUILDINGS RETROFIT AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY STRATEGY:
Re-vamp the ecoEnergy programs to provide low-interest loans and improved grants for energy efficient home and building retrofits, modeled on the City of Toronto’s successful Better Buildings Partnership using revolving funds.
A new program to retrofit low-income homes, replacing the program cancelled by the Harper government.
Add energy conservation and efficiency criteria to the Canadian Building Code, working with provinces and territories.
Establish a target to retrofit 7% of Canada’s building and housing stock each year.
Improve the effectiveness of existing federal agencies for Atlantic Canada, Quebec, and Western Canada.
Establish and increase funding for FedNor as a fully independent regional development agency with a new mandate to invest exclusively in Northern Ontario.
Establish a regional development agency for Southern Ontario, with the specific emphasis on areas hard hit by manufacturing job losses.
Create a new North of 60 regional development agency covering the northern territories.
EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS: FAIRNESS IN THE WORKPLACE
Jack Layton and the New Democrats will: Re-establish the National Minimum Wage terminated by the Liberal government.
We will set it immediately at $10 per hour, and index it to inflation.
Outlaw the use of replacement workers in strikes or lockouts based on the proposed legislation that was killed during the 2007 Parliament by Stéphane Dion and Stephen Harper.
Protect workers’ pensions.
Working with provincial governments we will establish a Canadian Pension Benefits Guarantee Fund.
This will ensure that workers actually receive the retirement benefits they have earned, even if their employer goes out of business.
Create a new national holiday in February.
Scrap the current complaints-based pay equity system in favour of a pro-active approach.
Bring pay fairness to women workers by finally implementing the recommendations of the Pay Equity Task Force.
Respect the right of workers to organize and bargain collectively.
Honour the standards and conventions established by the United Nations’ International Labour Organization.
Support tradespeople and others who are forced to travel and work away from home with new tax deductions that recognize these expenses.
Consult with stakeholders and develop an action plan based on the Arthurs’ Federal Labour Standards Report recommendations.
We will act on the crucial issues of work-life balance through leaves to meet family responsibilities.
And we will address the non-standard employment relationships like part-time, contract, and temporary work and variable schedules.
All of these are especially important to women, who often must shoulder the additional burdens of caring for elderly parents and for children.
CORPORATE TAXES: BALANCE AND FAIRNESS
During elections, Liberals and Conservatives don't talk much about corporate tax cuts.
But come budget time, the biggest priority for Liberals and Conservatives is another round of tax giveaways to Canada’s wealthiest corporations.
We will change that and bring a more balanced approach to Ottawa.
Jack Layton and the New Democrats will: Reverse the Liberal and Conservative giveaways.
The New Democrats will not implement Mr. Harper’s profligate, wasteful and unproductive corporate tax breaks.
We'll restore a uniform 22.12% tax rate – what it was before the Martin and Harper governments began these giveaways.
Simplify the tax code by reviewing and eliminating outdated tax incentives and loopholes.
Tighten-up tax administration so everyone pays their fair share of taxes,
and the billions of dollars in taxes currently owed, but not paid, are collected.
End the special tax breaks for the tar sand projects, and the big oil and gas industry.
Eliminate the loopholes that enable Canadian corporations to avoid paying the taxes they owe by running their finances through international tax havens, as spelled-out in the Auditor General’s report.
Recover unpaid loans and outstanding taxes from corporations that are doing business with the federal government by deducting such debts from the contract payments.
FISCAL AND FINANCIAL STABILITY
Jack Layton and the New Democrats will: Introduce and maintain balanced budgets each and every year of a mandate.
Report routinely and openly on budgetary surpluses.
Ensure the proper functioning and independence of the Parliamentary Budget Officer.
Undertake an immediate top-to-bottom review of how banks, insurance companies, and other financial service providers are regulated in this country.
This review will ensure that: Our financial institutions are properly capitalized.
They fully disclose risk.
They don’t substitute flawed ratings systems for real risk management.
They function with the due care and prudence expected from the custodians of the savings of working families.
PROTECTING CONSUMERS, COMMUNITIES AND THE PUBLIC
Ordinary Canadians are paying too much each year due to price gouging and hidden fees.
Jack Layton and his team of New Democrats will stop the rip-offs and strengthen consumer protection:
Reduce overcharging and hidden fees,
and ban ATM fees for institutions regulated under the Bank Act,
by requiring more accountability and transparency from the cell phone companies, the banks, airlines and other companies.
This will include ending unfair charges on incoming text messages.
Limit outrageous interest rates and fees charged by “fringe banks”.
We will enforce existing regulations to limit the interest rates and fees that can be charged for services like “payday” loans, tax refund advances and cheque-cashing.
Cap the interest rates on credit cards to a maximum of 5 percentage points over prime by amending the Bank Act.
Help alleviate gouging at the gas pumps through monitoring and regulating fuel prices at the pumps.
Provide greater support to working families that need assistance in managing their consumer and household debt.
Ensure that consumers’ concerns are heard by requiring federally regulated agencies such as banks, telephone companies and cable corporations to fund citizen oversight committees to monitor fees, rates and regulatory decisions as part of the formal regulatory and rate-setting process.
Protect families by giving Health Canada and the minister responsible for consumer protection greater authority to:
Investigate and directly order the recall of unsafe and toxic consumer products including toys, groceries and pet food.
Increase testing and inspection of imported products, with standards that match those required of Canadian products.
Require federally regulated agencies to provide better customer services,
as well as better complaint mechanisms,
and measurable, high-quality customer support.
Based on the “precautionary principle,” we will reassess, control and eliminate toxic substances from products used by Canadian families, including children’s toys, by implementing the New Democrats’ Toxic Pollution Reduction Act.
The Act will expand on the New Democrats’ Phthalate Control Act passed by the House of Commons in 2007.
Modeled on proposed legislation in the US, New Democrats will take action to stop the import of toxic products and better protect Canadian children.
We will make importers responsible for costs of inspecting and ensuring the safety of their products.
End the use and circulation of the Canadian penny, increasing convenience for shoppers
and cutting unnecessary costs to the government.
Address the ‘leaky condo’ crisis with an inquiry into the role and responsibilities of federal agencies (as promised by Stephen Harper, but never done),
and tax exemptions for repair and restoration costs.
Respect the right of families and individuals to know what they are eating:
Mandatory labelling of farmed fish and genetically engineered food,
as is already done in Europe, Asia and Australia.
New labelling requirements to inform consumers of the region of origin of food products and ingredients – so they know how far food has traveled to reach their table.
Establish a more effective “do-not-call” list for telemarketers.
We will impose tough new sanctions on telemarketers who violate the list.
Reduce accidents and railroad derailments.
We will establish and better enforce high standards of public safety in air, rail, road and marine transport based on carrier responsibility, best practices and recommendations from regulatory and legal investigations.
Combat identity theft and control online computer fraud against innocent consumers and seniors, including spamming and “phishing”.
We will work with consumers, experts and businesses to implement tough new measures to fight cyber-crime.
Implement “net neutrality” to protect everyday Canadians’ right to freely access the internet content of their choice at a flat rate and with clear and transparent rules.
We will end price gouging and “net throttling”, preventing a two-tiered internet.
Ensure motorists can choose their own mechanic.
New right-to-repair legislation will require automakers to make diagnostic software available to all repair shops and technicians.
Bring all consumer-related federal agencies under one roof by naming a Minister specifically responsible for consumer affairs.
Canadians deserve a Minister devoted to protecting their interests.
Protect consumers in sectors where only a handful of companies control the entire industry
by strengthening the Competition Act and the regulatory powers of the CRTC, the Competition Bureau and the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada.
FOOD SAFETY
Jack Layton and the New Democrats will take action to ensure the food you buy in the store is safe to eat.
We will work in consultation with consumers, workers and industry to:
Increase number of inspectors at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
We will increase administrative support so  inspectors can spend more time on the floor and less time on paperwork.
Reduce worker injuries,
increase the quality of the food,
and ensure greater safety of products by introducing regulations on “line speed” in meat processing plants
that match existing requirements in the European Union.
Improve the system for warning families of potential dangers with consistent policies for immediate public notification of food safety problems.
Require labeling of genetically engineered foods and farmed fish.
Require full accuracy and accountability for labels stating “Made in Canada”.
AGRICULTURE AND FOOD SECURITY
Jack Layton and the New Democrats will: Ensure that the preservation of orderly Canadian marketing systems,
and the elimination of predatory export practices and subsidies are key priorities
– both in domestic policy and in international trade negotiations.
Work with farm organizations and provincial governments to implement income stabilization programs that are consistent with our international trade obligations and approaches,
tailored for each commodity sector,
and focused on the family farms that most need the support.
Implement a Canadian organic food and agriculture strategy which will include:
Ban the use of Terminator seeds and protect every farmer’s right to choose, save and control their seeds.
Provide transition funding for education, equipment and training for farmers who wish to shift to organic or bio-intensive integrated pest management systems of agriculture.
Support for independent agricultural extension workers to facilitate environmentally friendly farming methods,
including low tillage, water conservation and reduced fertilizer and pesticide use.
Redress the imbalances of economic power between producers and agri-business corporations,
including limiting meatpackers’ ownership of cattle, by adding new provisions to the Competition Act.
Support the development of more producer-run cooperatives to act as a counterweight to the power of multinational agribusiness giants,
and to encourage more value-added processing and jobs in Canada.
Entrench the Canadian Wheat Board as the single desk marketer for Canadian wheat and barley,
and commit Canadian policy to the principle of orderly marketing systems for commodity sectors.
Improve access to farm safety net funding for natural disasters and poor markets, particularly for small farms.
FISHERIES
Jack Layton and the New Democrats will: Reject the Conservatives’ proposed Fisheries Act and respect Canada’s Supreme Court decisions.
Canada’s fisheries belong to all Canadians, not to private interests.
We will focus on the long-term economic and environmental sustainability of our marine resources, not on rewarding special interests.
Support the international initiative through the United Nations for a moratorium on high seas drag nets.
Ensure that all aquaculture operations meet the highest environmental standards.
We will promote the use of closed tank technologies.
We will work in partnership with provincial governments, stakeholders and First Nations to protect adjacent waters, communities, and wild fish stocks.
Invest more in habitat protection and salmon enhancement.
We will increase enforcement by hiring more fisheries officers and updating the Fisheries Act.
Reaffirm and enforce the oil tanker moratorium on BC’s inland coast, including the North Coast Inside Passage and Hecate Strait.
Maintain the moratoria on oil and gas exploration in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and off the BC coast where the ecological threat is significant.
FORESTRY
Working with provincial and territorial governments, First Nations, workers and management in the forest industry Jack Layton and the New Democrats will:
Support sustainability in forest management practices,
including incentives for certification,
to keep the industry sustainable for communities, workers, and future generations.
End the Conservatives’ restrictive 2007 Canada-US softwood lumber agreement,
work to re-open U.S. markets based on fair trade in lumber,
and develop alternatives to the US market.
Restrict raw log exports to make sure that Canadian jobs come first
– a step that Liberals and Conservatives have refused to take.
Maximize opportunities for workers and businesses through value-added development, expanded product exports, innovation and opening new markets.
Overhaul the federal government’s inadequate program to mitigate the impacts of the pine beetle and other insect epidemics.
We will: Develop harvesting strategies and new uses for affected trees,
including as clean and sustainable biofuels.
Emphasize climate change solutions and adaptation strategies.
Encourage economic diversification.
Promote forestry industry opportunities
and forest sustainability.
EDUCATION, SKILLS TRAINING AND APPRENTICESHIPS
For Canada’s young people and new citizens to thrive and remain competitive economically,
we must invest more in education and training,
and do a better job with the investments we make.
We must also create opportunities for retraining and lifelong learning,
as traditional industries face overseas competition and new industries emerge.
POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION
Through Jack Layton and the New Democrats’ Education Opportunity Plan, we will:
Enact the Post Secondary Education Act as introduced by the NDP in the last Parliament.
Ensure that students don’t have crippling debts when they graduate:
Provide a $1,000 grant to all undergraduate or equivalent students who qualify for student loans, paid at the beginning of the school year.
Support students and post-secondary education in Quebec and the Northern Territories with financing equivalent to their government’s student access and post-secondary development programs.
Keep tuition fees affordable
and improve opportunities in post-secondary education by negotiating with provinces and territories improved, dedicated funding to support and enrich publicly funded and administered post-secondary institutions.
This will include new initiatives to increase financial support for in-demand professionals, such as doctors and nurses, linked to them serving in areas where there are shortages.
Reform the Canada Student Loans system, including interest relief, so students are not forced to start repaying their student loans while they are still completing their education through internship, co-op or placement programs.
Encourage the best young minds to stay here in Canada by increasing funding for university and college-based research, and for graduate and post-graduate studies.
SKILLS TRAINING AND APPRENTICESHIPS
Jack Layton and the New Democrats will take action to increase skills training and apprenticeship opportunities.
We will: Create more opportunities for training by broadening eligibility for EI training benefits.
To make it easier for workers to access full- and part-time training programs we will:
Open the doors to employed Canadians who take leaves from their jobs to participate.
Extend opportunities to employed Canadians engaged in full-time training and retraining programs who do not otherwise qualify for EI.
Waive the eligibility waiting period for EI benefits when tradespeople are entering courses.
Develop partnerships with provincial and territorial governments, and labour and management organizations, to make EI a key resource for public training strategies and programs.
Make the employment of certified apprentices and journeypersons a condition in federal government construction contracts.
Support skills upgrades in the health sector through training leaves.
Work with the building and other trades, in collaboration with provincial governments, to set Canada-wide standards for apprenticeship entrance requirements, curriculum and recognition requirements.
Create incentives for employers to make sure apprenticeships are completed.
Reach out to aboriginal peoples and new Canadians to encourage their participation in skills training,
with recognition of their growing role in the labour force and their ability to fill skills shortages.
Work with provincial governments, industry and the trade union movement to develop a more effective system of job placement.
Expand the number of apprenticeable trades in Canada.
Develop a more effective approach to recognizing prior learning, including for foreign workers and new immigrants.
LITERACY OPPORTUNITY GUARANTEE
Jack Layton and the New Democrats will: Commit to the goal of a fully literate Canada by spearheading a comprehensive literacy strategy.
Invest in long-term, sustainable funding to meet Canada-wide literacy targets,
including the creation of a Canadian Literacy Agency to work with the provinces and our community partners to fund, monitor and measure progress in achieving these targets.
Formally recognize the “right to learn” of all Canadians – to develop the literacy and essential skills they need to participate fully in our social, cultural, economic and political life.
Implement a “literacy lens” across federal departments to make literacy a government-wide priority.
EMPLOYMENT INSURANCE
Jack Layton and the New Democrats will: Reject Stephen Harper’s plan to create a new Crown Corporation for EI.
Instead, we will guarantee that 100% of EI premium revenue will be used to provide and improve EI benefits and training for workers.
These funds must not be diverted to general revenue as was done by Liberal governments.
Increase the proportion of unemployed Canadians who are covered by Employment Insurance to 80 percent, from the current rate of under 40%, by making changes to eligibility requirements based on insurance principles.
Recognize the realities of seasonal employment by basing EI benefits on the best 12 weeks of employment earnings.
Improve the caregiver benefit to provide up to six months of EI benefits while caring for an infirm or elderly family member.
CHILDREN AND CHILD CARE: ENSURING A HEAD START FOR KIDS
In consultation with the provinces and territories, Jack Layton and the New Democrats will: Enact the New Democrats’ Early Learning and Child Care Act – which has already passed Second Reading in Parliament - to establish the program in law for the first time in Canada.
Establish and adequately fund a Canada-wide child care and early learning program.
We will make high quality, accessible, affordable, non-profit and licensed child care available to Canadian families, including aboriginal Canadians.
These initiatives will create 150,000 new child care spaces in the first year, growing to 220,000 spaces per year in the fourth year.
Ensure a healthy head start for kids.
We will develop a Children’s Nutrition Initiative to support and expand provincial and local programs that provide healthy meals to school children.
HELPING FAMILIES MAKE ENDS MEET – AND ENDING POVERTY
Ordinary Canadians are rightly concerned about the growing affordability gap, poverty, and economic inequality in our communities.
We are one of the wealthiest nations on Earth,
but under successive Conservative and Liberal governments it keeps getting worse – the rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer and working families are getting squeezed.
Jack Layton and the New Democrats will meet this unacceptable trend head-on, with powerful poverty- fighting initiatives that will restore affordability, fairness and balance to families and individuals, including those who live in poverty.
Jack Layton and the New Democrats will: Introduce a Poverty Elimination Act to eliminate poverty in Canada by the year 2020:
This act will set firm targets, and make the government accountable for achieving these targets.
The act will make the government accountable for eliminating poverty in Canada by 2020.
Every five years the government will have to report on its progress and deliver an action plan, to be approved by the House of Commons.
Initial targets will include reducing child poverty by more than 50 percent and the overall poverty rate by more than 35 percent in the first five years.
The act will establish a poverty elimination office housed within HRDC to assume overall responsibility for implementing our poverty-reduction strategy and developing concrete poverty indicators.
To help families make ends meet –
and to reach out to children living in poverty, we will:
Phase in a new Child Benefit.
This benefit, modelled on the existing Canada Child Tax Benefit, will expand in phases to $5,000 a year per child, and consolidate the current piecemeal system of benefits and tax credits for children into a single, better, non-taxable monthly cheque to parents.
Work with provinces to eliminate the provincial claw-back of much needed Child Supplement Benefits for families receiving social assistance.
Make substantial investments in affordable, accessible, child care for all Canadians.
Provide aggressive incentives help ordinary families and those with low or fixed incomes become more energy-efficient, helping to both reduce rising energy costs and contribute to the fight against climate change.
Establish a fair minimum wage of $10 and index it to inflation.
Immediately reform the Employment Insurance system to ensure fairness and support for unemployed Canadians.
Institute a “Bring Canada Home” affordable housing plan.
Reinstitute a pan-Canadian affordable housing program.
Improve workplace standards and protect workers’ pensions.
Expand literacy and skills training.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING: “BRING CANADA HOME”.
To help ensure Canadians will have adequate and affordable housing, Jack Layton and the New Democrats will:
Implement a durable, comprehensive and fully-funded affordable housing strategy that meets Canada’s international obligations,
as set out by the United Nations.
We will build towards the 10-year goal of the One Percent Solution – with one percent of federal spending allocated for truly affordable housing.
We will implement the following programs:
New homes:
Non-profit and co-operative homes for families and single individuals, including students.
Specific housing targets will be set for Aboriginals, seniors, women and others who currently bear the biggest burden of housing insecurity and homelessness.
Special needs:
Funding for supportive housing for people with special physical and mental health needs.
Upgrading homes:
Funding to expand federal housing rehabilitation programs to maintain and retrofit existing substandard homes.
Homelessness services and transitions:
Funding to extend federal homelessness programs to ensure that services and transitional housing are available across Canada.
We will fund the “Bring Canada Home” strategy with a combination of new revenues and partial reinvestment of the net income from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, excluding contributions from provinces and territories in cost-shared initiatives.
HIRING MORE DOCTORS AND NURSES  AND RENEWING HEALTH CARE
The people who have been running Ottawa have long promised to reduce the waiting times for health care.
They didn’t.
And today, five million Canadians do not have a family doctor.
One million patients are on waiting lists for care.
In some parts of Canada, private for-profit corporations are allowed to undermine our public health care system.
It's time for a change on health care.
We must improve health care so no-one is left behind.
We must be innovative.
And you and your family must not be forced to wait because someone with more money is jumping the queue.
Jack Layton and the New Democrats will improve health care to give you timely access to primary care health professionals.
We will reduce wait times by training and hiring more nurses and doctors.
We will invest in innovation, and share best practices.
We will make prescription drugs more affordable for you and your family.
We will expand home care so seniors and people with disabilities can live in dignity in their own homes.
We will ensure that you and your family can get the care you need.
TRAIN AND HIRE MORE DOCTORS AND NURSES;  IMPROVE AND DEFEND MEDICARE
Jack Layton and his team of New Democrats will implement a five step plan to cut wait times,
train new health professionals
and defend Medicare:
1. Train substantially more health care professionals – including more doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners and midwives – to ease staffing shortages and cut wait times.
We will work with the provinces and territories to make it happen:
We will implement a program designed to increase the number of doctors and nurses trained in Canada by 50%.
As part of that program, we will offer to forgive the student loans of health professionals who commit to dedicate the first ten years of their careers to family medicine.
This program will give Canada up to 28,000 additional nurses, doctors and other health professionals to care for you and your family.
2. Work with the provinces and all public health care providers to adopt “best practices” and implement an innovation strategy – as has already been successfully demonstrated in leading public clinics and hospitals.
We will:Invest in the expansion of drug and alcohol addiction and prevention programs – including harm reduction programs – in partnership with the provinces and territories.
Establish Mental Health Crisis Response Centres, modeled after the leading edge one being built by the Manitoba NDP that have successfully diverted people from Emergency Rooms, allowed health care professionals to provide better care,
and reduced waiting times.
Work with the provinces and territories to expand the use of nurse practitioners and multi- disciplinary clinics, taking the strain off other parts of the health care system.
Expand home care to reduce pressures on families and women who are now providing care,
and to further cut hospital backlogs and wait lists.
3. Protect the system and stop privatization.
Our health care system is both a cherished Canadian institution and an important competitive advantage we have as Canadians.
We will: Prohibit the use of federal funding to support any form of parallel, private for-profit service delivery and fully enforce the provisions of the Canada Health Act.
Require transparency and accountability by provinces and territories on their compliance with and enforcement of the principles of the Canada Health Act, including reporting public and not-for-profit delivery versus private delivery.
4. Work with the provinces to develop long term strategies to better manage chronic diseases, such as diabetes, and lifelong medical disabilities and conditions, such as autism.
5. Reaffirm long-established public policies to ensure that women have the right to safe therapeutic abortion services, in consultation with their physicians.
HOME CARE: HELPING FAMILIES MAKE ENDS MEET
Jack Layton and the New Democrats will: Create a pan-Canadian home care program, as recommended in the Romanow Report on the future of Medicare, including:
Helping people stay healthy at home and avoid hospital visits.
Home mental health care case management.
Post-acute medical care.
Post-acute rehabilitation.
Palliative home care.
Our home care program will give 100,000 more Canadian families access to home care.
It will significantly reduce wait times for seniors and hospital patients.
PHARMACARE: AFFORDABLE PRESCRIPTION MEDICINES
Jack Layton and the New Democrats will: Establish a Canada-wide prescription drug program, phasing in drug coverage for all citizens, beginning with catastrophic drug costs, in cooperation with the provinces and territories.
Reduce the cost of prescription drugs for average Canadians
and save billions of dollars from provincial health care budgets by implementing a bulk-purchasing plan, in agreement with the provinces and territories.
Introduce measures to ensure that new drugs are evaluated through evidence-based research to be more effective, before they are prescribed by doctors and paid for by Canadians.
Enforce a strict ban on all direct-to-consumer drug advertising, including closing loopholes created by the Conservatives’ new consumer legislation.
Fund an independent drug therapy advisory service for doctors across Canada, to share best practices.
Make necessary drugs more affordable by implementing measures to replace high-cost patent drugs with lower-cost generic drugs.
We will phase out the “ever-greening” of patent drugs, no longer allowing large pharmaceutical corporations to continually renew their patents with little or no control.
HEALTHY LIVING: PROMOTING GOOD HEALTH
Jack Layton and the New Democrats will: Dedicate one per cent of the Health Canada budget to physical fitness and amateur sports promotion, including:
Investing in the development of more community centres, seniors centres, recreational facilities and playing fields.
Launch a federal Determinants of Health Initiative with emphasis on clean air, safe water, reducing poverty and improving children’s health and nutrition.
We will ban trans fats and expand other initiatives to promote healthy foods and healthy eating, including:
Addressing the crisis of childhood obesity by implementing a pan-Canadian strategy, and limiting the exposure of children to “junk food” promotion.
Ensure that all infants in Canada have access to hearing testing, in cooperation with the provinces and territories.
Increase support for provincial and territorial health initiatives, including the Cancer Control System.
Invest in trails associations across the country, joining forces with Canadians who are blazing new trails by walking, cycling, wheeling, skiing and running their way to healthier, more active lifestyles.
A PLAN FOR THE ENVIRONMENT  THAT WILL REALLY WORK
The people who have been running Ottawa promised to tackle climate change and protect our environment.
They didn’t.
For our children and grandchildren, we must change the way things are done in Ottawa.
We must act now so we don’t leave them a vastly degraded Canada, and a very inhospitable world.
Jack Layton and the New Democrats will tackle the challenge of climate change
– not with Mr. Harper’s idle words or by taxing you and your family
– but with tough laws that force polluters to clean up the mess they’ve made.
We will stop the tax giveaways that reward corporate polluters.
We will seize the opportunity to build a new energy economy – new industries, new jobs for Canadians, new environmental solutions.
We will protect our air, water, land, fish and wildlife.
A PLAN THAT WILL WORK
Jack Layton and the New Democrats will: Implement Jack Layton’s legislation to achieve deep, science-based reductions of climate pollution in the post-2012 period.
The Climate Change Accountability Act, proposed by the New Democrats and adopted by Parliament on June 4, 2008, is based on the Case for Deep Reductions report by the Pembina Institute, the David Suzuki Foundation, and the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy.
This will establish: A long-term target to reduce Canadian greenhouse gas emissions to 80% below 1990 levels by 2050.
A medium-term target to bring emissions 25% below 1990 levels by 2020.
These are the medium and long-term targets consistent with the Kyoto process.
To hold government accountable for meeting these targets, Jack Layton’s legislation will:
Provide authority for the government to make regulations in order to meet the targets and set penalties for those who contravene regulations passed under the Act.
Implement our clean air and fighting climate change program:
Make big polluters pay.
We will put a price on carbon through a “cap-and-trade” carbon pricing system which establishes hard limits on pollution and a tough charge on polluters who exceed the limits.
All revenue will be applied to environmental solutions.
Implement Jack Layton’s $3 billion Green-Collar Jobs Plan,
including a fund for training.
We will invest $750 million into this fund every year.
Introduce an environmental automobile strategy to:
Invest in Canadian production of low-emission cars to ensure our auto industry remains viable,
with aggressive incentives for manufacturers who develop and manufacture cars in Canada with low or zero greenhouse gas emissions.
Provide federal government support for pedestrian walkways and bicycle paths in communities as part of our commitment to sustainable transport.
In addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions,
improved pedestrian and cycling infrastructure will have health benefits for Canadians who choose to walk or cycle.
Bring in mandatory vehicle emission standards for all vehicles sold in Canada, based on leading North American standards.
Establish an industry innovation fund to help businesses reduce their energy use.
The fund will start with $600 million, and we will invest additional funds after that.
A crucial part of reducing pollution and fighting global warming must be substantial new investments in renewable energy solutions.
We need to unite the country behind a strategy for Canada’s long-term energy security.
We will implement a comprehensive New Energy Economy Strategy.
It will be developed through consultation and a cooperative effort of all stakeholders from coast to coast to coast.
Require vehicle fuel consumption labeling so consumers have better information about every vehicle’s environmental performance and efficiency savings.
Reduce pollution through an Early Adopters Program that encourages the purchase of commercial electric hybrid vehicles.
Set leading air quality standards for each air pollutant defined in the Canadian Environmental Protection Act
and establish new energy efficiency regulations.
Invest in environmental solutions and incentives to encourage individual Canadians and small businesses to make better choices for the environment,
and to reward them when they do.
These solutions will include the Better Buildings Retrofit and Energy Efficiency Initiative.
Introduce new energy efficiency regulations on energy-using products, such as major appliances and furnaces, that meet or better the most stringent standards in North America.
Establish substantial new point-of-sale rebates on the purchase of EnergyStar appliances.
Invest stable, annual transit funding, combining an extra cent from the existing gas tax with revenue from making big polluters pay, investing $4 billion in transit over the first four years of our program.
Halt any new tar sands development until carbon emissions are capped,
significant environmental and health impacts are addressed,
and protected areas are set aside.
Introduce Canada Environment Action Bonds, a secure new investment that Canadians can purchase to help fight climate change by raising capital for environmentally-friendly infrastructure and renewable energy.
The bond will offer a government-guaranteed rate of return.
As the price of climate pollution increases, these bonds will close the price gap so that the development of renewable energy is price competitive with the development of fossil fuel resources.
Give the Environment Minister the authority to designate “significant areas” such as more heavily-polluting areas or more sensitive areas for specialized information-gathering and targeted action.
Take more poisons out of people’s homes, consumer products and communities by recognizing the “toxic use substitution principle.”
We will require the Minister to assess and identify toxic substances that can and should be substituted with safer products.
Ensure that the federal government and its agencies lead by example in their own environmental practices, including emission reductions, product purchases, recycling, and sustainable development strategies.
THE NEW ENERGY ECONOMY: CUTTING POLLUTION AND CREATING JOBS
A crucial part of reducing pollution and fighting global warming must be substantial new investments in renewable energy solutions.
We need to unite Canadians behind a strategy for our country’s long-term energy security.
We will implement a comprehensive New Energy Economy Strategy.
It will be developed through consultation and a cooperative effort of all stakeholders from coast to coast to coast, including, but not restricted to, the federal, provincial, territorial and Aboriginal governments, unions and energy providers.
We must plan now for a future where our energy consumption is drastically reduced and where all our energy comes from renewable sources.
We need to make sure that our energy policies put the needs of Canadians first.
Here’s how Jack Layton and the New Democrats will help Canadians succeed in the New Energy Economy:
Make Canadian energy security and environmental standards priorities in trade negotiations, including putting energy front and centre in any new trade negotiations with the United States.
Introduce new financial incentives for clean power, including from solar, wind, water, biomass and other renewable sources for electricity production and from industrial co-generation and small-scale, sustainable community facilities.
Establish the Canadian Renewable Energy Agency.
The agency will be responsible for encouraging and developing renewable energy in Canada.
It will: Work cooperatively with all stakeholders towards meeting 35 percent of Canada’s energy needs with renewable energy by 2020, including hard targets for renewable fuels, biomass, wind power and other renewables.
Provide funding for developing and supporting renewable energy programs.
Stop the massive tax breaks and subsidies to the tar sands, big oil and gas companies, and nuclear power.
Halt any new tar sands development until carbon emissions are capped,
significant environmental and health impacts are addressed,
and protected areas are set aside.
We will improve and enforce appropriate federal regulation of all environmental impacts – air, water, land, fish and wildlife – that arise from the exploitation of Canada’s oil and gas reserves.
Because the need for oil and gas will not disappear overnight, we will discourage bulk exports of our unprocessed resources to the US and China,
and encourage responsible upgrading, refining and petro- chemical manufacturing here in Canada.
This will keep the economic benefits and jobs in Canada
and temper the unchecked exploitation of our resources.
Remove bureaucratic barriers to the development, manufacture, and licensing of zero emission vehicles in Canada.
In consultation with industry and stakeholders, identify new measures to improve energy efficiency for automobiles.
Increase support for rail transport – including developing high-speed trains in urban corridors such as Edmonton-Calgary and Windsor-Quebec City.
Begin a discussion with the provinces and territories for an East-West Renewable Energy Grid.
This nation-building and climate action exercise needs federal financial support and leadership to assist provinces in building the renewable energy infrastructure that will transition Canada away from high pollution and non-renewable energy.
FIGHTING POLLUTION AND PROTECTING OUR NATURAL HERITAGE
We will implement Jack Layton and the New Democrats’ comprehensive new Clean Water Act.
This will: Establish enforceable guidelines for drinking water quality, starting with standards for First Nations reserves,
and working with provinces and territories to make sure that all Canadians have clean, safe water in their homes and communities.
Improve water quality monitoring and the enforcement of water quality standards by funding and implementing a National Water Strategy, including a comprehensive Water Quality Audit, in conjuction with provinces, territories and First Nations to ensure clean and safe water for all.
Invest in new municipal water and wastewater infrastructure,
and establish national standards to require a minimum of secondary treatment for all Canadian municipalities.
Ban bulk fresh water exports from Canada by federal law.
Improve the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.
Set mandatory water efficiency standards for appliances and begin to phase out inefficient technologies.
Create a $10 million Safe Water Fund to address issues of emerging pollutants
and help communities monitor water quality.
Canada has a responsibility to future generations to protect our waters, lands, fish and wildlife.
Jack Layton and his team of New Democrats will: Reduce the oil spill response times in the Arctic by completing a response gap analysis and investing in federal and private sector capacity speed up response times.
Deal with toxic industrial effluent by strengthening the enforcement of existing regulations.
Provide national and international leadership to prevent build-up and counteract the harmful effects of marine debris.
Provide the resources to ensure existing legislation regarding oily bilge water discharge and management will be effectively enforced.
Enact the New Democrats’ Blue-Green Algae Proliferation Prevention Act, which addresses the biggest sources of the blue-green algae problem that plagues Canada’s lakes and rivers.
We will: Ban the supply and sale of phosphorus in dishwashing detergent as initiated by Manitoba’s NDP Government.
Provide compensation to agricultural landowners for expanding “buffer zones” along waterways in which they are prohibited from using harmful nutrients.
Promote guidelines and best practices for home and cottage owners and for farmers.
Implement a parks and wilderness plan that reflects Canadians’ strong commitment to preserve our natural heritage.
We will: Complete the National Parks system.
Establish a nationally representative system of Marine Protected Areas and
complete the Integrated Management Plans of our three oceans.
Ensure that the integrity of parks and protected areas is not compromised by industrial activity or inappropriate development.
Establish a conservation fund to preserve important natural wildlife habitat.
Improve endangered species protection.
Work with the provinces and territories to encourage research and develop strategies to minimize the effects of climate change on communities, vegetation and wildlife.
Implement the National Action Plan on Aquatic Invasive Species
and ensure that acceptable treatment for ballast water is implemented and enforced.
In collaboration with provinces, territories and First Nations, we will work toward a model of sustainable forest management in Canada’s boreal forests.
This will include establishing appropriate protected areas,
and developing and promoting a forest stewardship program that will sustain our boreal forests and our forest industries, with input from stakeholders.
We will establish the Environment Commissioner as a separate and independent Officer of Parliament to provide effective oversight of the government’s environmental performance.
OTHER KEY PRIORITIES FOR CANADIANS
Canada is one of the most diverse countries in the world.
Canadians share a commitment to fairness, compassion, and equality for all citizens.
Here are highlights of steps Jack Layton and the New Democrats will take to strengthen Canada’s position in the world and make life better for you and your family.
STRONG COMMUNITIES AND SAFE NEIGHBOURHOODS
Jack Layton and the New Democrats will implement a five-point plan to tackle violent crime.
Though overall crime rates are falling, violent crime continues to rise.
Jack Layton’s New Democrats believe the federal government must do more to protect our communities, and attack the roots of violent crime.
1. SUPPORT OUR POLICE OFFICERS – AND REINFORCE THEM
Our police officers need the tools and resources to do their job.
Their effective work is key to a safe community.
We will: Create 2,500 new police officer positions to make our city streets safer.
Increase resources and co-ordination among all law enforcement and judicial agencies to ensure prompt return to the appropriate jurisdiction of all accused who are wanted on Canada-wide warrants.
Put a new emphasis on “cyber-crime” that targets seniors and young people in particular.
Strengthen witness protection to ensure that young people and members of the community can more readily come forward with information they have about crime in their community, especially crimes involving violence and handguns.
Strengthen efforts to curb and prosecute white-collar and corporate crime.
Initiate a stringent review process to help re-establish the RCMP's public credibility and re-establish its role in providing leadership in policing across Canada.
Fight the growing and unacceptable problem of human trafficking by adding new provisions to the Criminal Code and introducing new immigration regulations.
Implement new legislation to require all Canadian Internet Service Providers to prevent the publication or proliferation of child sexual abuse content on the Internet.
2. TAKE ON GANG VIOLENCE
The influence of gangs is growing.
We’re going to fight back for our communities.
We will: Support dedicated federal/provincial police units to combat gangs and organized crime networks, backed by organized crime prosecution teams Ensure first-degree murder charges for gang related homicides.
Make drive-by shootings and firing at a building indictable offences.
Re-classify auto theft as a stand-alone, indictable violent offence.
Create a federally funded permanent youth gang diversion strategy, including:
Substance abuse prevention and harm reduction programs.
Stay-in-school programs.
Employment programs and conflict mediation skills training.
Expansion of Canadian Crime Prevention Fund pilot projects.
3. TAKE ON GUN CRIME
Handguns have no place on the streets of our communities, except in the hands of law enforcement officials.
Building on New Democrats’ work in Parliament to curb gun violence, which included mandatory minimum sentences for crimes committed with a handgun, Jack Layton and his team of New Democrats will:
Enable cities, communities and provinces to choose to implement an ‘absolute ban’ on handguns by tightening existing restrictions on handgun possession.
Facilitate a Canada-US Summit of law makers and law enforcement personnel from all levels of government along with stakeholders to tackle the ongoing crisis of illegal handguns being smuggled into Canada.
Halt the illegal importation of handguns from the United States
and target the sale of illegal weapons via the Internet.
4. ADDRESS THE ROOTS OF CRIME WITH ACTIVE PREVENTION
Core to a safe community is the avoidance of crime, and the development of a healthy community.
We will: Increase federal government funding for prevention and awareness campaigns focused on solutions to violence in our communities.
Create a year-round youth employment and skills development program delivered through a pan-Canadian network of youth centres.
The program will promote skills enhancement, community development, sports, culture, and recreational activities.
It will lead to high quality jobs, career opportunities
and active involvement by young people in their communities.
5. EFFECTIVE PROSECUTION AND ENFORCEMENT
The fair and effective administration of justice is a cornerstone to maintaining a safe community.
We will: Act on the need for more effective prison and sentencing programs to reduce the number of repeat offenders and end the ‘revolving door’ syndrome,
to build up restorative justice opportunities,
and to increase training, rehabilitation and drug addiction programs within the justice system.
Set national standards for the use of tasers and review the existing standards and practices in place across the country, working with provincial and municipal police forces.
Reinvest the recovered proceeds of crime in the affected communities to reduce crime and increase community safety.
Working with the provinces to ensure swift and fair justice, we will fund changes so an accused's day in court is not many months or years after the crime.
Repeal the use of security certificates, which have led to imprisonment without due process under Conservative and Liberal governments.
Ensure that all provisions of the Criminal Code are used effectively to protect Canadians from acts of violence and/or terror.
Establish a House of Commons committee to exercise oversight over all intelligence agencies, including CSIS and the RCMP.
OTHER MEASURES TO STRENGTHEN OUR COMMUNITIES
Jack Layton and the New Democrats will: Implement the New Democrats’ bill to eliminate racial and religious profiling, in collaboration with federal agencies and provincial and municipal police forces.
In collaboration with provinces and territories, give domestic violence cases higher priority in the administration of justice,
and improve counseling and therapeutic services for abused women and other victims of crime.
Aid the victims of crime by ensuring adequate funding for the criminal injuries compensation system, in co-operation with provinces and territories.
Increase federal government investment and support for family shelters for victims of violence and crime.
PROTECTING CANADIAN SOVEREIGNTY AND THE NORTH
CANADIAN SOVEREIGNTY
Jack Layton and the New Democrats will: Stop the hollowing out of Canadian industries by strengthening the Investment Canada Act.
Foreign takeovers of Canadian companies will be subject to more stringent tests respecting job protection and creation, head office location, and the promotion of research and development in Canada.
Cease Canadian participation in the Liberal and Conservative-driven Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP).
This deal would deepen integration with the U.S. and erode Canadian authority in key areas of public policy.
Transfer the Canadian Coast Guard to the Department of Public Safety and increase resources to improve its operational effectiveness, including initiatives that will better protect and strengthen our sovereignty over Canadian waters.
ARCTIC SOVEREIGNTY AND THE NORTH
Jack Layton and the New Democrats will protect Canada’s Arctic Sovereignty,
and help the people of the North by slowing and reducing the pace of climate change.
To affirm our sovereignty, we will: Assert and defend Canadian Sovereignty over the land and waters of the Canadian Arctic, including the Northwest Passage, where Canadian law will remain in full force and effect.
Increase diplomatic efforts, particularly in light of recent comments by the United States and Russia, to ensure that other countries respect our sovereignty.
Accelerate the sea bed survey work which supports Canada’s claim to an extended continental shelf in the Arctic Ocean so it is complete in time for submission to the United Nations in 2013.
To secure our Arctic Sovereignty, Jack Layton and the New Democrats will:
Ensure that the Arctic is protected and defended through the Coast Guard and civilian enforcement of Canadian Law along with an adequate—but not excessive—military capability.
Work to ensure the Canadian Coast Guard has the appropriate tools to protect Canadian Sovereignty in the Arctic.
This means investing in Icebreakers, not slush-breakers.
Position more RCMP, Fisheries, and Environment protection officers in the North.
Provide modern equipment to the Rangers, including advanced communications technology and improved transportation equipment.
Station new search and rescue personnel and aircraft in the North.
To sustain our Arctic Sovereignty, Jack Layton and the New Democrats will:
Provide support to the people of the Arctic so they can build communities which are on par with other Canadians.
We will ensure Arctic communities are full partners within Canada.
We will negotiate governance structures, and devolution of authority and resources from Ottawa to the territories.
Complete the negotiations and fully implement Aboriginal Land and Self-Government Agreements,
and follow Justice Thomas Berger’s 2006 recommendations concerning the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement.
Build Northern infrastructure like small craft harbours, highways, water plants, and airstrips, including appropriate local renewable energy sources, and a deep water port in Iqaluit.
Support increased scientific research.
Close the Northern Prosperity Gap by increasing the Northern Resident’s Tax Deduction.
Create an economic development agency for the North.
Support Northern post-secondary educational institutions.
Invest in essential services – such as health care – based on the true cost of delivering these services in the North, rather than the Liberal and Conservative approach of using pan-Canadian benchmarks that short-change northern people and communities.
FIRST NATIONS, INUIT AND MÉTIS PEOPLES
Jack Layton and the New Democrats will: Invest $5 billion over five years in First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities.
This will improve health services, help provide adequate housing, water, and infrastructure to include traditional healing, nutrition, fitness, addiction treatment and suicide prevention.
This commitment alone will meet the commitments of the Kelowna Accord.
It will build the foundation to end poverty.
Implement aggressive new efforts in education and training of First Nations children, youth and adults.
We will respect Ottawa’s fiduciary obligations and encourage the participation of public and private sectors with the federal government in skills training initiatives.
Federal education funding must recognize comparable levels of funding for non-reserve students.
Address the needs of urban First Nations, Métis and Inuit citizens with special attention to the appropriate development and delivery of affordable housing, public health care, education, skills training, and economic opportunities.
Help develop community economies by providing infrastructure so First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people can fully participate in the Canadian economy.
We will enhance access to capital, skills training and natural resources,
and remove the punitive 2% funding cap instituted by the Liberals and maintained by the Harper Conservatives.
Implement Jordan’s Principle to guarantee First Nations children are not hurt by jurisdictional disputes between governments.
In 2007, the New Democrats introduced the “Jordan’s Principle” bill.
The bill was passed unanimously by Parliament.
Mr. Harper has not fully implemented it.
The first and only provincial signature is the NDP government of Manitoba.
Create restorative justice and healing approaches that provide indigenous youth better opportunities and choices.
Ensure that Residential School survivors left out by the current agreement are fairly compensated.
Respect the inherent right to self-government by accelerating settlement of final agreements, and fairly and equitably implementing existing agreements.
Legally recognize the legitimacy and jurisdiction of indigenous governments.
Immediately ratify the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
We will reverse the Conservative and Liberal governments’ refusal to sign the Declaration.
We will ensure its provisions are properly respected in Canada and incorporated into Canadian law.
Develop a comprehensive land claims policy that genuinely respects Aboriginal title.
Engage with First Nations, Métis, and Inuit women and appropriate organizations to ensure that their rights and personal safety are assured.
Ensure equitable participation of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples and governments in Canada’s stewardship of the environment and resources, and on appropriate boards, commissions and international delegations.
Support the efforts of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities to renew indigenous languages in this generation,
and develop a corps of those able to help teach indigenous languages by including it in education funding.
SUPPORTING CULTURE, THE ARTS AND OUR CANADIAN CULTURAL IDENTITY
Jack Layton and the New Democrats will strengthen Canada’s home-grown film and television production.
We will: Ensure Canadian television and telecommunications networks remain Canadian-owned by maintaining effective regulations on foreign ownership.
Refocus the mandate of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to promote and protect Canadian cultural industries,
and transfer mandates that conflict with this objective to other agencies.
Provide sustained funding for the Canadian Television Fund and Telefilm Canada,
and enhance federal film incentives to encourage film and television production.
Establish targets and a strategy to expand screening and distribution of domestic films in Canada.
Reverse efforts to legislate censorship, as the Harper Conservatives snuck into bill C-10.
If passed, this bill would arbitrarily restrict and censor publicly-supported artistic works.
End the federal government’s double-dipping, by excluding provincial tax credit increases from the federal government’s calculation of film support payments.
Expand the federal tax credit to include the cost of post-production.
Require clear, binding and enforced performance standards for broadcasters – including a significant and permanent increase in the production and broadcast of Canadian drama – backed by broadcast, cable and satellite license requirements.
To invest in our shared cultural heritage, Jack Layton and his team of New Democrats will:
Restore arts funding arbitrarily cut by the Harper Conservatives.
Increase public funding for the Canada Council for the Arts to better support artists
and ensure we can produce high quality made-in-Canada shows for everyday Canadians to enjoy.
Invest in a pan-Canadian broadband strategy to bring high-speed internet to more communities in Canada.
Implement a system of tax averaging to provide fair and equitable treatment for Canadian artists and cultural workers.
Implement “net neutrality” to protect everyday Canadians’ right to freely access the internet content of their choice at a flat rate and with clear and transparent rules.
We will end price gouging and “net throttling”,  preventing a two-tiered internet in Canada.
Develop an aggressive pan-Canadian strategy for funding, supporting and preserving Canadian museums, historic buildings and heritage lighthouses.
Strengthen public broadcasting and provide stable long-term funding for the CBC, Radio Canada and other public broadcasters.
We will strengthen the ability of CBC and Radio Canada to deliver superior regional programming and new internet-based media services.
Reform the role and structure of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), including enhancement of the role of the CRTC in Montreal so that it better reflects the cultural and linguistic reality of programming for Quebec and the francophone community.
Develop a digital on-line culture service to give ordinary Canadians expanded access to Canadian content.
Increase career transition resources for artists.
Protect children in the arts with minimum standards and trust fund rules for income earned by child performers.
Ensure that new copyright reform legislation fairly addresses compensation for artistic creators and includes proper input from all affected stakeholders including: arts/artist groups, educators, software innovators, consumer groups and ordinary Canadians.
INTERNATIONAL TRADE: FAIRNESS AT HOME AND ABROAD
Jack Layton and the New Democrats will: End the Conservatives’ restrictive 2007 Canada-US softwood lumber agreement.
Ensure that Canadian negotiators bargain in Canada’s interests in international trade negotiations.
We will: Oppose the introduction of extraordinary investor protection into trade agreements.
Protect existing marketing systems for our agricultural industries.
Obtain fair and reciprocal access to markets, such as South Korean automobiles, that are now imported into Canada from those markets.
Introduce environmental, human rights and labour standards into all trade agreements.
Enshrine the right of nations to defend their cultural industries.
With changes in NAFTA almost certain to be proposed by the next president of the United States, and with reform initiatives also growing in Mexico, it is critical for Canada to be pro-active in working with these powerful new currents and with concerned Canadians.
We must ensure that NAFTA is reformed in ways that meet our priorities:
Renegotiate NAFTA’s Chapter 11, which unreasonably limits Canada’s sovereignty in regulating foreign investment in the public interest.
Renegotiate NAFTA’s Chapter 6, which unreasonably limits Canadian sovereignty over its energy resources and may prevent Canadian energy security.
Negotiate changes to NAFTA’s dispute resolution mechanisms so Canadian interests are respected—including through the application of international law rather than US law in anti-dumping and subsidy disputes.
Stop the hollowing out of Canadian industries by strengthening the Investment Canada Act.
Foreign takeovers of Canadian companies will be subject to stringent tests respecting job protection and creation, head office location, and the promotion of research and development in Canada.
IMMIGRATION
Jack Layton and the New Democrats stand for a fair, efficient, transparent and accountable immigration system.
We will repeal the Harper government’s new immigration law (C-50), which was passed with the Liberals’ co-operation.
We opposed the arbitrary, secretive and restrictive measures of the legislation and continue to do so.
This legislation means increased exploitation of ‘guest workers’,
more delays and restrictions for family reunification,
less effective strategic planning for labour market needs,
and more secretive and arbitrary decisions by cabinet ministers.
To increase Canada’s productivity, Jack Layton and his team of New Democrats will:
Accelerate and streamline the recognition of foreign credentials, overseas degrees and previous employment experience in conjunction with provinces and licensing authorities.
Review the point system used to assess new applications to match the reality of work in Canada, including specific provisions for blue-collar workers and tradespeople.
Increase financial support for the settlement process for new Canadians to assist with literacy, community integration and orientation, including bridging, mentorship, English and French as a second language (ESL and FSL) programs and resource service centres.
To improve family reunification, Jack Layton and his team of New Democrats will:
Significantly increase resources and support for immigration processes to reduce the huge and unacceptable backlogs that currently exist in processing applications,
work to meet Canada’s target of annual immigration (1% of population),
and establish firm targets for on-time completion of family class and spousal sponsorships.
Stop the decline in family reunification,
and maximize the economic and social advantages of family stability.
Implement the New Democrats’ Once In a Lifetime bill to expedite sponsorship of one family member as a new Canadian.
Eliminate landing fees for new immigrants,  as well as processing fees for refugees and people fleeing torture or  domestic violence.
To establish fairness in the immigration system, Jack Layton and the New Democrats will:
Develop credible, accountable procedures and appeal processes for potential visitors to Canada for important family events such as weddings, births and illness, and for the reunification of married couples.
Properly regulate immigration consultants to stop abuse of immigrants and potential immigrants, and crack down on unscrupulous and illegal activities.
Immediately implement the provision in the Immigration Act for a refugee appeal division to help facilitate a fair refugee hearing and determination process,
and ensure that all vacancies on the Immigration and Refugee Board are filled in a fair and transparent manner.
Eliminate discrimination against people with disabilities in admission processes.
Allow people without status who are living in Canada the opportunity to apply for legal status.
Continue to ensure that all new Canadians have access to the “core” immigration system,
rather than expand the Liberal-Conservative temporary “guest worker” and “live-in caregiver” programs.
These programs deny basic employee rights,
do not allow application for immigration,
and result in longer delays in the entire system.
To create a more compassionate Canada, Jack Layton and his team of New Democrats will:
Through the refugee class of immigration offer new hope to people fleeing persecution, violence and repression.
Based on the recent decision by the Federal Court of Appeal that overruled the “safe third country” approach, abrogate the Safe Third Country Agreement with the United States so all refugee claimants are granted a hearing outside of Canada.
Establish a special program to allow “Iraq War resisters” from the US to remain in Canada.
CANADIAN FEDERALISM AND PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS
More and more Canadians are looking past the politicians and parties that stand for the old games of division and conflict.
Instead, they want federal institutions and the practice of federalism to reflect the maturity and modernity of Canada.
To strengthen federalism for a mature and modern Canada, Jack Layton and the New Democrats will:
Modernize key federal institutions:
House of Commons: change the electoral system to ensure that every vote counts.
We will implement a proportional representation system that mixes constituency representation with party representation.
This will result in fairer representation in Parliament,  fewer regional differences, and more women in elected office.
Senate: abolish the undemocratic and unnecessary Senate, following the lead of Canadian provinces and other jurisdictions that have abolished their upper houses.
A referendum on Senate abolition will be held to put the final decision in the hands of all Canadians.
Floor crossing: Democratic accountability should mean no MP can ignore his/her voters.
We will implement legislation so no MP can ignore the voters’ wishes and become a member of another party without first resigning their seat and running in a by-election.
The New Democratic Party of Canada supports a respectful, cooperative federalism that is about making life better for ordinary working people.
Our progress as a nation must not be mired in jurisdictional disputes that have at their root a failure by previous federal governments to understand or respect the federal nature of our country.
Understanding the nature of Canada is why New Democrats recognize the national character of Quebec, something that has been part of our program since the 1960s, and was recently reaffirmed by our party in 2006.
Thus, in our view: The federal government must obtain appropriate support from provincial governments before spending federal funds on new programs in areas of exclusive provincial jurisdiction.
As part of our commitment to "respectful federalism", we support the principles of Canada's Social Union Framework, which requires substantial provincial agreement for such programs, and compensates provinces that choose not to participate.
We recognize and celebrate the unique role and responsibilities of the Quebec National Assembly.
As was the case with public pension plans and many other initiatives in recent Canadian history, further progress towards fairness and equality in Canada requires flexible arrangements that fully reflect  and fully respect that unique role and those responsibilities.
The New Democrats’ child care legislation provides the latest concrete example of this kind of practical, respectful and effective approach.
Jack Layton will keep the promises made on behalf of the Government of Canada to Newfoundland and Labrador, and the promise made to Saskatchewan.
Improve exchange programs that allow Canadians from one part of the country to study and/or work in other regions.
ETHICS AND ACCOUNTABILITY
Jack Layton and the New Democrats will: Implement a new, stronger Access to Information Act
– another broken Conservative promise that resulted in less access to information, less transparency and more government secrecy.
Further improve transparency and bring into force the abandoned sections of the Accountability Act to:
Tighten lobbying rules to finally stop the revolving door between big money lobby firms and the federal government.
Establish the Public Appointments Commission to finally end the Liberal-Conservative practice of rewarding political friends with patronage appointments.
Make the Parliamentary Budget Officer an independent Officer of Parliament to provide oversight and advice on the government’s spending and surpluses, help MPs do a better job for ordinary Canadians and bring greater accountability to Ottawa.
Strengthen contracting rules to end to the practice of firms giving advice to government while also lobbying it, in order to limit corporate influence over public policy.
Implement Ed Broadbent’s Ethics Package to improve Canadian democracy and make the political parties – especially leadership races – more transparent.
DEFENDING HUMAN RIGHTS
Jack Layton and the New Democrats will: Immediately ratify the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
We will reverse the Conservative government’s refusal to sign the Declaration.
We will ensure its provisions are properly respected in Canada and incorporated into Canadian law.
Restore the court challenges program, eliminated by the Harper government, which funded equality seeking groups to go to court to protect their rights and establish fair jurisprudence.
Work with affected multicultural communities to appropriately redress historical issues arising from governmental actions, including options such as recognition of wrongdoing, official apologies, and compensation.
Work with the trade union movement to ensure full respect for labour rights in Canada, including for non-Canadians working legally here as well as for workers in Canadian-owned industries abroad.
Immediately implement the United Nations Convention on The Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Amend the Canadian Human Rights Act to include gender identity and gender expression and identity among the prohibited grounds for discrimination.
Support gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans gender and transexual equality internationally,
as per the Montreal and Jakarta Declaration on Human Rights.
WOMEN: MOVING FORWARD ON EQUALITY
Jack Layton and the New Democrats – with a caucus team that is 40 percent female, the highest of any party in Parliament - are helping to lead the struggle for equality for women at home, at work and in society.
To address the crucial needs of Canadian women, Jack Layton and the New Democrats will: Improve fairness for women at work:
Implement full pay equity in the federal public service,
and strengthen pay equity provisions in the Canada Labour Code for workers in federal jurisdiction covered by the Code and called for by the Pay Equity Task Force.
Reintroduce a minimum wage, initially set at $10 per hour, and indexed to inflation.
Increase access to Employment Insurance for women,
and improve parental and maternity benefits.
Institute a national child care program.
Help stop violence against women:
Restore funds cut by Liberal governments throughout the 1990s for shelters and transition houses for women who are victims of domestic violence.
Support native women’s efforts to develop healing centres and educational and training opportunities, including those that target the root causes of violence and violence directed at sex trade workers.
Build more affordable housing to assist women trying to escape violence.
Re-institute the annual consultation between the Department of Justice and women’s groups to monitor progress on ending violence against women,
and progress on improving women’s access to the justice system and legal services.
Empower Status of Women Canada and other appropriate federal agencies to work to implement the recommendations of the report on Canada by the UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
Support Stephen Lewis’ call for international action on women’s equality.
Work for the creation of a UN Women’s Agency to ensure that women’s voices and concerns are represented at the highest levels of the international community.
Reaffirm women’s right to safe therapeutic abortion services.
Properly fund Status of Women Canada, re-investing in women’s programs and organizations who had their funding cut by the Harper government.
Re-open regional Status of Women offices and strengthen their mandate to achieve equality for women.
PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES: OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL
Jack Layton and the New Democrats will: Implement a Canadian Disabilities Action Plan based on the vision of an inclusive and accessible Canada.
Our goal is to ensure the full participation of all persons with disabilities in every aspect of life.
Develop and implement accessibility standards and laws for all areas under federal jurisdiction.
Use federal government funding to leverage improvements to employment, public transit and services.
For example, we will use universal design principles in federally-funded infrastructure initiatives.
Make the federal disability tax credit fully refundable and accessible to all CPP disability pensioners.
Establish a Canadian Disability Employment Fund to assist employers under federal jurisdiction with the costs of providing reasonable accommodation.
Establish specific targets within labour market agreements negotiated with the provinces and territories to assist those with disabilities.
Create a Canadian Disability Accommodation Commissioner to advise Parliament and the responsible minister on issues affecting persons with disabilities.
Support a pan-Canadian strategy to stop violence and abuse of disabled persons.
Establish nation-wide goals to ensure that every Canadian in need of non-acute care will receive an appropriate level of care, including home care.
Immediately implement the UN Covenant on the Rights of People with Disabilities, which Canada signed.
CANADA: GLOBAL LEADERSHIP IN PEACE AND JUSTICE
PROMOTING PEACE, DEFENDING CANADA
Canada’s military has a proud history, built on the principles of defending human rights and promoting peace.
New Democrats believe there are three main priorities for the Canadian military today and in the years to come:
1. Assist people facing natural catastrophes, including floods, earthquakes, forest fires and other emergencies, both at home and abroad.
2. Provide support for peace-making, peace-building and peacekeeping around the world.
3. Defend Canada from potential attack.
The Canadian Forces must be properly staffed, equipped and trained to effectively cover the full range of possible military operations arising from these three priorities.
Jack Layton and the New Democrats will: Equip the Canadian military to resume leadership in United Nations peacekeeping operations, with major new missions reviewed and approved by the House of Commons.
Reform defence procurement so Canada gets good equipment for good value.
We will require tendering of all major contracts and maximize Canadian content.
Support military families, veterans and ordinary Canadians by making fair pay, good health care, fair benefits, veterans’ services, emergency readiness and good equipment top priorities for military spending.
Implement the New Democrats’ Veteran's Charter and Veterans First Motion, both endorsed by a majority vote in the House of Commons.
When fully implemented, these New Democrat initiatives will ensure that Canadian Forces personnel and their families are taken care of not just during their service days, but throughout their lives.
FAIRNESS FOR OUR VETERANS
New Democrats will support veterans and their families with quality medical care and excellent pensions.
We will also remove loopholes that discriminate against spouses and families.
Despite Liberal and Conservative promises, the system of veterans’ benefits remains bureaucratic and unfair.
Eliminate the hated “gold-digger” clause that prevents pension benefits going to spouses who have married after the veteran is more than 60 years old.
Extend the Veterans Independence Program (VIP) to all widows of veterans.
Increase the Survivor’s Pension Amount upon death of a Canadian Forces retiree to 66% from the current amount of 50%.
Eliminate the unfair reduction of SISIP (Service Income Security Insurance Plan) long term disability benefits for medically released members of the Canadian Forces.
THE WAR AND COMBAT MISSION IN AFGHANISTAN
Jack Layton and the New Democrats will: Withdraw all Canadian forces from the Afghanistan combat mission,
with reasonable advance notice and in consultation with our allies.
Ensure that Canada delivers on the aid and development assistance commitment made through the Afghanistan Compact.
Ensure that women and human rights groups in Afghanistan can access Canadian development dollars,
and that  corruption at all levels of government is addressed effectively.
Ensure that the United Nations, not NATO or the US, becomes the lead organization in the provision of security and development assistance in Afghanistan.
Explore and promote opportunities for negotiating peace at the national, regional and international levels, in line with proposals made by the President of Afghanistan and leading security experts.
CANADA’S ROLE IN THE WORLD
Jack Layton and the New Democrats will: Provide robust support to the United Nations and  its work in conflict resolution, peacekeeping, and global co-operation.
Participate in international efforts to bring peace, justice and stability to the Darfur region of Sudan and to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Re-establish Canada as a leader for global peace and disarmament by renewing efforts to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons, ban cluster bombs, and control trade in small arms and light weapons.
Work with partners for peace and justice in Israel and Palestine, within a framework of respect for UN resolutions and international law.
This means recognition of the right of both Israelis and Palestinians to live in peaceful co-existence in viable, independent states with negotiated, agreed-upon borders;
no settlements remaining in the Palestinian state;
an end to Israeli occupation of Palestinian land;
an end to loss of life of innocent civilians;
and an international peacekeeping presence.
FIGHTING GLOBAL POVERTY
Jack Layton and the New Democrats will: Accelerate and broaden Canada’s pledges to forgive the debt of the world’s poorest countries.
Work to ensure that Canada does its part to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, including our commitment to meet the foreign aid target of 0.7% of gross national income within ten years, in keeping with the Make Poverty History campaign.
Ensure that the concerns of developing countries are addressed in international trade negotiations.
Ensure Canadian development assistance focuses on poverty alleviation and that priorities are determined in collaboration with those living in poverty and their legitimate representatives.
Ensure that development assistance is not used to force privatization of developing countries’ public resources, assets and services, such as water.
Channel aid through local civil society groups whenever possible.
Implement the Pledge to Africa legislation immediately to send generic, affordable drugs to developing countries and support the fight against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
Triple Canada’s contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
Recognize the massive negative impact of climate change on developing countries and support their efforts at adaptation and mitigation
— while working hard to reduce Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions.
HUMAN RIGHTS AND A DEMOCRATIC GLOBAL SYSTEM
Jack Layton and the New Democrats will: Immediately ratify the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
We will reverse the Conservative and Liberal governments’ refusal to sign the Declaration.
We will ensure its provisions are properly respected in Canada and incorporated into Canadian law.
Continue the strong New Democrat leadership for policies that prevent the abuse of any individual taken into the custody of the Canadian Forces abroad, for example in Afghanistan, regardless of whether that individual remains in Canadian custody or is transferred to the custody of another country.
Ensure that Canadian companies abide by international human rights law and environmental standards when operating overseas, and develop and enforce sanctions if they do not.
Work with international partners to create a United Nations agency to promote and support women’s equality throughout the world.
Ratify the UN Optional Protocol on Torture.
Fight against impunity for all those who commit war crimes and crimes against humanity through support for the International Criminal Court, and through an increased commitment to using the 2000 War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity Act to prosecute alleged perpetrators in Canada.
Make international institutions like the United Nations, the World Bank, the World Trade Organization and the International Monetary Fund more democratic, transparent and accountable by opening up Canada’s role within them to public and Parliamentary examination and oversight.
Executive Summary
Climate change is the greatest ecological challenge of this generation.
The science is clear and we must act now.
Tackling climate change is both a moral obligation and an economic opportunity.
Canadians want to take action to avoid the worst effects of climate change,
and want their country to be a good citizen of the world, leading other countries, not lagging behind.
Fighting climate change is also an opportunity that we cannot miss – an opportunity to modernize our economy,
to make Canada more competitive and better adapted to the 21st century.
Canadians need to reduce our economy’s reliance on polluting fossil fuels
and we need to become more energy efficient.
Doing so will be good for our economy and the environment: not only will we reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and other sources of pollution,
but we will also become more competitive in a carbon-constrained global economy.
A consensus has developed among both environmentalists and economists that the best way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is to put a price on carbon.
The Green Shift, a major part of the Liberal Party’s bold plan to address climate change while building a more competitive economy, will shift Canada’s tax system away from income and towards pollution.
This shift will be done in a revenue neutral way – putting it in law that every dollar that is raised from carbon pollution will be returned to Canadians in tax cuts.
The Auditor General will ensure the Green Shift’s revenue neutrality on an annual basis.
The price will begin immediately at $10 per tonne of greenhouse gas emissions and steadily rise by an additional $10 per tonne each year, reaching $40 per tonne within four years.
Since the existing excise tax on gas at the pump is already at the equivalent of $42 per tonne of carbon, the tax at the pump will not rise.
Likewise, because there is already a tax on diesel and aviation fuel of four cents per litre, the tax on these fuels will see no increase in the first year.
By putting a clear, realistic price on emissions of greenhouse gases, this approach will dramatically improve the environment.
Our atmosphere should not be treated as a garbage dump, leaving our climate, our ecosystems and our communities to pay the real costs.
The pollution dividend given back to Canadians will be significant.
Specifically, Canadians will receive: Significant, broad-based income tax rate reductions:
Increasing the tax cuts yearly, as the pollution tax revenue rises, by the fourth year of our plan we will have provided major personal income tax reductions:
We will cut the lowest income tax rate to 13.5 per cent from 15 per cent, a 10 per cent reduction.
And we will cut the middle class tax rates to 21 per cent from 22 per cent and to 25 per cent from 26 per cent, a five per cent and four per cent reduction respectively.
Make the tax system fairer for low-income Canadians:
To help low- income Canadians in particular, and as part of the Liberal 30/50 Plan to reduce poverty in Canada by 30 per cent and cut child poverty in half within five years, we will reform the tax system to make it fairer to working Canadians.
1. We will specifically: Introduce a new, universal child tax benefit worth $350 per child, per year, on top of all existing child benefits.
This will provide direct financial assistance to Canadian families whether or not they pay any income taxes.
2. We will replace the Conservatives’ regressive, small, poorly designed $1,000 employment credit with a $1,850 refundable employment credit targeted at those Canadians who earn less than $50,000 per year.
This will put up to $250 into the pockets of those working Canadians who need it most.
3. We will enrich the Working Income Tax Benefit, which supplements the earnings of low-income workers, above the level legislated by the Conservatives.
We will encourage work by having this benefit available on the first dollar earned, which is $3,000 sooner than under the Conservative plan.
And we will ensure that it benefits more families by phasing it out more slowly.
4. To support lower-income Canadians with disabilities we will make the Disability Tax Credit refundable, ensuring that low- income individuals who are disabled are able to benefit from the Green Shift.
Additional support for Rural and Northern Canadians:
Energy requirements are often higher in rural Canada and in the North, so we will provide specific assistance to rural Canadians to help them adjust to higher fuel prices.
In addition to the significant tax measures already described, every rural Canadian tax filer will receive, up front, an annual Green Rural Credit of $150.
This applies to everyone, whether they actually pay taxes or not.
In addition to the Green Rural Credit, for those Canadians who live in Canada’s North, we will immediately boost the Northern Residents Deduction (NRD) to a new maximum of $7,000 per year from just over $6,000 and index it going forward.
This represents an immediate tax savings of nearly $150 per year and over $200 per year within four years for those who fully benefit from the NRD.
Broad-based corporate income tax reduction:
We will accelerate and deepen the currently planned corporate tax cuts, reducing the general corporate tax rate by an additional one per cent within four years.
That means the federal corporate tax rate in Canada will be only 14 per cent by the fourth year.
This will make Canada one of the most competitive tax jurisdictions in the world, attracting businesses that will be part of a sustainable, green, Canadian economy.
Small business income tax reductions:
In addition to lowering the general corporate tax rate,
we will reduce the small business corporate tax rate by an additional one per cent.
Small business is the engine of the Canadian economy
and it is Canada’s entrepreneurs who will lead the way in the development of new technologies and products for the green economy.
Accelerated Capital Cost Allowance for green technologies:
One of the best ways to generate business investment in green technology in Canada is by offering tax incentives for that investment.
The capital cost allowance system determines how much of the cost of a capital asset a business may deduct each year for tax purposes.
By accelerating capital cost allowance rates for green investments, businesses will have additional major incentives to go green.
Better Research and Development (R&D) incentives:
The primary tool that the federal government has to stimulate private R&D in Canada is the Science, Research & Experimental Development (SR&ED) Tax credit.
Today this credit is not refundable for all companies that are conducting R&D in Canada.
We will make the SR&ED Tax credit 25 per cent refundable to spur further innovation in developing the new products that will keep Canada competitive.
This Green Shift is at the heart of the Liberal plan to fight climate change and improve Canada’s environment and economy.
It complements other Liberal commitments to green our economy, such as the Renewable Power Production Incentive that will more than double the non-emitting energy sources available to Canadians,
the $1 billion Advanced Manufacturing and Prosperity (AMP) Fund that will stimulate green manufacturing,
and the major Infrastructure Surplus commitment to upgrade our sustainable infrastructure such as public transit through unanticipated government surpluses.
Our plan will also include complementary regulations and incentives to Canadians for home retrofits, energy-efficient appliances and vehicles, low-carbon farm and forestry practices and other ways to help Canadians reduce their environmental footprint,
become more energy efficient,
and save on their energy costs.
Canadians know there are many things we can do together to improve our environment, our quality of life and our economic strength.
Canadians are looking for a partner to help them make that transition.
A Liberal government will be that partner.
Introduction
If there is one characteristic that defines Canada, it is our ability to surmount great challenges.
Canadians have built a country that spans a continent, touches three oceans, speaks two official languages, values multiculturalism, offers public health care and protects its citizens through the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Canada is a marvel and the envy of the world.
Canadians have mobilized in the name of compassion and freedom to fight two world wars, helped build international institutions that reduce conflict and defend human rights, and created the concept of peacekeeping.
Canadians have fostered a society that values both economic prosperity and social justice.
And in so doing, we have proven that a high quality of life and compassion for our fellow citizens are not mutually exclusive.
Yet, with the arrival of the 21st century we face new challenges.
The world economy is becoming increasingly competitive; far too many of our children still live in poverty;  and our Earth, our environment, our quality of life, are under threat because of man-made climate change.
Just as the Liberal Party helped reconcile the objectives of economic prosperity and social justice,
today we believe we can incorporate the new objective of environmental sustainability into everything that we do.
But first, we must recognize the scope of the challenges that we face.
The climate change crisis
The science is clear.
Climate change is real; it is man made, and it is the most serious ecological crisis humanity has ever faced.
The United Nations’ Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has made the costs of inaction all too clear: rising sea levels, heightened competition for fresh water, extreme weather – from heat waves and droughts to cyclones and flooding – and dozens, if not hundreds, of species pushed into extinction.
Canada, as a northern country with numerous coastal cities, is particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
Recently, the government quietly released a report by 145 leading Canadian scientists that warned that Canada’s changing climate will lead to everything from increasingly severe storms in Atlantic Canada to retreating glaciers in our North.
There will be hotter summers and poorer air quality in urban Ontario.
The Prairies will increasingly struggle with drought, affecting agriculture and potentially causing water rationing in urban areas.
And in Northern communities, the impacts are particularly profound: arctic ice is melting, the permafrost is shifting, entire communities may be displaced, and a traditional way of life is at risk, along with the polar bear and other iconic species.
The Canadian people want to do more to stop this threat.
You can see this eagerness at the grocery store, where more people bring reusable bags with them to shop.
You can see it on our roads, where more hybrid cars are being driven.
And you can hear it in conversations in our schools and offices, coffee shops, and public places.
Sadly, Stephen Harper - who as Prime Minister has referred to what he terms “so-called greenhouse gases”- has refused to take on the challenge of climate change.
Behind a mask of new, politically expedient rhetoric he has unveiled a climate change plan that has been rejected by every expert group that has reviewed it across the entire political spectrum.
Those experts agree that the government’s current regulatory approach is weak, full of loopholes and likely to fall short of even its own modest goals.
A report published by the C.D. Howe Institute has shown that through the government’s plan, “[greenhouse gas]” emissions are unlikely to fall below current levels before 2020.”
They indicate that by not maximizing the use of market forces through proper price signals, the Conservatives are creating new economic distortions and reducing the efficiency of our economy.
Canada must reassert itself as a global environmental leader.
We must do our part to fight the climate change crisis,
not only to protect our beautiful country and our way of life,
but to protect the Earth itself and the millions of people around the world whose very lives are at risk.
Canadians know Canada won’t meet its obligations under the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol.
However, the Kyoto Protocol is an ongoing international effort, and we must build momentum now in order to close that gap in the next phase of the agreement, after 2012.
We believe that our target should be to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020.
This should be increased to at least 25 per cent if other countries take on comparable efforts.
This is in line with what the science tells us we need to do.
We must achieve absolute greenhouse gas emissions reductions, and we must begin today.
Canada cannot solve climate change on its own.
Until we take serious action to reduce our own emissions, we will have little credibility on the global stage to ensure other countries are doing their part.
Tackling climate change is both a moral obligation and an economic opportunity.
Canadians want to take action to avoid the worst effects of climate change
and want their country to be a good citizen of the world, leading other countries, not lagging behind.
Fighting climate change is also an opportunity that we cannot miss – an opportunity to modernize our economy,
to make Canada more competitive and better adapted to the 21st century.
Canadians need to reduce our economy’s reliance on polluting fossil fuels
and we need to become more energy efficient.
Doing so will be good for our economy and the environment: not only will we reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and other sources of pollution,
but also become more competitive in a carbon-constrained global economy.
One of the key means to do this is to reform our tax system: to tax pollution while cutting taxes on income, investment and innovation.
The Liberal Party understands both the challenge of climate change and the desire of all Canadians to be part of the solution.
It’s time for a government policy that reflects that commitment.
“Very strong reductions in carbon emissions are required to reduce the risks of climate change. They are likely to provide benefits well in excess of the costs. Indeed the costs of not acting strongly are likely to be very high. There are ways to reduce the risks of climate change. With the right incentives, the private sector will respond and can deliver solutions.” - Nicolas Stern, Chair of Stern Review on Climate Change and former Chief Economist of the World Bank
A tax system in need of reform
Every hard-earned dollar that is taxed in Canada is a trust between Canadians and their governments.
Canadians deserve taxes that are competitive
and working to achieve social goals.
As the Canadian and global economies have changed in recent decades, our tax system needs to change with them.
That means encouraging behaviour that benefits our society, like hard work and ingenuity,
and discouraging behaviour that harms it, like pollution and waste.
Canada already discourages bad outcomes by taxing things that are hazardous to our health.
We put taxes on cigarettes and alcohol to encourage people to live healthier lifestyles.
To address the growing threat of climate change, it’s time we do the same for the health of our planet.
It’s time we put a tax on pollution.
There is no doubt that taxes have a significant impact on our economy and our society.
When individuals and companies pay income taxes they have less money to save.
When they have less money to save, they have less money to invest.
Investment boosts the competitiveness of our economy and creates jobs, which prepare us for the economy of the future.
That’s why getting tax policy right is so important for Canada.
By taxing pollution and making polluters pay, businesses will not only be encouraged to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases they emit into the atmosphere,
but it will also help stimulate innovation, the key to economic growth.
Canadian families deserve to see larger cheques on payday.
And by letting Canadians take more money home on their paycheque, our economy can attract global talent and continue to enrich the Canadian middle class.
We also need to reduce taxes on business investments and job creation.
Our economy is facing a high dollar and increased competition from emerging economies like China and India.
Our exporting industries used to have a currency advantage;
now we need to create new advantages for our economy as a whole.
And we need a tax system that will promote inclusion
and will allow more Canadians to use their skills and talents in the workforce.
In a competitive global economy of over six billion people, a small country like Canada needs to encourage the economic participation of all our citizens.
We need all Canadians to thrive in the workforce
and so we need a more effective, progressive and fairer tax system.
There are 3.4 million Canadians living below the poverty line in Canada, including about 800,000 Canadian children.
That is over one out of every 10 children.
We know that children in poverty suffer from hunger, inadequate housing, chronic health problems, and lower education.
We must all do better.
By making their new employment and child tax credits non-refundable, the Conservatives have ensured that only those who earn the most income have the benefit of the tax credits.
The Conservative approach to social policy is a mistake.
If Canada is to succeed in the modern, global economy we need all of our citizens to work together.
Lower-income Canadians need to be given tax incentives that will help bring them into the middle class.
Liberals understand that we need a tax system that provides income support to lower-income, working Canadians – helping to lift them out of poverty and onto the road to the middle class.
We need a bold, modern reform of our tax system, to tackle climate change effectively,
to reduce pollution,
and to boost investment, innovation and inclusion.
That is precisely what the Liberal plan offers.
The Plan
The Green Shift will shift Canada’s tax system away from income and towards pollution in a revenue- neutral way.
That means by law, every penny that is raised in pollution taxes will be returned to Canadians through tax cuts.
These tax cuts will allow Canadians to keep more of the money they earn,
boost innovation,
and make the tax regime more progressive.
The Green Shift will not only make our country cleaner and greener,
it will also make it fairer.
Why tax carbon?
Greenhouse gases are gases that trap heat within the atmosphere and thus contribute to climate change.
Carbon dioxide is the primary greenhouse gas emitted by humanity, largely through the burning of fossil fuels.
Putting a national price on pollution
A consensus has developed among both environmentalists and economists that the best way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is to put a price on carbon.
Currently, there are very few costs to Canadian polluters for the greenhouse gases they dump into our atmosphere, even though we all pay a price for the impact of those emissions.
Economists call this an ‘externality,’ meaning the actions of one person have an impact on people around them.
In the case of greenhouse gas emissions, that externality is negative, because the impact of those actions causes all of us harm.
As long as it is free to pollute, it is easy to forget about the impact of that pollution on others.
While recent months and years have seen a rise in energy prices due to higher demand from emerging economies, those price changes reflect market conditions, rather than the social costs of pollution.
Indeed, many polluters have actually profited from rising energy prices.
This must change.
It should no longer be free to dump greenhouse gases into our atmosphere.
The true cost of that pollution must be built into the decision- making process of every polluter.
A year ago, the Liberal Party introduced the Carbon Budget, a strong cap- and-trade plan to put a price on carbon,
boost green investment,
and create a carbon market.
A Liberal government will work with other jurisdictions, including the United States, to establish a solid cap-and-trade system as stronger carbon markets develop.
We will continue to be guided by the principles of the Carbon Budget: absolute emission reductions, increased investment in green technology, and harnessing the power of the market to fight climate change.
However, more than two wasted years of Conservative government, combined with the message of urgency coming from scientists, means that we must put a price on carbon as soon as possible.
Since a cap-and-trade system will take several years to build, we will start with a broad-based, revenue neutral carbon tax that can be implemented quickly and simply, that will cover approximately 75 per cent of domestic emissions.
This will allow our economy to immediately begin the needed transition to clean energy, efficiency and low emissions.
There are significant economic advantages to our Green Shift.
By putting in place a comprehensive price on carbon alongside effective regulations, we can let the market determine the most cost-effective means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Putting a price on carbon will spur our industry to pollute less, either by using cleaner energy or innovating to become more energy efficient.
This will create new demand in Canada for green products and technologies – boosting the development of those products and technologies, which are already in growing demand around the world.
With the Green Shift, Canada will, for the first time, have a clear, meaningful and gradually increasing price on carbon.
The Green Budget Coalition1 has said that carbon pricing of the sort we propose is “the most crucial opportunity” for environmental improvement
and that setting this kind of price on pollution “would spur emission reductions throughout the economy.”
With the Green Shift, we will start to see reductions much more quickly than under the weak, loophole-ridden Conservative approach.
Cleaner energy choices will be cheaper and dirty choices more expensive.
This is the best way to change the activities that produce GHG emissions and other pollution.
Finland and Sweden
In 1990, Finland was the first country to enact a carbon tax.
Sweden followed in 1991.
And others have followed since.
In Sweden, it has been projected that carbon dioxide emissions were reduced in 2000 by 20-25 per cent more than would have been the case through other policies.
A growing consensus
Business groups understand the economic opportunity that pricing carbon represents.
The Canadian Council of Chief Executives has stated recently that “encouraging businesses and individuals to change behaviour requires appropriate price signals.”
Today, companies that want to introduce clean energy or more efficient solutions to the market are at a serious economic disadvantage to the fossil fuel sector, which does not have to cover the cost of its emissions.
The playing field is not level; far from it.
Our carbon price will help improve the cost balance between clean energy and carbon intensive fossil fuel.
According to Goldman Sachs, the amount of international capital to be invested in environmental technologies and clean energy has skyrocketed from $400 billion in 2003 to $3 trillion in 2006 – more than a seven- fold increase in just three years.
Those numbers are only going to grow, and Canada stands to lose if we don’t start fighting for those investment dollars.
The quicker we introduce a price across the economy, the quicker the economy can adjust and start to reduce emissions,
and the quicker Canada can do its part to fight the climate change crisis and be a leader in the emerging low-carbon, energy-efficient, global economy.
We can’t afford to be left behind while other countries act.
California and European Union leaders have begun considering trade sanctions on countries that are laggards on climate change.
In the United States, both Barack Obama and John McCain are proponents of decisive efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Once the Bush administration is gone, our biggest trading partner will move towards a greener future.
For the sake of our economy, we need to be there too.
Canada must be a country that encourages our trading partners to put a price on pollution, not a country that sees our trading opportunities threatened by our own inaction.
We must also lead by example to encourage developing countries to do their part.
As other countries and jurisdictions move towards carbon pricing, their companies will have a first mover advantage in building their green technologies.
In the new global economy, environmental laggards will become economic losers.
Canada cannot afford to be one of those countries.
The Liberal Party of Canada will put in place a price on carbon from coast to coast to coast.
We will work with provinces such as British Columbia and Quebec that have already moved on carbon pricing,
ensuring our system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is administered fairly, in a way that strengthens our economy.
The Green Shift will be part of a broader environmental plan that we will offer to Canadians in the next election.
That plan will include measures to boost renewable energy,
to green our manufacturing industry,
to help individual Canadians reduce their environmental footprints,
to protect our nature and wildlife,
and to make our air and water cleaner.
Even the Conservatives freely admit that their “Turning the Corner Plan” will result in higher heating and electricity costs.
The Conservative plan notes: “Our modelling suggests that Canadians can expect to bear real costs under the Regulatory Framework.
For the majority of individual Canadians and for businesses outside the regulated sectors, these costs will be most evident in the form of higher energy prices, particularly with respect to electricity and natural gas (although increased energy conservation and efficiency are expected to limit those increases).”
The Liberal Green Shift is different in that higher energy costs are offset by broad-based, progressive tax cuts.
Case Study: British Columbia
We are seeing leadership in Canada at the provincial level.
In B.C., Gordon Campbell’s Liberal government has introduced a broad-based revenue-neutral tax on fossil fuels.
Just as Saskatchewan led Canada in introducing public health care, B.C. is leading Canada in the fight against climate change.
Some ways Canadians can reduce their emissions: Replace incandescent light bulbs with a compact fluorescent bulb.
Use a programmable thermostat.
Weather-strip your home’s doors and windows.
Choose energy efficient appliances.
Smart tax cuts
There is a clear gain for Canada that comes from our Green Shift plan.
We are able to harness the power of market forces to move our economy towards a greener future.
At the same time, the revenue generated through a carbon tax can be given back to Canadians in a manner that makes Canada’s tax system more progressive, more competitive and more rewarding for individuals and companies that succeed.
This ‘double dividend’ means that we can both fight climate change
and position our economy to succeed in an increasingly competitive world.
The Liberal tax plan is completely revenue neutral.
That means, by law, every dollar raised will be returned to the people of Canada, in the form of smart tax cuts for individuals and companies.
As the price on carbon emissions increases from $10 to $40 per tonne, the tax cuts will increase as well.
What are refundable tax credits?
These are credits that can be paid to Canadians even if they do not pay enough income tax to use the credits to reduce their taxes.
The credits are refunded to Canadians if not already applied against income taxes.
Personal tax reductions
Significant, broad-based income tax rate reductions: By the fourth year of our plan we will have completed a large personal income tax reduction program.
We will cut the lowest income tax rate to 13.5 per cent from 15 per cent.
This means we will cut taxes in the lowest bracket by 10 per cent.
And we will cut the middle class tax rates to 21 per cent from 22 per cent (a 4.5 per cent cut) and to 25 per cent from 26 per cent (a 3.8 per cent cut).
Cutting income tax rates rewards hard work and puts more money into Canadians’ pockets.
Make the tax system fairer for low-income Canadians:
Our goal is to help low-income Canadians in particular.
As part of the Liberal 30/50 Plan for fighting poverty in Canada, we aim to cut overall poverty by 30 per cent and cut child poverty in half within five years.
We will also reform the tax system to make it fairer to working Canadians.
The Conservatives have introduced a number of tax measures that offer little to no benefit for those who need it most: low-income Canadians working to lift themselves into the middle class.
We will fix this by: 1. Introducing a new, universal child tax benefit worth $350 per child, per year, on top of all existing child benefits.
This will provide direct financial assistance to Canadian families whether or not they pay significant income taxes.
2. We will replace the Conservatives’ regressive, small, poorly designed $1,000 employment credit with a $1,850 refundable employment credit targeted at those Canadians who earn less than $50,000 per year.
This will put up to $250 back into the pockets of those working Canadians who need it most.
3. We will enrich the Working Income Tax Benefit, which supplements the earnings of low-income workers, above the level legislated by the Conservatives.
We will encourage work by having this benefit available on the first dollar earned, which is $3,000 sooner than the Conservative plan.
And we will ensure that it benefits more families by phasing it out more slowly.
4. To support lower-income Canadians with disabilities we will make the Disability Tax Credit refundable, ensuring that low- income individuals who are disabled are able to benefit from the Green Shift.
Additional support for Rural and Northern Canadians:
Energy requirements are simply higher in rural Canada and in the North.
Whether we consider the costs of a family farm in Saskatchewan or a gas heater in Nunavut, it is clear that any plan to put a price on carbon must recognize the realities of rural and Northern Canada.
That is why we will provide specific assistance to rural Canadian taxpayers as they adjust to the higher price of carbon.
In addition to the significant tax measures already described, every rural Canadian tax filer will receive up front, each year, an annual Green Rural Credit of $150.
In addition to the Green Rural Credit, for those Canadians who live in Canada’s North, we will immediately boost the Northern Residents Deduction (NRD) to a new maximum of $7,000 per year from just over $6,000 and index it going forward.
This represents an immediate tax savings of nearly $150 per year and over $200 per year within four years for those who fully benefit from the NRD.
Working Income Tax Benefit
In 2005, the Liberal government introduced the Working Income Tax Benefit which supplements the earnings of low- income workers to help make work pay.
The Benefit helps Canadians get over the welfare wall and into the workforce.
Northern Residents Deduction
The Northern Residents Deduction (NRD) is a tax benefit for workers who live in the North.
Those in the most Northern parts of Canada receive the full deduction while those in an ‘intermediate’ northern zone receive half the deduction according to Revenue Canada guidelines.
Additional support
It is important to ensure that lower-income Canadians are able to cope with any potential increase in their energy costs.
In addition to the tax reductions and tax credits within the Green Shift, the Liberal Plan will be offering targeted benefits through the 30/50 plan that will help low-income seniors and low-income families.
These measures are part of the Liberal Party’s broader election platform to lift Canadians out of poverty and will be financed from the existing fiscal framework.
These include: A boost to the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), steadily rising to an additional $600 per year in the fourth year of our plan.
The GIS provides additional money, on top of Old Age Security, to low-income seniors living in Canada.
Estimated annual cost in year four: $800 million.
A new Guaranteed Family Supplement, which is a new addition to the Child Tax Benefit.
Rising steadily each year, it will provide a maximum of $1,225 for an estimated 500,000 low-income families with children under 18.
The benefit will be paid monthly and included as part of the Child Tax Benefit.
Estimated annual cost in year four: $482 million.
To provide further help to lower-income families with children we will ensure that all families with incomes up to $26,000 keep all of the National Child Benefit Supplement which now is phased out at incomes of approximately $21,000.
Estimated annual cost in year four: $350 million.
These benefits will not only mitigate the impact of a carbon tax on low- income Canadians, they will help lift them out of poverty and better enable them to contribute to our society.
Business tax reductions
We will boost the competitiveness of Canada’s economy through business tax relief that will stimulate investment and green innovation.
Broad-based corporate income tax reductions:
We will accelerate and deepen the currently planned corporate tax cuts, reducing the general corporate tax rate by an additional one per cent within four years.
That means the federal corporate tax rate in Canada will be only 14 per cent by the fourth year.
This will make Canada one of the most competitive jurisdictions in the world, attracting businesses that will be part of a sustainable, green, Canadian economy.
Small business income tax reductions:
In addition to lowering the general corporate tax rate,
we will reduce the small business corporate tax rate by an additional one per cent.
Small business is the engine of the Canadian economy
and it is Canada’s entrepreneurs who will lead the way in the development of new technologies and products for the green economy.
Accelerated Capital Cost Allowance for green technologies:
One of the best ways to generate business investment in Canada is by offering tax incentives for that investment.
The capital cost allowance system determines how much of the cost of a capital asset a business may deduct each year for tax purposes.
By accelerating capital cost allowance rates for green investments, businesses are given incentives to go green.
By the fourth year of our plan, we will invest $600 million annually to accelerate the capital cost allowance rates for investments in green technologies.
We will help spur innovation throughout Canadian industry by encouraging investment in technologies that significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions
and significantly improve energy efficiency.
Better Research and Development (R&D) incentives:
The primary tool that the federal government has to stimulate private R&D in Canada is the Science, Research & Experimental Development (SR&ED) Tax credit.
Today this credit is not refundable, so companies that are not paying taxes in the short-term (with some exceptions) are not rewarded for the innovation.
We will make the SR&ED Tax credit 25 per cent refundable.
This will ensure that all companies, not simply those that are earning a profit in the short-term are rewarded for their R&D activities.
What is an Accelerated Capital Cost Allowance (ACCA)?
A capital-cost allowance is a business tax deduction for the depreciation of capital equipment.
An ACCA provides for an accelerated rate of depreciation on the equipment and so a higher tax deduction.
Carbon tariff
There are many who argue that putting a price on carbon will disadvantage Canadian-produced goods, compared with other countries that are not taking action to fight climate change.
However, it is important to note that the European Union has been pricing carbon for years and its economy is currently outperforming that of North America.
Canada faces a very real threat from other countries that are increasingly studying whether to impose tariffs on Canadian goods so that their carbon content is taken into account.
This threat to our competitiveness comes from failing to act, not from acting.
We need to stand with the world’s green leaders rather than stand with environmental laggards facing new trade barriers.
We will build carbon pricing into our strategy for international trade, endeavouring where possible to ensure that goods from countries that are not pricing carbon will face a tariff reflective of carbon content.
Since the next president of the United States, be he a Republican or Democrat, has already committed to pricing carbon, this will likely not impact our largest trading partner.
Most importantly, Canada will move quickly to put a price on carbon so that its exporters are not boycotted in global markets.
Contingency offset
We will set aside $1 billion over four years ($100 million in the first year growing to $400 million in the fourth year) which will be reserved for tax cuts designed to off-set the impact of the carbon tax on groups such as not-for-profit organizations and charities.
This contingency offset will also be used to design tax relief to address unanticipated and unavoidable costs associated with the new price on carbon for the most vulnerable in society.
As part of the Green Shift, every dollar in the contingency offset will be returned in tax relief to Canadians.
Tools for Canadians
The Green Shift is at the heart of the Liberal plan to fight climate change
and improve Canada’s environment and economy.
It complements other Liberal commitments to green our economy, such as the Renewable Power Production Incentive that will more than double the non-emitting energy sources available to Canadians,
the $1 billion AMP Fund that will stimulate green manufacturing,
and the major Infrastructure Surplus commitment to upgrade our sustainable infrastructure like public transit through unanticipated government surpluses.
Our plan will also include complementary regulations and incentives to Canadians for home retrofits, energy efficient appliances and vehicles, low carbon farm and forestry.
How it works
The Green Shift is as simple as it is powerful.
We are going to shift Canada’s tax system away from income and towards pollution.
And we are going to do it in a revenue neutral way – putting it in law that ever y dollar that is raised in pollution taxes will be returned to Canadians in tax cuts.
The Auditor General will ensure the Green Shift’s revenue neutrality.
A carbon tax will apply at the wholesale level, across the country, to the full range of fossil fuels including coal, propane, natural gas, oil and diesel – based on their level of carbon emissions.
The price will begin immediately at $10 per tonne of greenhouse gas emissions and steadily rise by an additional $10 per tonne each year, reaching $40 per tonne within four years.
Further into the future the price on carbon will continue its gradual rise to reflect the true social costs of pollution.
In the fourth year, there will be total revenue of just over $15 billion within the Green Shift, all of which will be returned to Canadians in new tax cuts.
The 700 large final emitters (the worst polluters in Canada – mostly heavy industry and power plants) will account for a significant majority of the revenue within the Green Shift.
By starting with a low price that rises predictably over time, both businesses and individuals will have the time that they need to adjust their sources of energy
and invest in low emission technologies.
Yet by rising to $40 per tonne, we will have started the transformation toward a greener Canadian economy.
The Table above shows that the cost of fossil fuels has risen significantly since 2006.
The table also shows that, while it is true that there will be an increased cost to fossil fuels due to the Green Shift over four years, these are far-outweighed by cost increases that have occurred due to market factors alone since 2006.
The Green Shift, while offsetting increased energy costs through other tax measures, aims to align the interests of Canadians as taxpayers with their interests as consumers;
our interest to become more energy efficient and, as much as possible, less addicted to fossil fuels.
Experts agree that the cost of fossil fuels is likely to continue to rise for the long-haul.
The era of cheap oil is over.
This trend is attributable mostly to the rise in demand from emerging economies.
In China and India alone, 50 million people every year reach a middle class standard of living.
We need to act now: fossil fuel dependency must be decreased,
and energy efficiency increased.
The Green Shift will be a new incentive for us to do just that; to do what is right for the planet and right for our wallet.
As consumers dealing with the rising cost of fossil fuels, as citizens determined to reduce our carbon footprint, and as taxpayers wanting to keep more of our hard-earned dollars in our pockets, we will have the same goal – energy efficiency.
For your BBQ, in year one the Green Shift will increase the cost of filling your typical 20 lb. propane tank by 24 cents.
By year four, the Green Shift will have increased the cost of filling your tank by 95 cents.
The average Canadian household using home heating oil purchases approximately 1800 litres per year.
The Green Shift, in year one, will increase the cost of home heating oil for that household by $50 per year or $4.20 per month.
In year four, the Green Shift will increase costs by $203 per year or $16.95 per month.
The average Canadian household using natural gas purchases approximately 3,000-3,500 m3 of natural gas each year.
The Green Shift, in year one, will increase the cost of natural gas for that household from $57 to $66.50 per year or $4.75-$5.54 per month.
In year four, the Green Shift will increase costs from $228 to $266 per year or from $19 to $22.16 per month.
The Green Shift will not be applied to diesel until the second year, but will implement a pollution tax on diesel rising to seven cents per litre by year four.
By the end of year four, the Green Shift will have increased the average freight trucker’s total annual operating expenses by less than one per cent or approximately $1,700 per year.
There will be no increase in the gas tax at the pump.
Since gas at the pump is already taxed at 10 cents per litre, which is equivalent to $42 per tonne of greenhouse gas emissions, there will be no increase in the tax on gas over the mandate of a new Liberal government.
Likewise, because there is already a tax on diesel and aviation fuel of four cents per litre, the price on these fuels will see no increase in the first year.
For individuals, the primary impact will depend on local energy sources, local weather and energy efficiency of the household.
The Green Budget Coalition estimates that for the average family in Canada at a carbon price of $30 per tonne, there will be an annual increase in direct costs totalling approximately $270.
However, this estimate assumes an increase in the gas tax at the pump which will not occur under our Green Shift plan.
Excluding a gas tax increase while recognizing that the Liberal plan is to reach $40 per tonne will reduce the average direct cost to approximately $250 per household.
This implies that in the first year of our plan, with a carbon price of $10, the average new direct cost that year will be about $60 per household.
For businesses and other organizations, in addition to heating costs, the primary impacts will be felt through gradually increasing diesel prices and higher costs for industrial practices that require fossil fuels.
These impacts will vary across different industries based on their level of pollution.
Revenue Neutral
“Revenue neutral” means that the federal government does not increase its revenues through a new tax.
For every dollar raised in taxes there will be a dollar returned to Canadians in tax cuts.
Price vigilance
Gas price increases are due to many factors, including restricted supply.
There is also an increasing international demand on oil supply, as emerging economies such as China and India increase their own rates of consumption.
We also know Canadians are frustrated with spiralling energy costs and the lack of information and justification that often accompanies these increases.
Canadians deserve clear and complete information and the provision of such information will make the market place fairer and more transparent.
To accomplish this, we will restore the federal Office of Petroleum Price Information to monitor energy price fluctuations and provide clear, current information to Canadians.
Work on the creation of this office was started under the previous Liberal government but was shut down by the Conservative government.
The Minister of Natural Resources will be accountable to Parliament for the Office.
Canadians are also concerned about the possibility of anti-competitive behaviour affecting energy prices.
To allow for more effective enforcement of the Competition Act, we would examine introducing a dual-track approach to the criminal conspiracy provisions of the act to allow for a civil law regime to work beside the existing criminal law regime.
The high criminal burden of proof currently contained in the Act makes properly prosecuting anti-competitive activity or price manipulation extremely difficult.
A more reasonable civil standard of proof and will make successful prosecution more realistic and will help protect the consumer.
Conclusion
Canada is faced with a choice between clear alternatives.
One choice is the Conservatives – a party that has denied climate change and produced a plan to reduce greenhouse gases that experts do not support.
A party that thinks politically convenient talking points, spin and attack ads are a substitute for real action.
The alternative is the Liberal Party of Canada – Stéphane Dion and his team.
Liberals understand that faced with the greatest environmental threat humanity has ever witnessed,
and faced with a tax system that needs to do more to reward success and doesn’t do a good enough job for middle and low-income Canadians,
it’s time for action.
Our Green Shift will stimulate our economy, increasing its competitiveness
and reduce the income tax burden on individuals, particularly middle and low-income Canadians.
The Green Shift will make it more expensive to pollute in Canada, while lowering the cost of doing business across the rest of the economy, boosting investment and spurring a greener economy.
The Liberal plan is bold, it is achievable, and it will improve Canadians’ quality of life.
It is the right thing to do.
We can work together and make it a reality.
And in so doing, build a richer, greener, fairer Canada.
What This Election is About
In a time of global economic uncertainty, Canada needs a strong and steady leader at the helm.
For the past two and a half years, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has provided that leadership by managing the economy with prudence and discipline and by providing Canadian families and businesses with practical help that's making a real difference.
Canada has witnessed the net creation of more than 800,000 new jobs,
while the Harper Government has lowered taxes for the typical family by more than $3,000 a year
and relieved our children of nearly $40 billion in national debt.
People who work hard, pay their taxes and play by the rules are getting ahead.
The Harper Government has taken bold action to make Canada a safer place for families too.
Our tough-on-crime approach has resulted in tougher penalties for serious drug crimes and drug-impaired driving, and better protections from gangs, dangerous offenders and sexual predators.
National unity is stronger than it has been in forty years.
And Canada is, once again, taking our proper place on the world stage.
We are promoting our national interests and spreading our Canadian values of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
And we are defending our sovereignty over the vast Canadian Arctic.
Today, Canada is strong, united and free – the envy of the world.
We are in the best financial position of any country in the G7.
While other countries are struggling with uncertainty, Canada is on the cusp of becoming a bastion of economic strength on the international stage.
The true North Strong and Free - Stephen Harper’s plan for Canadians
Despite our gains over the past two and a half years, Canada is at risk of going back.
A Harper Conservative Government will continue to guide the country on a steady course through global instability.
We will continue to stand up for Canada's national interests as a credible competitor
and attract better and higher-paying jobs.
We will deliver on a modest and realistic plan that includes making it more affordable for a young couple to buy their first home, for parents to save for their children's education and for seniors to retire to a comfortable life.
We will continue to make our communities safer by ending house arrest for serious and violent crimes, including home invasion and drug trafficking.
We will help youth at risk of gang activity and introduce a new law on young offenders that will impose stiffer sentences for crimes like murder and manslaughter.
We will also protect consumers from illegal and unfair retail practices
and protect consumers and children from unsafe imported goods, including toys and food.
Under Stephen Harper's leadership, Canada will emerge stronger and more united than ever before.
This election, Canadians face a clear choice.
It's a choice between the Harper Conservatives' credible and affordable plan, and risky tax-and-spend experiments that will drive up the cost of everything from groceries to gas and throw Canada back into a deficit.
It's a choice between strength and weakness.
And it's a choice between moving forward and going back.
COST OF LIVING AND QUALITY OF LIFE
As high energy costs and turbulence in international financial markets have taken their toll on the world economy, Canadians have become increasingly concerned about the rising cost of living and threats to our quality of life.
Stephen Harper and the Conservative Government have helped Canadians cope with these challenging times.
Reducing the GST by two per cent has helped boost economic growth during the current slowdown.
This is part of a plan that has helped the Canadian economy.
Savings and benefits are more than $3,000 per year for a typical, two-child Canadian family earning $80,000.
A re-elected Conservative Government will continue to provide practical help to Canadian families to assist them with higher costs of living, and protect them from unfair retail practices so that families can focus on the things in life that matter most, like buying their first home and saving for their children's education.
Helping Consumers
Reduce taxes on Diesel fuel
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will reduce the federal excise tax on diesel and aviation fuel by half - from four cents per litre to two cents per litre -  reducing the price of transportation by truck, train, plane and ship, and helping to bring downward pressure on consumer prices.
Protecting Consumers with Stronger Competition Laws
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will implement a strong consumer protection plan by modernizing Canada's outdated competition laws.
New competition laws will: Make it easier to investigate and prosecute bid-rigging and hard-core cartel behaviour such as price fixing.
Raise maximum penalties for bid-rigging and cartels to a $25-million fine and 14 years in prison.
Introduce fines of up to $10 million – $15 million for repeat offenders – for companies that abuse their dominant market position.
Provide for restitution for consumers who fall victim to deceptive marketing practices.
Restricting Unfair Text Messaging Charges
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will prevent telecommunications companies from charging fees to customers for receiving unsolicited commercial text messages.
We will amend the Telecommunications Act to strengthen the power of the Commissioner of Complaints for Telecommunications Services, including the creation of a code of conduct for wireless services.
We will also create a compliance and deterrent power that allows the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to block these and similar unfair charges in the future.
Protecting against internet spam
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will introduce legislation to prohibit the use of spam (unsolicited commercial email) to collect personal information under false pretences and to engage in criminal conduct.
The new law will reduce dangerous, destructive and deceptive email and web site practices, and will establish new fines for those who break the law.
Ensuring Truth in Labelling for Consumer Goods
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will extend our new truth in labelling guidelines for food products to consumer products, ensuring that Canadians know more about the products they purchase.
As was done with food products, the use of the “Product of Canada” label will be restricted to consumer products where both the contents and processing are Canadian.
Qualified “Made in Canada” labels will be used for consumer products that are processed in Canada, but contain imported content, such as “Made in Canada from imported contents.”
Enacting Stronger Consumer Product Safety Legislation
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will follow through with consumer product safety legislation providing for more inspection and testing of food, toys and consumer products to ensure that dangerous products are swiftly recalled.
The legislation will also establish stiff offences and penalties for violations.
We will ensure that any regulation of natural health products balances the protection of Canadians' health and safety with the freedom to choose alternative products.
Establishing Tough Laws on Tampering with Gas Pumps
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will amend the Weights and Measures Act and the Electricity and Gas Inspection Act to ensure the accuracy of gas pumps and home-heating meters.
We will increase fines for companies that overcharge consumers, with additional fines as high as $50,000 for repeat offenders.
BENEFITS TO FAMILIES
Allowing Income Splitting for Caregivers of Family Members with Disabilities
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will allow families where one spouse is not working full-time in order to care for one or more family members with disabilities – whether children or adults – to split their income between spouses for tax purposes.
Making it Easier for Families to Save for Family Members with Disabilities
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will make it easier for families to plan for the future of their children with disabilities by improving the Disability Savings Plan.
We will allow the proceeds of a deceased individual's Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) or Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF) to be rolled over on a tax deferred basis to the Disability Savings Plan of a financially dependent infirm child or grandchild.
This builds on the Disability Savings Plan established by this government in 2007, and will make it easier for a person with disabilities to access money that has been transferred from the unused retirement savings of a deceased family member.
Helping First-Time Homebuyers with High Closing Costs
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will give first-time homebuyers a tax credit for up to $5,000 of eligible closing costs on the purchase of a new home.
Helping Parents Save for Their Children's Education
A re-elected Conservative Government will expand the current Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) to allow charities and not-for-profit organizations to establish RESPs, in partnership with parents, for children from low-income families that otherwise would not have the ability to save.
Improving the $100 per Month Universal Child Care Benefit
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will fully index the $100 per month Universal Child Care Benefit to inflation.
This will ensure that the value of the benefit does not erode over time.
To help sole-support, single-income parents with the costs of caring for children under six years old, a re-elected Conservative Government will make the $100 per month per child Universal Child Care Benefit given to these parents tax free.
This will recognize the uniquely high child care burdens borne by single parents.
Helping Seniors by Increasing the Age Credit Amount
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will increase the Senior Age Credit Amount by an additional $1,000, on top of already planned increases.
Once this increase is fully implemented, it will result in savings of more than $400 per year for eligible seniors receiving the full value of the credit.
Ensuring Fairness for Seniors Collecting U.S. Social Security
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will end the unfair treatment of Canadians receiving U.S. Social Security payments.
Starting in 1997, the Liberal government began to tax 85 per cent of U.S. Social Security payments received by Canadian seniors.
A re-elected Conservative Government will restore the 50 per cent inclusion rate that applied before the Liberals took office.
The restored, lower rate will apply to Canadians who were receiving U.S. Social Security payments prior to January 1, 1996.
Helping Make Housing Affordable for Vulnerable Canadians
Stephen Harper and the Conservatives are committed to ensuring that all Canadians have an adequate quality of housing.
We have extended the Homelessness Partnering Strategy for the next two years and will maintain funding to deal with homelessness at least at the current levels.
We will work with provinces, municipalities and charitable organizations to look at ways of improving the effectiveness of federal dollars spent on homelessness initiatives.
We have also renewed funding for the Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program to assist low-income Canadians in renovating their homes
and for the Affordable Housing Initiative, which supports the creation of new rental housing units.
Helping Aboriginal People Participate Fully in Canadian Life
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will ensure that Aboriginals have the opportunity to fully participate in Canada's economy and society.
Improving Aboriginal education is crucial to giving young members of the Aboriginal community the opportunity to succeed.
We will work to complete tripartite educational agreements, modelled after the successful agreements in British Columbia and New Brunswick, with provinces and First Nations organizations across the country.
A re-elected Conservative Government will also commit to pursuing bilateral agreements with provinces to address the wrongs of the residential schools era for Aboriginals attending similar schools not covered by the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement.
JOBS FOR THE FUTURE
Since coming to office, Stephen Harper and the Conservatives have taken steps to help Canada compete in the world economy
and to make sure that we are creating and preparing Canadians for the next generation of work.
We reduced taxes on business,
invested in science and technology
and provided incentives for young Canadians to enter the skilled trades.
We took measures to encourage more participation in the workforce, such as the $1,000 Canada Employment Credit, the Working Income Tax Benefit for lower-income working families
and efforts to attract more skilled workers through immigration and to promote recognition of international credentials.
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will do more to invest in jobs for the future and for a flexible labour market that responds to the needs of Canadians.
Reduce Taxes on Diesel Fuel Giving Self-Employed Canadians Access to EI Parental Benefits
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will give self-employed Canadians the opportunity to access maternity and parental benefits.
Lowering Taxes for Small Business
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will continue to reduce taxes for small and medium-sized businesses.
In our first term, we reduced the small business tax rate to 11 per cent, raised the eligibility threshold for the small business income tax rate to $400,000 and raised the lifetime capital gains exemption for small business owners to $750,000.
We will build on this record in our second term by:  Raising the small business eligibility threshold to $500,000.
Indexing the lifetime capital gains exemption to inflation.
Reducing the Paper Burden for Small Business
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will achieve its target of a 20 per cent reduction this year in reporting requirements for small businesses
and will continue to reduce the burden of unnecessary red tape and paperwork on Canada's small- business sector.
A re-elected Conservative Government will continue to work with the private sector and small business organizations to identify inefficiencies and make permanent a formal process of measuring, reporting and reducing the burden on businesses.
Providing Access to Venture Capital for Innovative Companies
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will create a new $75- million venture capital fund, to be administered by the Business Development Bank of Canada, which will allow late-stage technology companies to move from research and development to commercialization stages of business.
Protecting Creators and Consumers of New Ideas and Products
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will reintroduce federal copyright legislation that strikes the appropriate balance among the rights of musicians, artists, programmers and other creators and brings Canada's intellectual property protection in line with that of other industrialized countries,
but also protects consumers who want to access copyright works for their personal use.
We will also introduce tougher laws on counterfeiting and piracy and give our customs and law enforcement services the resources to enforce them.
This will protect consumers from phoney and sometimes dangerous products that are passed off as reliable brand-name goods.
Making Canadian Business More Competitive
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will improve the competitiveness of Canadian business,
ensuring both a level playing field for companies and protection for Canadian consumers.
We will increase the threshold for foreign investment reviews to attract more foreign investment to Canada
while ensuring that such investments are of net benefit to Canada.
We will ensure that consumer interests are protected
and that the government can block foreign takeovers that would jeopardize our national security.
We will work to ensure that Canadian companies also receive increased access to investment opportunities abroad.
We will open up two regulated sectors, airlines and uranium mining, to allow increased foreign investment, subject to any investments in these sectors meeting the national security test and negotiation of reciprocal benefits with our trading partners.
Supporting our Manufacturing Sector
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will continue our support for strategic industries, such as the aerospace and automotive sectors.
The government has already established two new funds – the $900-million Strategic Aerospace and Defence Initiative and the $250-million Automotive Innovation Fund.
These funds emphasize leading-edge technology and innovation to ensure that Canada remains a world leader in these industries.
Unlike previous governments, a Harper Government will ensure that taxpayers' investments are repaid.
A re-elected Conservative Government will also support capital investment by abolishing tariffs on a wide range of imported machinery and equipment.
Supporting Future Technology
The Conservative Government has made major new investments in leading-edge science over the past three budgets, which will increase support for science and technology by $850 million by 2009-10.
A re-elected Conservative Government will make additional investments in internationally recognized science and technology projects in Canada.
Breaking Down Trade Barriers within Canada
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will work to eliminate barriers that restrict or impair trade, investment or labour mobility between provinces and territories by 2010.
In 2007, the government announced that it was prepared to use the federal trade and commerce power to strengthen the Canadian economic union.
Since that time, we have seen progress among the provinces and territories in strengthening the existing Agreement on Internal Trade.
We hope to see further progress, but are prepared to intervene by exercising federal authority if barriers to trade, investment and mobility remain by 2010.
Increasing Trade with Emerging Markets
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will continue to pursue trade agreements, such as those successfully reached with the European Free Trade Association, Colombia, Peru and Jordan.
We are committed to seeing these deals passed by Parliament.
In light of the recent setback at the World Trade Organization negotiations, a re-elected Conservative Government will move aggressively to improve Canada's network of bilateral and regional free trade and economic agreements.
To improve Canada's position as a global trader, a re-elected Conservative Government will proceed with plans to open new trade offices in China, Mongolia, Mexico, Brazil and India (in Hyderabad, Kolkata and Ahmedabad).
Offering a New Incentive for Completing Apprenticeships
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will enhance the current Apprenticeship Incentive Grant by adding an additional $2,000 completion bonus for apprentices who complete their training.
The Apprenticeship Incentive Grant was created by the Conservative Government to award grants to registered apprentices who have completed the first or second year of an apprenticeship program in a nationally recognized Red Seal trade.
The new bonus will provide an additional cash grant upon completion of a recognized Red Seal apprenticeship program.
Ensuring an Immigration System that Responds to Economic Needs
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper is committed to implementing the reforms contained in the 2008 Budget to reduce the immigration processing backlog and to expedite applications from people with the skills and professions most in demand in Canada.
A re-elected Conservative Government will build on the creation of the Foreign Credentials Referral Office to work with the provinces and territories to ensure greater standardization of workplace and professional credentials across the country and standards for assessment of foreign credentials and will place this issue on the agenda of the next meeting of First Ministers.
Protecting Potential Immigrants and Their Families from Unscrupulous Consultants
In order to protect immigrants and potential immigrants and their families, a re-elected Conservative Government will make immigration consulting a regulated activity.
Meeting the Regional Development Needs of All Regions
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will ensure that regional development meets the economic needs and aspirations of all Canada's regions.
We will establish a new regional development agency to cover Northern Canada, consolidating existing northern development activities into one agency.
We will make sure that rural and low-employment communities of Southern Ontario will be able to access regional development programs along with Northern and Eastern Ontario.
We will reverse the 2004 and 2005 Liberal cuts to the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, Western Economic Diversification and Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions, and ensure that spending on regional development will remain at least equal to current levels.
To support the development of tourism infrastructure on the Saint Lawrence River, we will extend funding for international cruise port-of-call projects by an additional $24 million over two years.
Building Canada:  Infrastructure for Our Cities and Communities
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will continue to invest in critical infrastructure for our cities and communities.
The Conservative Government has already committed to investing $33 billion in infrastructure between 2007 and 2014 under the Building Canada Plan
and to continuing the gas tax transfer to municipalities at a permanent level of $2 billion per year after 2014.
A re-elected Conservative Government will continue to support rural and remote communities by investing in new infrastructure throughout rural and northern Canada.
Helping Older Workers
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will increase support for Canadians living in one-industry communities to upgrade their skills and get back into the workforce.
We will increase funding for the current Targeted Initiative for Older Workers to $50 million per year through 2012.
We will continue to work with provinces and territories, businesses and others to help older workers get the skills they need to find new jobs.
Supporting Canada’s Resource Industries
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will continue our strong support for Canada's resource-based industries, such as forestry, fisheries and mining.
The Conservative Government has already resolved the longstanding softwood lumber dispute with the United States,
provided funding to British Columbia and northern Alberta to combat the pine beetle crisis
and announced additional support for Canada's resource-based communities through the $1-billion Community Development Trust.
We have made it easier for fisheries operators to pass on their licences to family members,
introduced a new Fisheries Act
and assumed custodial management of the fishery in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) regulatory area.
We have also announced a $100-million, five-year program for geological mapping of Canada's energy and mineral resources.
Going forward, a re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will:  Extend funding for the forestry industry to market its products abroad
and continue support for lumber mills to convert from fossil fuels to biomass.
Modernize the administration of our fisheries to ensure greater focus on conservation
and using administrative sanctions, rather than court proceedings, to deal with violations.
Extend the “super” flow-through share incentive for mining.
Reducing the Regulatory Burden for Northern Development
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will continue to implement the recommendations of the McCrank Report, Road to Improvement, through the Northern Regulatory Improvement Initiative.
These recommendations will yield significant improvements to our regulatory regimes for Northern natural resource projects, including process simplification, increased transparency, greater consistency and reduced administrative costs.
We will continue to support the work of the Major Projects Management Office (MPMO) created by this government to improve oversight, accountability and collaboration throughout the stages of federal project review.
We will establish a satellite MPMO office in the North to deal with the unique challenges of northern projects.
Supporting Canada’s Farmers
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will continue our strong support for Canada's farmers and farm communities.
We will set aside $500 million over the next four years to work cooperatively with provinces and territories to implement an agricultural flexibility program that will allow them to cope with costs of production pressures, promote innovation, ensure environmental sustainability and respond to market challenges and opportunities important to each province and territory.
We will continue to work with Western Canadian grain farmers to ensure that the results of the barley plebiscite are respected
and that they are given the freedom to choose whether to sell grain on the open market or through the Canadian Wheat Board.
We will continue our strong support for supply-managed sectors nationally and in international negotiations.
We will invest $50 million in slaughterhouse capacity across the country to support our beef and dairy industries and other livestock producers.
A STRONG, UNITED, INDEPENDENT AND FREE CANADA
After two and a half years with Stephen Harper and the Conservatives, our country is stronger and more united than it has been in more than 40 years.
Support for federalism in Quebec is at a modern-day high.
We have cleaned up lobbying and campaign financing
and have begun to reform our democratic institutions.
We have started to rebuild our national defence and to play a bigger role on the world stage.
Our abundant natural resources, especially in our vast, untapped Arctic, have become key strategic assets as the world focuses more on energy and the environment.
A re-elected Conservative Government will do more to build pride in Canada's institutions and to project our strength abroad.
Protecting Our Resources and Building a Clean Energy Superpower
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will make sure that Canada secures its strategic resources,
that our energy development is clean and environmentally sustainable
and that Canadians will be the main beneficiaries of the development and export of our resources.
Reaffirming the Ban on the Bulk Transfer of Water
We will reaffirm the Canadian Government's position that NAFTA cannot require Canada to export bulk water to other NAFTA countries.
We will work with the provinces and territories to strengthen the current ban and ensure a clear legislative prohibition on bulk water removals or export from Canadian drainage basins.
Promoting the Development of Northern Pipelines
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will help reduce regulatory and other barriers to increasing our pipeline network in the Far North in order to bring oil and gas to markets in Canada and throughout the world.
Prohibiting the Export of Raw Bitumen to Higher Polluting Jurisdictions
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will prevent any company from exporting raw bitumen (unprocessed oil from the oil sands) outside of Canada for upgrading in order to take advantage of lower pollution or greenhouse gas emissions standards elsewhere.
Promoting Biofuels, Wind and Other Alternatives
The Conservative Government is investing $1.5 billion over the next seven years in the production of biofuels,
and requiring gasoline to contain 5 per cent renewable content by 2010 (2 per cent renewable content for diesel by 2012).
We are investing $1.48 billion over four years into incentives to produce more wind, solar, geothermal and tidal power – an investment that will produce over 14 million megawatt hours of clean electricity, or enough to power a million homes.
We will continue to make biofuels and renewable energy a key part of our environmental and energy strategy.
Generating 90% of Our Electricity From Non-Emitting Sources by 2020
As part of our Turning the Corner action plan, a re-elected Conservative Government will work to ensure that 90 per cent of Canadian electricity needs are provided by non-emitting sources such as hydro, nuclear, clean coal or wind power by 2020.
Defending Our Arctic Sovereignty
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will continue, as major priorities, to protect the sovereignty and promote the development of Canada's Arctic and North.
A re-elected government will: Introduce amendments to the Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act to extend our jurisdiction over polluting vessels to the edge of Canada's 200 mile exclusive economic zone.
Require mandatory notification of any foreign vessels entering Canadian territorial waters.
Assert Canada's rights over our Arctic waters, including the Northwest Passage,
and work actively to complete the submission, by 2013, of scientific data on the extent of Canada's continental shelf under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Build a world-class High Arctic Research Station that will be on the cutting edge of Arctic issues, including environmental science and resource development.
Reforming or Abolishing the Senate
The Conservatives and Stephen Harper believe that the current Senate must be either reformed or abolished.
An unelected Senate should not be able to block the will of the elected House in the 21st century.
As a minimum, a re-elected Conservative Government will reintroduce legislation to allow for nominees to the Senate to be selected by voters, to provide for Senators to serve fixed terms of not longer than eight years, and for the Senate to be covered by the same ethics rules as the House of Commons.
Offering Fair Representation in the House of Commons
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will introduce legislation to move closer towards representation by population in the House of Commons for Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta,
while protecting the seat counts of other provinces.
Reforming Public Appointments
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will continue to reform appointments to federal agencies, boards, commissions and Crown corporations.
While the creation of the Commission was authorized by the Federal Accountability Act brought in by the current government, the previous Parliament blocked the appointment of several distinguished Canadians from sitting on the Commission.
A re-elected Conservative Government will ensure that the Public Appointments Commission gets up and running.
We will establish a task force to report within one year on unnecessary federally appointed positions that can be eliminated, with a target of reducing federal appointments by 10 per cent overall.
We will work to ensure that appointees to federal agencies, boards, commissions and Crown corporations reflect the diversity of Canada in language, gender, region, age and ethnicity.
We will appoint members to the Public Appointments Commission.
The Commission will oversee the selection process for appointments to federal agencies, boards, commissions and Crown corporations, as well as develop guidelines, review and approve the selection processes for appointments and report publicly on the Government's compliance with the guidelines.
While the creation of the Commission was authorized by the Federal Accountability Act brought in by the current government, the previous Parliament blocked the appointment of several distinguished Canadians from sitting on the Commission.
A re-elected Conservative Government will ensure that the Public Appointments Commission gets up and running.
Making Government More Accountable for Taxpayers' Money
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will require all federal departments and agencies to produce detailed quarterly financial statements.
Ending Insider Loans to Political Candidates
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will implement legislation, obstructed and delayed in the previous Parliament, which would prevent candidates for federal political office from taking out large private loans on non-commercial terms.
Respecting the Provinces and Territories, Establishing a Charter of Open Federalism
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will respect the jurisdiction of the provinces and territories in the Constitution Act, 1867,
and will enshrine our principles of federalism in a new Charter of Open Federalism.
Limiting the Federal Spending Power
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will ensure that any new shared-cost program in an area of provincial or territorial responsibility has the consent of the majority of provinces to proceed,
and that provinces should be given the right to opt out of the federal program with compensation, so long as the province offers a similar program with similar accountability structures.
Ensuring the CRTC Responds to Regional and Linguistic Needs
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will respect the unique needs of French-language broadcasting services in Quebec by guaranteeing alternating French- and English-speaking Chairpersons of the CRTC and that one of the two Vice- Chairpersons will be from each official language group.
At least 25 per cent of the CRTC commissioners will be French-language speakers, appointed in consultation with Quebec and groups representing linguistic minorities.
Hearings related to French- language or Quebec broadcasters will be heard by panels consisting of a majority of French-language or Quebec CRTC members.
Supporting TV5 International French Language Broadcasting
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will increase funding for TV5, the international French-language television network, by $25 million over the next five years.
Promoting Canada's Arts and Culture
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will maintain financial support for arts and culture at or above existing levels,
while continuing to improve the effectiveness of allocations wherever possible.
The current government has already invested more in arts and culture than the previous government, including an additional $30 million for the Canada Council for the Arts, $9 million to improve our national museums, $30 million per year to support arts and heritage festivals and renewed $60 million in additional funding in each of the last two years for the CBC.
We will continue our record of strong support for the arts.
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will create a new, refundable tax credit on up to $500 of eligible fees for children under 16 who participate in eligible arts or cultural activities, such as music lessons, drama or art classes.
A re-elected Conservative Government will not reintroduce the Bill C-10 proposals to change film and video tax credit eligibility.
Although these proposals were approved unanimously by the House of Commons, we will take into account the serious concerns that have been expressed by film creators and investors.
Instilling Pride in Canadian History and Identity
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will take steps to help celebrate Canadian history and identity and develop a stronger sense of national citizenship.
This year, Canada celebrates the 400th anniversary of the establishment of Quebec City, which marked the foundation of the Canadian state.
As Canada approaches other important historical milestones, such as the 400th anniversary of our first English settlement in Cupids, Newfoundland and Labrador in 2010, the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812 and the 150th anniversary of Confederation in 2017, a Conservative Government will act to ensure that these occasions achieve the national recognition they deserve.
Supporting Sport and Amateur Fitness
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will continue support for sport and amateur fitness in Canada, at both the elite and recreational levels.
We will also enhance the Children's Fitness Tax Credit by making it refundable.
Building on the Canada First Defence Strategy
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will continue rebuilding the Canadian Forces and providing the equipment that our Navy, Army and Air Force require.
We are committed to a Canada First Defence Strategy that will provide predictable growth for Canada's defence budget, increase the size of our forces to 70,000 regular and 30,000 reserves.
The Strategy will also invest $45 to $50 billion over the next 20 years in the purchase of major equipment, including replacements for our destroyers and frigates, maritime patrol, search and rescue, fighter aircraft and land vehicle fleets.
We will ensure that we acquire the ships, aircraft, vehicles and other equipment our Forces need in a manner that ensures our troops have the best possible equipment and that taxpayers' dollars are prudently spent.
A re-elected Conservative Government will leverage these dramatic increases in defence procurement to ensure that new high- technology jobs are created in Canada through a combination of buying Canadian-made defence equipment and securing high-value industrial benefits when equipment is purchased abroad.
Supporting Canada's Mission in Afghanistan
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will continue to support Canada's military and development mission in Afghanistan and will respect the terms of the Parliamentary resolution passed in March, 2008.
Under this resolution, Canada's military mission in Kandahar will continue until July, 2011 now that that NATO and allied forces have agreed to provide additional troops and resources in Kandahar.
Canada's military mission in Afghanistan will cease by the end of 2011.
Supporting Canada's Veterans
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will continue to improve the lives of Canada's veterans.
We will:  Restore Veterans Allowances for veterans living in Canada for more than 10 years who fought for Commonwealth or Allied Forces during World War II or the Korean War.
Increase funeral and burial assistance rates for veterans to bring the rates for veterans in line with those of active duty Canadian Forces and RCMP officers.
Promoting Canada's Democratic Ideals Abroad
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will make the promotion of Canada's democratic values on the world stage a major focus of our foreign policy.
We will establish a new, non-partisan democracy promotion agency that will help emerging democracies build democratic institutions and support peaceful democratic change in repressive countries.
Continuing Canada's Support for International Development
A re-elected Conservative Government will continue Canada's strong support for Overseas Development Assistance and continue efforts to make foreign aid more effective in achieving development goals.
Canada is on track to double aid to Africa by 2008-09, and by 2010 to double overall foreign aid over 2002 levels.
ENSURING HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL WELL-BEING
Canadian families are concerned about the quality of the air we breathe and the water we drink.
They are also concerned about pollutants and chemicals found in our food, environment and consumer products.
The Conservatives, led by Stephen Harper, have acted to address these concerns.
We are establishing tough regulations on greenhouse gases and air pollution.
We have preserved vast land and marine areas to ensure that the beauty and biodiversity of our country are preserved for future generations.
We have taken measures to protect consumers by banning toxic chemicals
and creating new truth in labelling guidelines to make sure Canadians know what they are getting when food products are labelled Product of Canada” and Made in Canada”.
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will do more to preserve our environment
and protect the health and well-being of Canadians.
Developing a Cap and Trade System to Cut Pollution and Greenhouse Gas Emissions
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will implement our Turning the Corner action plan to reduce Canada's greenhouse gas emissions in absolute terms by 20 per cent over 2006 levels by 2020.
We will work with the provinces and territories and our NAFTA trading partners in the United States and Mexico, at both the national and state levels, to develop and implement a North America-wide cap and trade system for greenhouse gases and air pollution, with implementation to occur between 2012 and 2015.
Ensuring Tougher Enforcement of Environmental Laws
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will introduce a new Environmental Enforcement Act to strengthen and consolidate enforcement and penalty provisions in existing environmental legislation.
This act will establish a team of specialized environmental prosecutors, increase inspection and seizure powers and increase fines and penalties for violators.
We will establish a searchable database that tells the public the details of a corporation's convictions for environmental crimes
and we will require each corporation convicted of an environmental crime to notify shareholders of its conviction and punishment.
Conserving Our Land and Water
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will continue to adopt measures to conserve more of Canada's untouched lands and waters.
We will continue to work to complete our national parks system to ensure that all of Canada's natural regions are represented.
We have already announced the expansion of the Nahanni National Park and the creation of the Lancaster Sound Marine Conservation Area.
Strengthening Environmental Laws to Deal with Toxic Chemicals
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will strengthen the Canadian Environmental Protection Act to help control or reduce the environmental and human health impacts of chemical substances.
We are continuing to assess 200 high- priority chemical substances – such as Bisphenol-A, which the government recently banned from use in baby bottles – to determine whether they are safe and how they can be used safely or otherwise removed from our household products.
Improving Food Safety
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will continue to implement the Food Safety Action Plan, which over the next four years will invest more than $160 million in the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to hire new inspectors, better track imports and improve safety systems.
A re-elected Conservative Government will proceed with an impartial third-party investigation of the recent listeriosis outbreak.
Supporting Research and Improving Treatment for Major Diseases
The Conservative Government is proud of its record in working to fight some of the gravest diseases facing Canadian families like cancer, spinal cord injury and mental illness.
We established the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer and the Mental Health Commission of Canada and supported the Spinal Cord Injury Translational Research Network of the Rick Hansen Foundation.
A re-elected Conservative Government will continue to take creative measures to tackle major lung, heart and neurological diseases.
We will also work toward bringing an end to discriminatory life insurance practices.
Increasing the Number of Physicians and Nurses in Canada
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will take additional steps to ensure that Canada's communities and hospitals have more doctors and nurses where they are most needed.
Protecting Children with Tougher Laws on Tobacco Packaging
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will help to prevent the exploitation of children by the tobacco industry by setting a minimum package size for cigarillos that is less affordable for children,
prohibiting flavour and additives that would appeal to children,
and banning all tobacco advertising and promotion in print and electronic media which may be viewed and read by youth.
Encouraging Sports, Fitness and Arts and Cultural Activities Among Children in Lower-Income Families
A re-elected Conservative Government will extend the benefit of the existing Children's Fitness Tax Credit and the new Children's Art Tax Credit to lower-income families that pay little or no income tax by making both credits fully refundable.
PROTECTING THE SAFETY AND SECURITY OF CANADIANS
Stephen Harper and the Conservatives have taken decisive steps to crack down on crime and ensure the safety and security of our neighbourhoods and communities.
We have put in place mandatory prison sentences for gun crimes,
toughened provisions for Dangerous Offenders to ensure that the most violent predators are imprisoned indefinitely
and raised the age of protection from 14 to 16 to protect youth from adult sexual predators.
A re-elected Conservative Government will do more to strengthen the safety and security of our justice system.
Preventing Troubled Youth from Joining Gangs
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will increase funding for the Youth Gang Prevention Fund, which helps fund community groups that work with troubled youth to prevent them from becoming involved in gang violence.
We will increase funding to $10 million per year and extend this program until 2013.
Ensuring Responsibility and Rehabilitation for Young Offenders
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will replace Canada's young offenders' law with new, balanced legislation that focuses on deterrence and responsibility.
The new law will make the primary goal of the legislation to protect society and the primary goal of sentencing to discourage others from committing crimes.
The law will ensure that young offenders who are convicted of very serious and violent crimes will face appropriate sentences and that upon conviction they will be named.
As under the old law, the age at which the sentencing provision applies (14, 15 or 16) will be determined in each province.
Replacing Automatic Release with Earned Parole
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will replace the automatic release of prisoners after serving two-thirds of their sentence with earned parole for behaviour and rehabilitation in prison.
Replacing Automatic Release with Earned Parole
In the last Parliament, the Conservative Government introduced legislation to prevent conditional sentences, such as house arrest, from being imposed on persons convicted of serious crimes such as robbery, arson, home invasion, impaired driving causing death and kidnapping.
Unfortunately, the opposition parties voted together to ensure that numerous serious crimes would still be punishable by house arrest.
Eliminating the “Faint Hope” Clause to Protect Victims and their Families
A re-elected Conservative Government will amend the Criminal Code to make sure that serious crimes, including serious property offences, are not eligible for house arrest.
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will repeal the Criminal Code's “faint hope clause”, which allows even the most serious criminals to seek early release and put their victims and victims' families through the pain of a parole hearing.
The law will also be amended retrospectively to prevent previously convicted multiple murderers from receiving additional parole hearings before the end of their sentences.
Getting Tough with Gangs and Organized Crime
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will introduce new laws to target biker gangs and other organized criminal groups.
Any murder committed in a gang-related context will be deemed first-degree murder
and a new criminal offence carrying a mandatory prison sentence will be created for drive-by shootings.
Allowing Canadian Victims to Sue the Sponsors of Terrorism
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will introduce legislation to allow Canadians who have been affected by terrorism to sue the sponsors of terrorist organizations, including to recover funds from states that are designated as sponsors of terrorism.
Cracking Down on Drug Crime with Mandatory Prison Sentences
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will continue efforts to change Canada's drug laws to ensure that serious drug crimes – such as trafficking and running large cannabis grow operations or crystal methamphetamine labs – face mandatory prison sentences.
Protecting Pregnant Women Against Violence
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will amend the Criminal Code to make the pregnancy of a woman an aggravating factor in sentencing if a woman is assaulted or killed.
This new legislation will not open the issue of fetal rights.
A Conservative Government will not initiate or support any legislation to regulate abortion.
Introducing Tougher Penalties for Impaired Driving Causing Death
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will abolish conditional sentences and introduce mandatory prison sentences for impaired driving causing bodily harm or death.
Ending the Ineffective Long-Gun Registry and Reduce Guns in our Streets
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will ensure that all firearms belong to licensed gun owners,
and that all restricted firearms, including handguns, are registered.
But we will end the wasteful, ineffective long-gun registry.
Instead, the Conservative Government will direct resources to measures that will actually reduce the number of guns on Canadian streets, including investment in better enforcement at our borders.
As a first step, a re-elected Conservative Government will launch a Joint Force Land and Marine Border Patrol Pilot Project with the Customs and Border Services Agency and the RCMP to patrol unguarded U.S. road and marine crossings to Canada in Quebec.
Requiring Mandatory Registration and DNA Sampling for All Sex Offenders and Dangerous Offenders
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will require automatic inclusion for all serious sexual offences in the National Sex Offender Registry.
The registry will include mandatory DNA sampling of all those convicted or currently in custody on such offences
and will permit police to use the registry as a proactive investigative tool to prevent further offences from occurring.
COSTING THE PLAN
The measures listed in this plan offer a clear choice to Canadians.
Our opponents are making grandiose and expensive promises that would require massive tax hikes or deficits, or both.
In contrast, Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party propose modest and affordable steps that will improve the lives of Canadians while maintaining the health of our national finances.
Our proposals build on the fiscal successes that we have achieved during our first term in office, including three balanced budgets, $37 billion in debt paydown, large scale tax reductions for Canadian families and businesses, unemployment rates near their lowest level in a generation and the strongest fiscal position among the G7 countries.
Our plan's budgeting is based on the revenue projections in Budget 2008.
These are the most up-to-date projections released by the Department of Finance, and they remain consistent with the most recent published private sector forecasts for government revenues.
These projections do not include any changes made since Budget 2008.
Most notably, they do not include the $4.2 billion in revenues from the Advanced Wireless Spectrum (AWS) auction, since the proper accounting profile across time for AWS auction proceeds has not yet been determined.
Plan Commitments and Budget Balances
As shown in the table below, our plan is fully costed and affordable.
Following implementation, we project an operating balance of $8 billion over this and the next four years.
Une économie innovante
Une économie innovante est une économie verte.
Une économie innovante patine là où s’en va la rondelle.
Une économie innovante est une économie efficace.
Elle endigue le gaspillage.
Grâce à des systèmes en circuit fermé, elle est considérablement plus efficace.
Une économie innovante n’est pas un engouement passager.
Une économie innovante
COMMENCE PAR :
• DES EMPLOIS VERTS.
Créer des milliers d'emplois grâce à des investissements dans l'énergie renouvelable,
• UN PLAN DE STIMULATION ÉCONOMIQUE INNOVANT.
• UN MARCHÉ INTERNATIONAL ÉQUITABLE.
le commerce fait partie intégrante d'un avenir durable uniquement lorsqu'il est équitable pour tous.
• UNE INDUSTRIE DYNAMIQUE.
dynamiser le secteur des pêches en mettant fin au chalutage par le fond;
• L'ÉLIMINATION DES SUBVENTIONS RUINEUSES.
•LE REDRESSEMENT DES PRIX.
Redresser les prix pour assurer la viabilité à long terme;
éviter les déficits structuraux;
bâtir une économie verte « fabriquée au Canada.»
Des collectivités dynamiques
Les collectivités qui fonctionnent ne sont pas bâties sans effort.
Une vie plus humanisée qui fait une place aux choses qui comptent vraiment.
Les jeunes remplis d’énergie font partie d’un avenir véritablement vert.
Des collectivités dynamiques COMMENCENT PAR:
• DE L'AIDE POUR LES COUPLES MARIÉS ET LES FAMILLES.
miser sur l'éducation des jeunes enfants;
et soutenir ceux qui doivent retourner sur le marché du travail quand leurs enfants sont encore jeunes.
• DE L'AIDE POUR LES ADMINISTRATIONS LOCALES.
le transport,
les services d'eau,
• LE RESPECT ET LE SOUTIEN DE NOS AÎNÉS.
Le vrai pouvoir aux citoyens dans une démocratie véritable
La démocratie canadienne est en difficulté.
Les députés individuels – votre voix au Parlement – semblent avoir perdu toute leur pertinence.
Une démocratie véritable signifie que chaque vote compte.
Soyons-en fiers.
Une démocratie véritable passe par une citoyenneté véritablement mondiale.
Une démocratie véritable COMMENCE PAR:
• LA RÉFORME DE NOTRE SYSTÈME ÉLECTORAL.
lutter contre la concentration antidémocratique du pouvoir au cabinet du premier ministre
• L'ACCÈS À L'INFORMATION.
tout ce qui a été « nivelé par le bas » doit désormais être « nivelé par le haut. »
• ASSURER L'ÉGALITÉ CITOYENNE.
• UNE ACTION MONDIALE POUR DES PROBLÈMES MONDIAUX.
• PARTICIPER À UNE SOLUTION PACIFIQUE EN AFGHANISTAN.
• ABOLISSONS LA PAUVRETÉ.
<><><>Tableaux du budget (effacés) <><><>
NPD 2011
••Créer 25 000 nouvelles places en garderie par année, pour les quatre prochaines années;
1.4 Rendre les logements abordables accessibles aux Canadiens
1.7 Réinstaurer le salaire minimum fédéral
Cette mesure s'ajoutera à la Prestation universelle pour la garde d'enfants;
1.9 Faire en sorte que vos prestations d'assurance-emploi soient disponibles quand vous en avez besoin
et
DES MESURES CONCRÈTES POUR RECOMPENSER LES
ENTREPRISES QUI CREENT DES EMPLOIS
2.1 Réduire le taux d'imposition des petites entreprises
2.2 Instaurer un Crédit d'impôt à la création d'emplois
• Le NPD s'engage à instaurer le Crédit d'impôt à la création d'emplois, pouvant aller jusqu'à 4 500 $ pour chaque nouvel emploi créé;
2.3 Prolonger les crédits d'impôt pour les investissements qui soutiennent l'emploi
• Le NPD s'engage à prolonger l'admissibilité au crédit d'impôt pour l'exploration minière pour trois années supplémentaires en date du 31 mars 2012.
Cette mesure sera applicable aux conventions d'actions accréditives si elle entre en vigueur avant, ou le 31 mars 2015;
Le NPD doublera son financement;
• Le NPD s'engage à renforcer la Loi sur Investissement Canada en:
••Réduisant le seuil des investissements sujets à examen à 100 millions $;
2.5 Maintenir le taux d'imposition des grandes entreprises en-dessous du niveau en vigueur aux États-Unis
2.6 Investir dans les infrastructures essentielles
••Financer le transport en commun urbain grâce à un cent supplémentaire sur la taxe sur l'essence;
DES MESURES CONCRÈTES POUR AMELIORER LES SERVICES DE SOINS DE SANTE POUR VOTRE FAMILLE
p
3.3 Améliorer les soins pour les aînés
• Le NPD s'engage à doubler le financement pour les prêts à remboursement conditionnel dans le cadre du Programme Logements adaptées: aînés autonomes (LAAA) afin d'aider les aînés à vivre à la maison;
3.4 Rendre les médicaments plus abordables
••Réduisant les coûts administratifs grâce à l'administration publique;
••Éliminant les ristournes des compagnies pharmaceutiques aux pharmaciens;
DES MESURES CONCRÈTES POUR
LUTTER CONTRE LES CHANGEMENTS CLIMATIQUES
• Le NPD s'engage à travailler en étroite collaboration avec l'administration Obama à Washington pour garantir une réponse coordonnée aux défis posés par les changements climatiques.
• Le NPD s'engage à instaurer des programmes efficaces qui aideront les collectivités canadiennes à gérer les impacts du réchauffement climatiques,
• Le NPD s'engage à respecter les engagements qu'a pris le Canada au G20 afin d'éliminer les subventions aux énergies non-renouvelables
Les priorités incluent:
Nos politiques énergétiques feront toujours passer les Canadiens à l'avant-plan;
4.4 Améliorer le transport en commun
DES MESURES CONCRÈTES POUR DU LEADERSHIP AU CANADA
5.1 Forger un nouveau partenariat avec les Premières nations
• Le NPD s'engage à établir ce nouveau partenariat en faisant la promotion des opportunités économiques, en mettant fin à la discrimination à laquelle font face les Autochtones du pays
Le NPD commencera par:
à augmenter les incitatifs fédéraux pour les films,
et à développer une stratégie ciblée pour la promotion des films produits au Canada;
5.4 Investir dans notre patrimoine culturel commun
• Le NPD s'engage à développer une culture numérique en ligne afin d'augmenter l'accès au contenu canadien.
5.5 Garantir la salubrité des aliments consommés par votre famille
• Le NPD s'engage à améliorer la salubrité alimentaire en embauchant 200 nouveaux inspecteurs pour l'Agence canadienne d'inspection des aliments;
5.6 Protéger les fermes familiales
5.8 Reconnaître les héros locaux
• Le NPD s'engage à présenter des mesures comme:
5.10 Consolider les langues officielles du Canada
5.11 Mettre en œuvre un plan d'action pour les droits des personnes handicapées
• Le NPD s'engage à mettre en application la Convention des Nations unies relative aux droits des personnes handicapées,
en :
••Mettant fin aux hésitations du Canada sur l'article 12 (reconnaissance égale devant la loi).
• Le NPD s'engage à soutenir une approche coordonnée à l'échelle fédérale pour mettre fin à la violence faite aux femmes autochtones, laquelle sera menée par les communautés autochtones.
Ceux-ci pourront recevoir jusqu'à 1 500 $ par année;
5.13 Promouvoir les droits à l'égalité au Canada
• Le NPD s'engage à travailler avec les communautés culturelles pour réparer les torts historiques causés par l'action gouvernementale.
• Le NPD s'engage à faire contribuer les grands fournisseurs internet pour atteindre ce but;
5.15 Réinstaurer le questionnaire complet du recensement
• Le NPD s'engage à réinstaurer le questionnaire complet du recensement
5.16 Traiter les Provinces équitablement
DES MESURES CONCRÈTES POUR
DU LEADERSHIP SUR LA SCENE INTERNATIONALE
6.2 Rapatrier nos troupes d'Afghanistan
6.4 Définir un nouveau cap pour la défense du Canada
• Le NPD s'engage à revoir l'achat proposé des F-35, dans le cadre du Livre blanc sur la défense;
• Le NPD s'engage à utiliser le budget existant afin d'établir un fonds annuel pour la construction navale.
6.5 Respecter nos engagements envers nos anciens combattants
• Le NPD s'engage à respecter les obligations du Canada envers nos anciens combattants en :
••Cessant les compressions injustes au Régime d'assurancerevenu militaire (RARM) pour les anciens combattants qui ont quitté les Forces canadiennes ou la GRC pour des raisons médicales.
••Instaurant un programme « Helmets-to-Hardhats » pour aider les anciens combattants à faire la transition vers des métiers dans la construction ou la construction navale;
DES MESURES CONCRÈTES POUR
CHANGER LES CHOSES A OTTAWA
7.1 Instaurer une nouvelle approche au Parlement
• Le NPD s'engage à instaurer une nouvelle approche au Parlement, basée sur la coopération.
Le NPD s'engage à améliorer la façon dont fonctionne le Parlement.
Si les résultats électoraux le justifient, le NPD travaillera en collaboration avec les autres partis fédéralistes grâce à des accords informels ou des ententes stables.
7.2 Restreindre le pouvoir du Premier ministre d'échapper à ses responsabilités au Parlement
7.3 Faire en sorte que votre vote compte
• Le NPD s'engage à proposer une réforme électorale afin
de s'assurer que le Parlement représente adéquatement les préférences politiques des Canadiens.
Le vote des Canadiens sera toujours pris en compte.
• Le NPD s'engage à proposer l'abolition du Sénat.
7.5 Équilibrer le budget fédéral
CHAPITRE UN
L’économie
Les libéraux proposent une approche économique très différente:
~ Soutenir les familles canadiennes qui sont confrontées à des pressions financières.
Le point sur la situation actuelle
Sous le gouvernement libéral précédent, le Canada affichait un surplus budgétaire substantiel.
Où en sommes-nous donc aujourd’hui ?
Voici où les politiques actuelles nous mènent :
Il a raté une occasion en or d’investir dans l’avenir.
Trouvons-nous acceptable que nos enfants seront plus pauvres que nous le sommes maintenant ?
Voilà pourquoi il est plus important que jamais que nous devenions plus productifs, plus rapidement.
et les bases d’une économie robuste.
Ce pays vaut mieux que cela.
Tout ce qui nous manque est le leadership nécessaire pour le faire.
- Réduction du déficit
- Discipline au niveau des dépenses
Réduction du déficit - Notre plan s'appuie sur un cadre fiscal rigoureux.
Nous rétablirons un cadre budgétaire biennal pour accroître la transparence
Si les fonds affectés à la réserve ne sont pas utilisés, ils iront à la réduction du déficit.
Deuxièmement, nous plafonnerons le montant des déductions fiscales sur les options d'achat d'actions.
Plusieurs contribuables réclament des montants plus modestes.
Mais les 8 000 Canadiens reçoivent 75 pour cent des montants totaux réclamés grâce à ces déductions.
Un gouvernement libéral limitera le montant pouvant être réclamé via les achats d'actions à 50000$ par an.
Les employés qui réclament jusqu'à 100 000$ par année en gain sur leurs options d'achat d'actions ne seront pas affectés par ce changement.
Discipline au niveau des dépenses
La plate-forme libérale coûtera moins au total que celui entrepris par le gouvernement Harper.
Tous les crédits nécessaires au financement des nouveaux engagements préconisés dans la présente plate-forme ont été identifiés, sans ajouter au déficit.
Nous allons, par exemple:
~ annuler immédiatement la déduction pour amortissement accéléré applicable au matériel dans le secteur des sables bitumineux
et investir les économies qui en résulteront dans des initiatives qui contribueront à rendre leur exploitation plus propre.
Nous couperons dans les dépenses inutiles qui ont explosé sous le gouvernement Harper.
Par exemple, nous limiterons les annonces publicitaires payées par les contribuables,
Nous restaurerons la prudence dans la gestion des finances publiques,
nous permettrons un retour vers l'équilibre budgétaire
et nous investirons dans les priorités des familles canadiennes d'une façon qui fera croître notre économie à long terme.
Malheureusement, la productivité canadienne a tourné au ralenti au cours des dernières années.
Au Canada, le capital à risque est à son plus bas niveau depuis quatorze ans.
Un gouvernement tourné vers l’avenir doit favoriser un climat propice à l’innovation.
Le gouvernement Harper est demeuré passif alors que plusieurs grandes compagnies canadiennes sont passées aux mains d’intérêts étrangers.
Mais nous devons continuer à tirer notre épingle du jeu sur le plan mondial.
Cela requiert que le gouvernement canadien cesse d’être un spectateur passif.
Être proactif ne veut pas dire être protectionniste.
Les secteurs champions du Canada
et la technologie numérique.
Et nous établirons des incitatifs fiscaux destinés à des entreprises émergentes innovantes dans ces secteurs champions du Canada.
1) Les ressources propres
3) Les technologies numériques
Cela nécessitera des capitaux du secteur privé.
Conséquemment, nous mettrons en place:
~ Un prolongement d'une mesure qui s'est révélée populaire -le financement par « actions accréditives» - qui sera étendue au bénéfice des jeunes entreprises dans les trois secteurs champions du Canada.
Un nouveau portail pour l'innovation
~ Aider les entrepreneurs à obtenir la formation en administration des affaires dont ils ont besoin;
et
~ La connectivité Internet à 100 pour cent haute vitesse dans tout le Canada rural
Les priorités libérales en matière d'infrastructure incluent:
si les investissements requis sont coordonnés avec ceux qui sont déjà consentis aux États-Unis.
Agir pour créer des emplois pour les jeunes
Au cours des cinq dernières années, le Canada s’est laissé dépasser par des concurrents plus ambitieux.
Assurer l'accès au service à large bande pour tous les Canadiens.
Parallèlement, les consommateurs devraient être libres d'utiliser à des fins personnelles tout contenu numérique qu'ils possèdent légitimement.
Défendre le principe d'un Internet ouvert. L'Internet est aujourd'hui l'outil principal pour faire circuler librement les idées.
Pour garantir qu'il facilite les échanges spontanés qui sont porteurs d'innovation, l'Internet doit demeurer le plus ouvert possible au Canada.
CHAPITRE 2 : FAMILLE
Elles aident les jeunes à payer leurs études collégiales ou universitaires tout en essayant d’épargner pour la retraite.
La dette moyenne des ménages est plus élevée que jamais auparavant.
à leurs besoins, le moment venu.
À mesure que la population vieillit, les pressions auxquelles sont soumises les familles ne peuvent qu’augmenter.
Elles veulent assumer leurs responsabilités, mais ne devraient pas avoir à le faire seules.
Une stratégie canadienne d’apprentissage
La stratégie inclura les initiatives suivantes :
- Le passeport d’apprentissage
- L’apprentissage pour les Autochtones
- La formation linguistique pour les nouveaux Canadiens
- La prestation pour l’apprentissage des anciens combattants
L’attente dure parfois des années.
Le passeport canadien d’apprentissage
Les familles canadiennes sont prêtes à investir dans l’apprentissage.
Selon une étude du Groupe financier
C’est pourquoi la démarche du Canada dans ce domaine doit s’axer sur un objectif simple : « Si vous avez les notes, vous pouvez y aller. »
Un gouvernement libéral instituera le passeport canadien d'apprentissage, un important stimulant financier pour les études supérieures qui sera livré directement aux familles.
Tout ce que les parents auront à faire sera d’ouvrir un régime enregistré d’épargne-études (REEE).
Il contient déjà des incitatifs pour que les familles épargnent ce qu’elles peuvent en prévision des études.
L'apprentissage pour les Autochtones
Pour eux, comme pour la plupart des Canadiens, l’apprentissage est la clé du succès.
Un des objectifs clés sera d'assurer une plus grande rétention des étudiants autochtones dans les établissements canadiens d'enseignement supérieur.
Nous appuierons les efforts pour améliorer l'administration des écoles.
L'Université des Premières nations en Saskatchewan, un établissement clé, sera à nouveau financée sous un nouveau gouvernement libéral.
La prestation pour l'apprentissage des anciens combattants
Un gouvernement libéral mettra sur pied la prestation pour l'apprentissage des anciens combattants, qui couvrira tous les coûts associés au collège, à l'université ou à la formation technique (jusqu'à 4 ans) pour les vétérans des Forces canadiennes qui ont complété leur service.
Même si le GI Bill est encore en vigueur aux États-Unis, il n’existe aucun programme équivalent au Canada.
Il est temps que nous en fassions davantage.
En plus d'honorer les anciens combattants, l'aide fournie pour les études postsecondaires contribuera à l'atteinte d'autres objectifs importants.
Une formation linguistique accrue pour les nouveaux Canadiens
Malheureusement, les immigrants réussissent moins bien que les citoyens canadiens nés ici, un écart qui s’est accentué au cours des trente dernières années.
Seulement environ 25 pour cent des gens qui arrivent au pays reçoivent une formation linguistique financée par le gouvernement fédéral.
Les règles font aussi partie du problème puisque les nouveaux arrivants n’ont plus accès à la formation linguistique dès le moment où ils deviennent citoyens canadiens.
Un gouvernement libéral améliorera le sort des familles en les aidant à assumer les dépenses reliées aux soins des êtres chers malades ou vieillissants.
Pour le Canada, il est logique sur le plan économique d’appuyer les familles.
Nous choisissons d’aider les familles canadiennes.
- Le quart des aidants naturels s’absentent du travail pendantau moins un mois pour fournir des soins.
- 65 pour cent des aidants naturels disposent d’un revenu familial inférieur à 45 000$.
- Les trois quarts des aidants naturels sont des femmes, plus susceptiblesd’avoir des salaires inférieurs, moins d’épargnes
Le plan libéral pour les soins familiaux
Le plan libéral pour les soins familiaux instaurera:
Le nouveau programme comporte des exigences d'admissibilité plus humaines, par exemple en modifiant la nature du billet médical requis.
Un gouvernement libéral ne majorera pas les cotisations d'assurance-emploi pour financer cette mesure.
Une nouvelle prestation fiscale pour les soins familiaux
Les familles ayant des enfants malades qui rencontrent les critères seront également admissibles.
Soutenir les aînés à faible revenu
Toutefois, un nombre croissant d'entre eux sont aux prises avec la pauvreté.
Des personnes malades qui renoncent
et les anciens combattants.
1) alléger les pressions que subissent les familles canadiennes, particulièrement
celles qui doivent prendre soin d’un être cher à domicile;
4) maîtriser les coûts à long terme.
~ le plan libéral sur les soins familiaux: soutenir les Canadiens qui prennent soin d'un être cher à domicile;
le sport et
une politique alimentaire nationale;
~ lancer une stratégie canadienne sur la santé du cerveau;
~ combler les écarts dans la couverture des médicaments sur ordonnance
et s'attaquer au coût élevé des médicaments en général.
Ces mesures comprennent:
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La stratégie canadienne sur la santé du cerveau
En 2039, il y en aura un à toutes les deux minutes.
Ces organismes sont des éléments essentiels au progrès.
particulièrement en ce qui a trait à la santé des Autochtones.
Une meilleure couverture des médicaments sur ordonnance partout au Canada
Les soins prodigués aux patients dans les hôpitaux ne représentent qu’un volet du traitement.
Les décisions à prendre
Les impacts sur les Canadiens sont incommensurables, mais le gouvernement Harper a démontré peu d'intérêt.
et maîtriser les coûts à long terme.
et la couverture des médicaments.
Les
économies les plus dynamiques seront les plus propres.
Le monde est en pleine transition.
De nombreux Canadiens tracent déjà la voie.
Sur la scène internationale, le gouvernement Harper a mis le Canada dans l’embarras en entravant les négociations sur les changements climatiques.
établir un nouveau partenariat canadien pour l'énergie propre,
agir dans le dossier des changements climatiques
Sous un gouvernement libéral, c'est précisément ce que nous ferons en nous tail-
Le partenariat canadien pour l'énergie propre
~ encourager les entreprises canadiennes à devenir plus concurrentielles en améliorant leur efficacité énergétique;
~ créer des emplois associés aux technologies propres ici au Canada; et
~ faire notre part dans la lutte mondiale contre les changements climatiques.
Dans son budget électoral qui a été rejeté, le gouvernement Harper a temporairement renouvelé le programme écoÉNERGIE Rénovation pour un an.
Elles méritent un gouvernement qui les aidera à concrétiser leurs bonnes idées.
L'énergie renouvelable
L'énergie renouvelable doit occuper une place grand issante au sein des sources d'approvisionnement d'énergie du Canada.
Un gouvernement libéral travaillera à réaliser cet objectif.
Le Canada doit agir sur tous les fronts - produire plus d'énergie renouvelable
L'exploitation moins polluante des sables bitumineux
Dans le cadre du partenariat canadien pour l'énergie propre, un gouvernement libéral travaillera à:
Ceci est aussi problématique pour le Canada.
Pour encourager une exploitation moins polluante des sables bitumineux, un gouvernement libéral mettra immédiatement fin à l'allègement fiscal important qui profite à l'industrie.
Le gouvernement Harper élimine progressivement d'ici 2015 la déduction pour amortissement accéléré pour les investissements dans les sables bitumineux.
Nous réserverons ces fonds pour deux objectifs.
Dans son approche équilibrée à l’exploitation des sables bitumineux, un gouvernement libéral prendra au sérieux cette obligation internationale.
La stratégie canadienne sur l’eau douce
Gestion des océans canadiens
Le littoral canadien est le plus long au monde.
CHAPITRE QUATRE
Rassembler les Canadiens
Le Canada n’est pas un pays égoïste qui manque d’ambition.
Notre diversité nous rend plus forts.
Nous sommes tous dans le même bateau.
Ce sont des défis importants pour nos communautés.
Il y a des acquis sur lesquels nous pouvons construire.
Nous devons leur fournir les outils dont ils ont besoin pour mener leurs tâches à bien.
Bon nombre de
Personne ne remet en cause le besoin d’imposer des peines aux criminels.
Tout indique qu’il en faudra bien plus que des prisons.
Le logement abordable
Le nouveau cadre aura comme principaux objectifs de:
~ réduire l'itinérance;
Combattre la pauvreté
À ce chapitre, le Canada se classe en bas du peloton des principaux pays développés.
Les leaders à tous les niveaux doivent faire face à l’inégalité grandissante.
Ce sera un plan à long terme.
Elles contribueront aussi à renforcer l'économie à long terme.
Les gouvernements doivent leur fournir les outils dont ils ont besoin pour faire leur travail.
Améliorer le registre des armes d'épaule.
Les policiers consultent le registre des armes à feu en moyenne 11 000 fois par jour.
Un gouvernement libéral maintiendra l'intégrité du registre des armes à feu pour assurer la sécurité publique,
mais posera aussi des gestes pour répondre aux préoccupations légitimes des propriétaires des armes d'épaule.
Nous améliorerons le registre des armes d'épaule en adoptant les mesures suivantes:
1) Décriminaliser. Une première omission d'enregistrer son arme à feu ne devrait
Il en a résulté que des divisions que le Parti conservateur exploite à des fins partisanes.
Les libéraux continuent d'appuyer les forces policières du Canada.
Malheureusement, depuis quelques années, certains événements ont ébranlé la confiance du public.
Le gouvernement
Un gouvernement libéral mettra sur pied le Fonds des héros communautaires.
Traiter du problème des femmes autochtones disparues ou assassinées
La violence contre les femmes subsiste dans toutes les communautés canadiennes.
Les femmes autochtones sont tout particulièrement touchées par cette violence.
Valoriser le bénévolat
En consultation avec le secteur bénévole, nous fixerons un objectif national visant à augmenter la participation bénévole au Canada.
Ce programme remplacera l'Initiative bénévole canadienne qui a été annulée par le gouvernement Harper.
Le mandat du Corps sera:
Cette initiative créera jusqu'à 26 000 postes bénévoles chaque année.
Un soutien additionnel pour les artistes canadiens
Le Conseil des arts du Canada est une force majeure lorsqu'il s'agit d'appuyer nos artistes.
Appuyer les langues officielles.
Les deux langues officielles du Canada aident à définir notre identité.
Et il faut maintenant renverser cette tendance.
Le bilinguisme est bien établi aussi dans la fonction publique fédérale.
ICI POUR L'EMPLOI ET LA CROISSANCE
NOTRE BUT
d'améliorer la sécurité financière des Canadiens,
NOTRE BILAN
Nous avons entre autres pris les mesures suivantes:
• augmenté le revenu que les petites entreprises peuvent réclamer au titre du taux d'imposition du revenu des petites entreprises; et
En conséquence, parmi les principales économies avancées, le Canada a maintenant le taux d'imposition global le plus bas sur les nouveaux investissements des entreprises (nous avions auparavant l'un des plus élevés) et, d'ici 2012, nous aurons le plus bas taux d'imposition du revenu des sociétés prévu par la loi.
Nous avons:
• encouragé les entreprises à continuer à embaucher du personnel en gelant les cotisations à l'Assurance-emploi pendant deux ans.
NOTRE PLAN
Environ 75 pour cent sont des postes à temps plein.
et nous n'allons pas augmenter le taux d'imposition des entreprises qui créent des emplois pour les canadiens.
Nous allons continuer à aider à créer des emplois par:
• la formation - permettre aux Canadiens sans emploi d'acquérir des compétences;
• le commerce - améliorer les débouchés pour les entreprises canadiennes sur les marchés mondiaux affichant la croissance la plus rapide; et
Voici ce que fera un gouvernement conservateur réélu dirigé par Stephen Harper pour atteindre ces objectifs.
CRÉDIT À L'EMBAUCHE POUR LES PETITES ENTREPRISES
MAINTENIR UN FAIBLE FARDEAU FISCAL POUR CRÉER DES EMPLOIS
Grâce aux réductions fiscales accordées jusqu'à présent
• le Canada a le taux d'imposition global le moins élevé sur les nouveaux investissements par les entreprises des principales économies avancées;
Pour préserver cet avantage, un gouvernement conservateur réélu dirigé par Stephen Harper n'augmentera pas le taux d'imposition des entreprises qui créent des emplois pour les Canadiens.
PROTÉGER LES EMPLOIS ET AIDER LES TRAVAILLEURS ÂGÉS
Pour donner suite à ces préoccupations, nous allons:
POSSIBILITÉS D'ACQUISITION DE COMPÉTENCES POUR LES ÉTUDIANTS
Nous avons également pris des mesures pour offrir un soutien accru aux étudiants canadiens.
Nous avons entre autres:
• rendu les bourses d'études libres d'impôt, offert un Crédit d'impôt pour les manuels, et
• offert une plus grande flexibilité pour le remboursement des prêts étudiants;
• apporté des améliorations au Régime enregistré d'épargne études;
et
• augmenté le soutien au programme Emplois d'été Canada.
Nous allons:
PRÊTS POUR LES TITRES DE COMPÉTENCES ÉTRANGERS DES NOUVEAUX CANADIENS
Mais il faut faire plus.
LIBRE-ÉCHANGE CANADA-EUROPE
Le Canada est l'un des grands pays commerçants du monde.
Un emploi canadien sur trois dépend directement ou indirectement des exportations.
et
LIBRE ÉCHANGE CANADA-INDE
Par exemple, pour aider les entreprises canadiennes à avoir un meilleur accès à ce marché crucial, en pleine expansion, nous avons:
• ouvert trois nouveaux bureaux commerciaux en Inde;
SÉCURITÉ ET COMPÉTITIVITÉ ÉCONOMIQUE À L'INTÉRIEUR DU PÉRIMÈTRE CANADA-ÉTATS-UNIS
Mais il faut faire plus.
PORTES ET CORRIDORS COMMERCIAUX STRATÉGIQUES
Voici quelques exemples des mesures prises jusqu'à présent:
• élargir le pont Simon Fraser, à Prince George, en Colombie-Britannique;
• élargir la Transcanadienne jusqu'à Banff;
• ouvrir le pont Pitt River à la circulation dans la vallée du Bas-Fraser, en Colombie-Britannique;
• promouvoir la construction d'un nouveau pont international dans le corridor commercial Windsor-Detroit - notamment en améliorant des éléments du financement du projet au Michigan;
En plus des mesures prises jusqu'à présent, nous allons:
RÉDUCTION DE LA PAPERASSERIE: RÈGLE DU « UN POUR UN »
Nous avons:
Nous allons passer aux étapes suivantes.
Nous allons légiférer une Règle du un pour un - chaque fois que le gouvernement propose un nouveau règlement, il doit éliminer un règlement existant;
GUICHET UNIQUE POUR LES ENTREPRENEURS ET LES PETITES ENTREPRISES
AIDER LE SECTEUR MANUFACTURIER À INVESTIR ET À CRÉER DES EMPLOIS
SOUTIEN À LA RECHERCHE ET AU DÉVELOPPEMENT
Nous avons entre autres:
• créer 10 nouvelles Chaires d'excellence en recherche du Canada;
STRATÉGIE SUR L'ÉCONOMIE NUMÉRIQUE
Nous voulons tirer profit des mesures déjà prises dans ce domaine, par exemple:
• encourager les entreprises à adopter des technologies numériques;
• stimuler la croissance des entreprises canadiennes offrant des technologies numériques sur le marché mondial; et
• créer un contenu propre au Canada pour toutes les plates-formes, ouvrant le Canada au reste du monde.
Pour atteindre ces objectifs, nous allons entre autres:
• bâtir un contenu numérique canadien par un soutien additionnel au Fonds des médias du Canada.
Elle respecte
PROMOUVOIR L'INDUSTRIE DE L'AÉROSPATIALE DE CLASSE MONDIALE
la défense.
SOUTIEN AUX EMPLOIS DANS L'INDUSTRIE AÉROSPATIALE CANADIENNE
STRATÉGIE NATIONALE D'APPROVISIONNEMENT EN MATIÈRE DE CONSTRUCTION NAVALE
La Stratégie va :
• aider à revitaliser les chantiers navals canadiens; et
Par exemple, nous avons:
CRÉATION D'UNE NOUVELLE ESCADRE EXPÉDITIONNAIRE DE LA FORCE AÉRIENNE À LA BFC BAGOTVILLE
Nous allons:
• tenir notre engagement à poster 550 militaires à Bagotville d'ici 2015.
Pour commencer à tenir ces engagements, nous allons poster 250 militaires à Bagotville d'ici la fin 2011.
Selon les demandes à la Force aérienne - notamment les opérations alliées en Libye, au Moyen-Orient ou en Asie centrale - cette échéance pourra être reportée au début 2012.
STRATÉGIE FÉDÉRALE EN MATIÈRE DE TOURISME
Cependant, le Canada est confronté à une concurrence très forte.
SOUTIEN À L'ESPRIT D'ENTREPRISE ET À L'ACQUISITION DE COMPÉTENCES CHEZ LES AUTOCHTONES
Dans le cadre du Plan d'action économique du Canada, nous avons fait des investissements substantiels dans:
et
PLAN À LONG TERME POUR LE RENOUVELLEMENT DE L'INFRASTRUCTURE
INSTALLATIONS DE SPORT PROFESSIONNEL
ORGANISME CANADIEN DE RÉGLEMENTATION DES VALEURS MOBILIÈRES
En 2010, notre gouvernement a proposé une Loi canadienne sur les valeurs mobilières.
Nous l'avons également soumise à la Cour suprême du Canada pour qu'elle détermine si le Parlement a le pouvoir constitutionnel d'adopter une telle mesure législative.
ACCORD SUR L'HARMONISATION DE LA TAXE DE VENTE AVEC LE GOUVERNEMENT DU QUÉBEC
ICI POUR ÉLIMINER LE DÉFICIT
NOTRE BUT
Nous y arriverons sans augmenter le fardeau fiscal.
Nous allons maintenir un faible fardeau fiscal.
• le gouvernement puisse continuer à investir dans les priorités des Canadiens.
NOTRE BILAN
• maintenu un budget équilibré;
• investi dans les priorités des Canadiens; et
l'éducation.
• nous sommes sur le point d'éliminer notre déficit bien avant le reste du G7 ; et
NOTRE PLAN
ou des entreprises qui créent des emplois pour les Canadiens.
Par des réductions accélérées des dépenses publiques, un gouvernement conservateur réélu dirigé par Stephen Harper éliminera le déficit d'ici 2014-2015 en :
• procéder, en l'espace d'un an, à un examen exhaustif des dépenses publiques.
• recommencer à rembourser la dette fédérale;
• continuer à réduire le fardeau fiscal des familles canadiennes; et
• continuer à investir dans les priorités.
Notre plan repose sur les prévisions financières du budget que notre gouvernement a présenté le mois dernier.
ICI POUR LES FAMILLES QUI TRAVAILLENT FORT
NOTRE BUT
NOTRE BILAN
Pour réduire le fardeau fiscal des familles canadiennes, nous avons entre autres:
• créé le Compte d'épargne libre d'impôt - l'outil d'épargne le plus important depuis les REER; et
NOTRE PLAN
Mais il reste à faire.
Voici ce que fera un gouvernement conservateur réélu dirigé par Stephen Harper pour atteindre ces objectifs.
ALLÉGEMENT FISCAL POUR LES FAMILLES
En plus des mesures susmentionnées, nous avons:
• amélioré le Régime enregistré d'épargne-études;
• pris d'autres mesures d'allégement fiscal majeures, visant souvent les familles à faible revenu.
Mais il reste à faire, surtout avec le régime d'imposition du revenu fédéral.
Un couple gagnant un seul revenu paie encore plus d'impôt.
Nous pourrons bientôt prendre une mesure historique pour assurer une plus grande équité aux familles.
Cela assurera une équité pour les couples gagnant un seul revenu.
DOUBLER LE CRÉDIT D'IMPÔT POUR LA CONDITION PHYSIQUE DES ENFANTS
Crédit d'impôt pour les activités artistiques des enfants
Cependant, les coûts connexes peuvent être trop élevés pour certaines familles.
CRÉDIT D'IMPÔT POUR LA CONDITION PHYSIQUE DES ADULTES
Une vaste gamme d'activités peut permettre d'atteindre ces objectifs - du hockey à la course à pied.
PROGRAMME ÉCOÉNERGIE RÉNOVATION - MAISONS
Nous allons prolonger d'un an le programme écoÉNERGIE Rénovation - Maisons.
SOUTIEN AUX AIDANTS FAMILIAUX
Ces aidants familiaux font des sacrifices, devant souvent quitter temporairement leur travail, renonçant à un revenu d'emploi.
SOUTIEN AUX AÎNÉS À FAIBLE REVENU
Nous avons entre autres:
• augmenté le montant que les bénéficiaires du SRG peuvent gagner avant que leurs prestations soient réduites.
Mais il faut faire plus.
DOUBLER LA LIMITE DE COTISATION
AU COMPTE D'ÉPARGNE LIBRE D'IMPÔT
Dans le but d'aider les Canadiens à épargner plus pour l'avenir, notre gouvernement a créé en 2008 le Compte d'épargne libre d'impôt (CELI).
Le CELI est l'outil d'épargne personnelle plus important depuis les REER.
AIDER LES CANADIENS À ÉPARGNER POUR LEUR RETRAITE
Mais il faut faire plus.
SOUTENIR LES POSSIBILITÉS D'EMPLOI DES ANCIENS COMBATTANTS
Pour soutenir nos anciens combattants, nous avons entre autres:
• adopté la Loi améliorant la Nouvelle Charte des anciens combattants, offrant:
un meilleur accès aux prestations mensuelles des anciens combattants gravement blessés;
PROGRAMME DE PROTECTION DES SALARIÉS
RENOUVELER L'ACCORD FÉDÉRAL-PROVINCIAL SUR LA SANTÉ
Reconnaissant le fédéralisme asymétrique, nous allons respecter le précédent d'un accord distinct avec le gouvernement du Québec sur la mise en application du nouvel Accord sur la santé.
ICI POUR DÉFENDRE LE CANADA
NOTRE BUT
NOTRE BILAN
Nous avons:
dont:
o nous avons pris une mesure historique pour reconnaître que les Québécois forment une nation au sein d'un Canada uni.
NOTRE PLAN
Voici ce que fera un gouvernement conservateur réélu pour:
• affirmer notre souveraineté nationale; et
CONSOLIDER LES FORCES ARMÉES CANADIENNES
Linvestissement sera fait progressivement, au cours des 15 prochaines années, la majeure partie commençant en 2015 seulement, quand le budget sera équilibré.
LUTTER CONTRE LE PASSAGE DE CLANDESTINS
Des événements récents ont démontré que le système d'immigration du Canada est une cible pour les criminels, ce qui coûte cher aux Canadiens.
Ils s'opposent à la détention des migrants illégaux.
RENFORCER LA GARDE CÔTIÈRE CANADIENNE
nous allons:
DÉPORTER LES CRIMINELS ÉTRANGERS
Il faut souvent des années pour déporter les criminels étrangers, même s'ils sont dangereux.
Nous allons:
• rationaliser les niveaux d'appel multiples offerts aux personnes déportées pour des crimes graves ou ayant des liens avec des organisations terroristes ou le crime organisé;
et
ÉLARGIR LE PROGRAMME DE FINANCEMENT DES PROJETS D'INFRASTRUCTURE DE SÉCURITÉ
Cependant, malheureusement, certaines communautés sont vulnérables aux crimes haineux, simplement pour des raisons liées à la race, à la religion ou à la culture.
MESURE LÉGISLATIVE POUR COMBATTRE LE TERRORISME
La loi a expiré après cinq ans.
STRATÉGIE NATIONALE CONTRE LE TERRORISME
• allouer un financement accru pour renforcer la sécurité du fret aérien
et
SOUVERAINETÉ DANS L'ARCTIQUE: AUTOROUTE DEMPSTER
• renforçons la souveraineté du Canada dans l'Arctique;
• protégeons l'environnement nordique;
• donnons aux habitants du Nord un plus grand contrôle sur leurs affaires.
• adopté une loi pour protéger nos eaux arctiques;
• investi dans le logement abordable;
Nous allons:
Elle permettra également d'affirmer la souveraineté du Canada dans l'Arctique.
et nous allons finaliser le réseau d'autoroutes national, reliant le canada d'un océan à l'autre.
CÉLÉBRER NOTRE VICTOIRE À LA GUERRE DE 1812 ET D'AUTRES JALONS NATIONAUX
Nous allons:
• reconnaître la contribution des Premières nations à la victoire du Canada;
MONUMENT COMMÉMORATIF NATIONAL SUR L'HOLOCAUSTE
Nous devons assurer qu'il ne sera pas oublié, dans l'espoir qu'il ne se répétera jamais.
MONUMENT COMMÉMORATIF SUR LES VICTIMES DU COMMUNISME
DÉFENDRE LA LIBERTÉ DE RELIGION
Nous allons:
• continuer à assurer que le Canada offre une protection aux minorités religieuses vulnérables par nos généreux programmes d'établissement des réfugiés; et
CONSERVER ET PROTÉGER NOTRE ENVIRONNEMENT
Nous avons:
• rendre les terres entre les aires protégées plus accessibles à la faune,
Nous allons investir dans la création du parc national Mealy Mountains, à Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador.
SOUTENIR L'ÉNERGIE PROPRE
Pour qu'un projet soit soutenu, il devra:
• avoir une importance nationale ou régionale;
SOUTENIR LA CULTURE ET LES ARTS
Nous avons entre autres:
SOUTENIR LES PAYS EN VOIE DE DÉVELOPPEMENT
ET LA SANTÉ DES MÈRES, DES ENFANTS ET DES NOUVEAU-NÉS
ICI POUR LES CANADIENS RESPECTUEUX DES LOIS
NOTRE BUT
Les Canadiens respectueux des lois veulent vivre dans un pays où ils n'ont pas à s'inquiéter quand ils vont se coucher le soir; où ils n'ont pas à regarder par-dessus leur épaule quand ils marchent dans la rue; où ils peuvent s'attendre à trouver leur voiture là où ils l'ont garée.
NOTRE BILAN
Nous avons:
• assuré que les meurtriers liés au crime organisé seront automatiquement considérés comme des meurtriers au premier degré,
• renforcé les mesures visant à protéger les enfants contre l'exploitation sexuelle en ligne;
NOTRE PLAN
SOUTENIR LES VICTIMES DE CRIME
Nous avons entre autres:
Mais il reste à faire pour demander des comptes aux criminels
Cependant, dans la plupart des cas, cette amende n'est pas imposée.
Personne ne peut mieux imaginer ou comprendre ces souffrances qu'un parent qui a vécu une telle épreuve.
Cette mesure sera financée par les recettes générales, pas par les cotisations à l'AE.
DES PRISONS SANS DROGUE
Nous allons assurer que:
• les détenus qui possèdent des substances illicites font l'objet d'accusations additionnelles appropriées; et
LUTTER CONTRE LA TRAITE DE PERSONNES
Nous avons entre autres:
Nous passons maintenant aux étapes suivantes.
Nous allons:
• soutenir les organisations offrant une aide aux victimes; et
METTRE UN TERME À LA RÉDUCTION DES PEINES POUR LA PORNOGRAPHIE JUVÉNILE ET LES INFRACTIONS SEXUELLES MULTIPLES
Nous devons également prendre des mesures pour garder les dangereux criminels derrière les barreaux, là où est leur place.
LUTTER CONTRE LA VIOLENCE FAITE AUX AÎNÉS
Mais il reste à faire.
RENFORCER LES LOIS SUR LA LÉGITIME DÉFENSE, LA
DÉFENSE DES BIENS ET LES ARRESTATIONS PAR LES CITOYENS
Ils peuvent également procéder à une arrestation au besoin.
Cependant, la police ne peut pas être partout à la fois.
Depuis quelques années, la justice penche trop souvent en faveur des droits des criminels, au détriment des honnêtes citoyens.
et à élargir les circonstances dans lesquelles les Canadiens peuvent procéder à une arrestation.
CONTRER LA CONTREBANDE DE TABAC
PRÉSENTATION DE LA MESURE LÉGISLATIVE SUR LA LOI ET L'ORDRE
• s'attaquer au crime organisé lié aux drogues;
• éliminer le pardon pour les criminels graves;
ICI POUR LES COMMUNAUTÉS ET LES INDUSTRIES
NOTRE BUT
Nous voulons:
• aider à assurer la réussite des industries traditionnelles.
NOTRE BILAN
• offert un financement spécial, par l'intermédiaire du volet Communautés du Fonds Chantiers Canada, pour aider à répondre aux besoins uniques des petites municipalités;
Nous avons:
Nous avons:
NOTRE PLAN
VILLES, VILLAGES ET RÉGIONS
FINANCEMENT PERMANENT DE L'INFRASTRUCTURE MUNICIPALE
Nous avons:
• offert un financement spécial pour répondre aux besoins uniques des petites municipalités; et
SOUTENIR LES PARTENARIATS ET LE BÉNÉVOLAT COMMUNAUTAIRES
Les meilleures solutions aux défis des communautés se trouvent souvent au palier local.
Par exemple, nous soutenons le programme Passeport pour ma réussite afin d'aider à offrir ce programme partout au pays.
Nous nous engageons également à promouvoir le travail exceptionnel des bénévoles qui font une différence dans nos régions.
Nous allons:
• offrir un financement à Bénévoles Canada pour développer un service d'appariement des bénévoles.
AIDER LES JEUNES À RISQUE À ÉVITER
LES GANGS ET LES ACTIVITÉS CRIMINELLES
PLUS DE MÉDECINS ET DE PERSONNEL INFIRMIER DANS LES COMMUNAUTÉS RURALES
DES DÉFIBRILLATEURS DANS TOUTES LES ARÉNAS DU Canada
L'expérience démontre que ces investissements peuvent sauver des vies.
CRÉDIT D'IMPÔT POUR LES POMPIERS VOLONTAIRES
ABOLIR L'INUTILE REGISTRE DES ARMES D'ÉPAULE
Nous allons abolir le registre des armes d'épaule une bonne fois pour toutes.
COMITÉ CONSULTATIF SUR LA CHASSE DU MINISTRE DE L'ENVIRONNEMENT
Les Canadiens reconnaissent que nous devons agir pour protéger les espèces menacées.
RENFORCER LES DROITS DE PROPRIÉTÉ
Nous allons renforcer les droits des propriétaires fonciers en examinant la Loi sur les espèces en péril afin d'assurer que quand une indemnisation est due, elle est versée.
AMÉLIORER ET AGRANDIR LES PISTES D'EXCURSION ET DE MOTONEIGE
La motoneige a été inventée au Canada et, depuis, cette activité est devenue très populaire.
Jusqu'à présent, notre soutien a permis d'améliorer 500 pistes, partout au pays.
DÉPLACER L'ADMINISTRATION CENTRALE DE L'AGENCE DE DÉVELOPPEMENT ÉCONOMIQUE DU CANADA POUR LES RÉGIONS DU QUÉBEC
ACCORD SUR LES RESSOURCES EXTRACÔTIÈRES DU QUÉBEC
Les ressources naturelles sont l'un des principaux atouts du Canada.
Nous allons appliquer l'accord sur les ressources extracôtières du Québec en déposant une mesure législative au Parlement.
INDUSTRIES TRADITIONNELLES
ÉLARGIR LES MARCHÉS INTERNATIONAUX POUR LES AGRICULTEURS
ÉQUIVALENCE POUR LES INTRANTS ALIMENTAIRES
Nous allons revoir les processus d'approbation pour assurer une équivalence internationale pour ces produits.
SOUTIEN À LA GESTION DE L'OFFRE
COMMISSION CANADIENNE DU BLÉ
SOUTENIR L'INNOVATION ET LE DÉVELOPPEMENT DES MARCHÉS EN FORESTERIE
PROLONGATION DU CRÉDIT D'IMPÔT POUR
L'EXPLORATION MINIÈRE
SOUTIEN À L'INDUSTRIE DES PÊCHES
des investissements dans les ports pour petits bateaux.
ICI POUR L'INTÉGRITÉ ET LA RESPONSABILISATION
NOTRE BUT
NOTRE BILAN
Par cette mesure législative historique, nous avons:
• interdit les dons secrets aux candidats;
• offert une véritable protection aux dénonciateurs;
• amélioré l'accès à l'information.
De plus, nous avons travaillé sans relâche pour améliorer la légitimité démocratique du Sénat non élu.
NOTRE PLAN
RÉFORME DU SÉNAT
Un Sénat non élu est tout simplement inacceptable au sein d'une démocratie moderne.
gouvernement majoritaire dirigé par Stephen Harper va :
• adopter une loi sur la limite du mandat des sénateurs :
• continuer à encourager les provinces à collaborer afin d'établir un processus démocratique pour l'élection des sénateurs;
• nommer les personnes choisies par un processus démocratique; et
REPRÉSENTATION ÉQUITABLE À LA CHAMBRE DES COMMUNES
Ces mises à jour visent à assurer une équité aux provinces.
Nous allons présenter une mesure législative pour rétablir une juste représentation à la Chambre des communes.
TRANSPARENCE FINANCIÈRE DES PREMIÈRES NATIONS
• une mesure législative visant à offrir aux femmes vivant sur des réserves les mêmes droits matrimoniaux qu'aux autres femmes canadiennes.
Nous allons continuer à collaborer avec les peuples autochtones du Canada.
FIN DES SUBVENTIONS AUX PARTIS POLITIQUES
Mais il faut faire plus.
De plus, le gouvernement libéral précédent a créé une subvention directe pour les partis politiques - même pour les partis qui ne font rien pour recueillir des fonds par eux-mêmes.
INITIATIVE POUR UN GOUVERNEMENT OUVERT
Cette Initiative vise à atteindre ces objectifs sur trois plans:
PLATEFORME ÉLECTORALE PARTI VERT 2015
BUILDING A CANADA THAT WORKS.
TOGETHER 2015
BUILDING A CANADA THAT WORKS TOGETHER
OUR VISION FOR A STRONG, SECURE AND SUSTAINABLE CANADA
In a world filled with conflict and uncertainty, Canada stands as an island of peace, freedom, and stability.
Canadians are a people united by cooperation, hard work, and mutual respect.
We know that it is our families, our communities, and our teamwork that make us strong.
We view the diversity of our nation not as a liability, but rather as a shared strength and source of pride.
Together, we have built one of the wealthiest countries in the world, blessed with a skilled and resourceful population, abundant natural resources, and a highly productive economy.
We have built a country with universal health care, public education, a social safety net that safeguards us in times of hardship, and a public pension plan that provides us security in retirement.
But, in recent years, the national values, natural environment, and individual qualities that allowed us to build the Canada we know and love have come under threat.
The Harper Conservatives have skewed and weakened the Canadian economy, focusing solely on higher polluting industries, instead of on creating good, stable, high-paying jobs.
They have failed our communities by slashing funding to critical public services, instead subsidizing foreign multinational corporations and providing tax cuts to the wealthiest few.
They have granted special privileges to foreign corporations and made us subservient to the interests of foreign investors.
They have failed to unite us in the face of conflict and uncertainty, instead cynically opting to divide our nation for partisan gain.
They have failed to act in the face of an ever-growing climate crisis, instead gambling our future on more pipelines, more fracking, and risky tankers on our coasts.
This platform lays out a plan to move Canada forward, to overcome the last ten years, and restore the shared values and principles that built the country we love.
Our economic plan invests in people and creates good jobs, focusing on skills, knowledge, and sustainable resource development.
Our plan envisions strong communities as the foundation of a strong country,
and will provide the investments in infrastructure,
education,
and health care necessary to make that vision a reality.
Our plan proposes democratic reforms that will make our politicians more accountable,
our parliament more accessible,
and our voting system more representatives.
Our plan takes bold climate action, by embracing the solutions that we already know work,
encouraging research into those we have yet to discover,
and increasing the taxes paid by corporate polluters.
We understand that in a federation like Canada, no one level of government and no one political party has all the answers.
Canada stands apart from every other industrialized country in lacking any national goals or strategy to respond to pressing issues.
We are the only country in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) with no national policy for energy, housing, education, transportation, health care, climate, or culture.
We need to reinvent the way we make decisions.
Greens will press for the creation of a Council of Canadian Governments.
Building on the First Ministers' Conference (a body ignored by Stephen Harper), we will convene a council comprised of federal, provincial-territorial, municipal-local, as well as First Nations, Métis and Inuit leaders.
Gathered around the same table, national goals will be developed, publicly and transparently.
Each level of government will then implement that part of the plan within its jurisdiction.
Policy alignment will ensure the wise use of public dollars.
All levels of government, pulling in the same direction, will put Canada on the path to a prosperous, sustainable future built on fairness and justice.
Green Members of Parliament, united by this vision for Canada, will be your local champions in Ottawa – working on behalf of you, your family, and your community.
It's time to build a Canada that works.
Together.
SUSTAINABLE ECONOMY - BECAUSE TOMORROW IS SERIOUS BUSINESS
Canada is teetering on a recession for the second time since Stephen Harper became prime minister.
His ill-advised political pledge to eliminate the deficit he created, just in time for this election, is now risking a deepening recession.
Despite Conservative mismanagement, our economic fundamentals remain sound. We have the technology, we have the people, and we have the resources.
We are one of the wealthiest nations in the world in every sense of the word.
Today, our economy produces 50 percent more wealth per capita than it did a generation ago.
Nevertheless, Canadians are feeling more squeezed economically than ever before.
Despite a shift to two-income households, the current generation of young families faces increasing costs for housing, education, and childcare, and unprecedented household debt.
For the first time in our history, older Canadians are saying that their children will not enjoy the same standard of living as they did at the same age.
Meanwhile, our political leaders repeat the mantra that government cupboards are bare.
Deep cuts in the tax rate for large corporations have led to a hoarding of cash in big business bank accounts.
The former Governor of the Bank of Canada called it “dead money” – and there's a lot of it.
Over $600 billion, equivalent to 32 percent of our GDP, is held in corporate bank accounts – not being re-invested, not working at all.
Dead money.
Old-line parties have ignored places to fund needed programs and instead claim there is no new money for health care services, education, pensions, infrastructure, public safety, or scientific research.
There is a serious disconnect between the unprecedented wealth produced by the Canadian economy and the increasing economic insecurity of Canadians.
We must take decisive action to build a sustainable economy that benefits all Canadians over the long-term.
We need to immediately build those sectors that benefit from the lower Canadian dollar – manufacturing, tourism, value-added forest products and cultural industries.
We need to resurrect federal engagement in tourism promotion and support.
We need to embrace the 21st century economic revolution of clean technology.
These steps will assist in confronting the biggest threat to our economic future – the decline in the Harper years of Canadian productivity.
For the first time since records have been kept, Canada is falling far behind the U.S. in productivity.
More R & D and innovation will come from manufacturing and clean technology.
We are a nation of innovators.
While Harper's policies reversed our economic progress, hitching us to our 19th century role as hewers of wood and drawers of water, Canadians are ready for a sustainable, clean 21st century economy.
BECAUSE TOMORROW IS SERIOUS BUSINESS, OUR TOP ECONOMIC PRIORITIES ARE TO:
1- ESTABLISH A CANADIAN SUSTAINABLE GENERATIONS FUND
Secure Canada's economic leadership over the coming decade by creating a fund to invest in skills-training,
education,
energy efficiency,
renewables,
and emerging technologies.
We will capitalize this fund by expanding revenue through returning corporate tax rates on large corporations to the 2009 level (19 percent),
eliminating tax havens and tax credits used by the extremely wealthy,
taxing pollution and waste,
increasing the efficiency of our tax system,
and working with provinces to increase resource extraction royalties.
The time has come to redesign our tax system for the 21st century economy.
As a starting point, in line with fundamental principles of fairness, efficiency and equity, we will eliminate the exemptions, special cases and tax breaks for favoured interests
These boutique tax cuts have complicated our tax code, needlessly increasing complexity.
We must ensure the tax system helps, not hinders, Canadians.
These changes will ensure that we capture and secure economic benefits for all Canadians.
Canada is one of the safest places in the world to invest.
Rather than investing abroad, the majority of the Canadian Sustainable Generations Fund will be invested here in Canada
– in Canadian jobs,
education,
infrastructure,
small-business,
and communities.
2- ROLL OUT A NATIONAL SUSTAINABLE JOBS PLAN
Put Canadians to work by investing in well-paying, local, and sustainable jobs in our communities.
Building a sustainable economy is serious business.
Boom and bust cycles in the extractive industries have taken a heavy toll on Canadian families and communities, and it's long past time for us to invest in reliable, long-term, local jobs.
The Canadian Sustainable Generations Fund will make critical investments in trades, apprenticeships, and education, and will ensure that all Canadians have the skills and training to prosper today and contribute to building the Canada of tomorrow.
These investments in skills training will complement targeted national infrastructure investments in energy efficiency, renewable energy production, digital upgrades, clean-tech manufacturing, tourism, the creative economy, and emerging technologies.
The gap between the infrastructure funding our cities and towns need, and the funding they receive, is reaching crisis levels – Canada's infrastructure deficit is estimated to be upwards of $350-billion.
We will work to close this gap by committing $6.4 billion per year, one point of the GST, to municipal infrastructure – providing stable, long-term funding to Canadian municipalities, creating good local jobs, and building vibrant, safe, and livable Canadian towns and cities.
We will create a Canadian Infrastructure Bank to provide more robust and innovative financing and investment partnerships, in order to build safer bridges, better roads, world-class water treatment facilities, affordable housing, efficient public transportation, and expanded broadband access – putting thousands of Canadians to work in the process.
We will create additional sustainable jobs by reintroducing and expanding the home renovation tax credit, to create incentives for individuals and companies to make their homes and businesses more efficient and accessible by installing high-efficiency insulation, solar heating and electricity, energyefficient appliances, and accessibility upgrades.
And we will unleash an army of carpenters, electricians and contractors to take outdated and leaky public buildings – schools, universities and hospitals – and plug the leaks that increase greenhouse gases and costs.
These changes alone will reduce carbon emissions by 30 percent nationwide.
3- SLASH CANADA'S STUDENT DEBT TODAY, AND ABOLISH TUITION FEES FOR COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY EDUCATION FOR STUDENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES
It's time to break the status quo on education in Canada and abolish tuition fees for college, university and skills training programs.
Whether Germany, Austria, Norway, Sweden, or Finland, many of the world's most successful economies have proven that expanding the public education system to include post-secondary increases prosperity, equality, productivity, and economic competitiveness.
We will start investing in Canada's future by abolishing tuition fees for students without adequate financial means,
including removing the inadequate 2% annual cap on increased funding for post secondary education for all First Nations and Inuit students.
Through consultation and collaboration with provincial governments and universities and colleges,
by 2020 we will abolish tuition fees for post-secondary education and skills training for Canadians, guaranteeing that income is never a barrier for qualified students.
It is widely recognized that Canada's success depends on an educated population, yet we burden youth with tens of thousands of dollars in student debt.
As our plan to abolish tuition fees is being phased in, we will invest in the success of current students, jumpstart the Canadian economy,
and give our graduates a hand-up by implementing a debt-forgiveness program.
Our plan will eliminate any existing or future student federal debt above $10,000.
We will abolish charging interest on new student loans
and will increase available funding for bursaries.
It is unacceptable to the Green Party, and should be unacceptable to every Canadian, that the unemployment rate among Canadian youth is twice the national average.
The actual youth unemployment rate is likely much higher as many young people have given up on finding that first job and are no longer counted.
Investment in Canadian skills, training, and education is a proven means to create real jobs, and is the backbone of Canada's future as a sustainability superpower.
But for many young people just getting out of school, they face a Catch-22.
They cannot get hired in new jobs because they lack experience
But unless they get that first job, they'll never have experience.
Greens will create a national Community and Environment Service Corps, which will provide $1 billion/year to municipalities to hire Canadian youth to do work that needs to be done.
4- PARTNERING WITH FIRST NATIONS FOR TRULY RESPONSIBLE RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT IN THE LONG-TERM PUBLIC INTEREST
Building a new era of nation-to-nation respect and partnership starts with recognizing First Nations' inherent rights and title.
We will work together to negotiate comprehensive Indigenous self-governance arrangements, and bury the Indian Act.
Our Council of Canadian Governments will, for the first time, engage First Nations, Metis and Inuit leadership as full partners in inter-governmental decision-making – for the good of us all and not solely on indigenous issues.
We recognize that First Nations communities have been at the forefront of stalling irresponsible resource development projects like the Enbridge pipeline.
We will work with First Nations and with the provinces to ensure that the responsible development of Canada's natural-resource wealth benefits all Canadians, beginning with the consent of the peoples on whose traditional territories they exist.
Truly responsible resource development means securing Canada's endowment of living systems and natural wealth, by setting strict rules on industrial development to eliminate waste and environmental pollution,
limiting foreign control over Canadian resources,
and putting an end to high-risk plans for new raw bitumen export pipelines and tankers.
By investing heavily in advanced skills training,
expanding support for trades and apprentice programs,
and capturing additional value by processing resources here in Canada,
we will create good jobs in the resource sector and in local communities.
All while ensuring Canadians who call this place home have a say in developing our resources.
5- PUTTING CANADIAN SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS FIRST
Ensure Canadian small business owners and entrepreneurs have access to the funds they need to create local jobs and revitalize local economies.
Small businesses and the Canadians who own them are the central driver of our economy.
They create more jobs than any other part of our economy.
And those incomes and profits remain in the community, providing stable employment.
As an added bonus, their flexible nature allows them to respond to environmental and market demands well before large corporations take action.
Putting Canadian small businesses first means reducing red tape for small business owners
and enacting “Think Small First” legislation to ensure that new federal laws and regulations enhance, rather than hinder, an economic environment where local businesses and entrepreneurs can thrive.
We will create federally-funded $1 billion per year Green Technology Commercialization Grants to accelerate emerging technologies and give Canadian entrepreneurs a head start.
By facilitating increased access to early-stage financing, the Green Technology Commercialization Grant will help our entrepreneurs compete internationally.
It will help good ideas and emerging technology get to market, growing our sustainable economy and creating good local jobs and opportunities in our communities
6- SUPPORTING LOCAL FOOD AND SMALL-SCALE PRODUCERS
In a time of dominance by global industrial food systems, we want to rebalance the equation by creating resilient local economies fueled by local growers, farmers, and producers.
Markets for local and organic food are growing rapidly, and a new generation of young Canadians want to try their hand at farming, yet starting out remains a daunting prospect, requiring financial risk that many young would-be farmers are unwilling to take.
We believe that Canadians who want to enter into agriculture should be supported to do so.
We will fund community supported agriculture, farmers' markets, small-scale farms and producers, and the wineries and microbreweries that Canadians love.
Finally, we will shift government-supported research away from biotechnology and energy-intensive farming and towards organic and sustainable food production.
We have the successful twenty-plus year legacy of Environmental Farm Plan assessments to build upon in which tens of thousands of family farms voluntarily adopted more efficient farming practices.
STRONG COMMUNITIES - BECAUSE CANADA DEPENDS ON IT.
At its heart, Canada is a community of communities, working together with a shared sense of purpose.
Our nation needs a government that will invest in the fundamental building blocks on which our neighbourhoods rely – from healthcare to transit, child care to public parks, bridges to local agriculture.
All with the aim of increasing the affordability and livability of the towns and cities we call home.
The current situation is not working for many Canadians.
The dream of homeownership and affordable rental housing is slipping away.
Canadians are being asked to pay out-of-pocket for everything from prescription medicine to dental care, while child care is becoming increasingly unaffordable.
Today, even two-income households are having trouble making ends meet month in, month out.
To add insult to injury, consecutive federal governments have allowed critical infrastructure to go without needed maintenance.
Lack of investment in the infrastructure that makes our cities productive and our towns livable is risky behaviour.
Crumbling bridges, aging and insufficient transit, nonexistent rail infrastructure – these problems are no longer rarities, they have become the norm.
We want to invest in our communities just as previous generations invested in the systems we have allowed to fall into disrepair.
A modern 21st century economy is undermined by deteriorating infrastructure.
BECAUSE CANADA DEPENDS ON IT, OUR TOP PRIORITIES FOR BUILDING STRONG CANADIAN COMMUNITIES ARE TO:   1- DEFEND CANADA'S PUBLIC HEALTH CARE
Defend single-payer universal health care.
Bring all parties back to the table for a renewal of the Health Accord.
Innovate in health care through electronic health records,
patient-centred team medicine built around the family physician working with nurse-practitioners, pharmacists, midwives, naturopaths and others.
Expand health care to cover prescription medication for all Canadians and public dental coverage for low-income youth (under 18 years of age),
and increase the emphasis on preventative health care.
Every developed country in the world with a universal health care system provides prescription drug coverage, except Canada.
Truly universal health care means guaranteeing that all Canadians have access to the medication they need, and the Green Party will fight to expand public health care to cover prescription medication.
We will implement a National Pharmacare Plan that, through the advantage of bulk buying, will actually save Canadians $11 billion each year.
It will especially benefit senior citizens, who spend the most on prescription medication, and it will allow physicians and doctors to better track if patients are at risk of dangerous over-medication.
We will be far more rigorous in assessing new drug applications.
We will apply the gold standard for pharmaceutical review to ensure we reject drugs shown to hurt more people than they heal.
At the same time, our Pharmacare Plan will provide much needed coverage to the millions of Canadians who are forced to pay out-of-pocket for prescription medication every year.
It is appalling that in a country as wealthy as Canada, our children do not have guaranteed no-cost access to high quality dental care.
In order to address the crisis among the most marginal in our society, we will expand our public health care coverage to include dental coverage for low-income Canadians under the age of eighteen.
Canadians know that the best way we can reduce the burden on our health care system is to work to ensure we don't get sick in the first place.
Despite this, our medical system focuses disproportionately on cure and not enough on prevention.
We will work with the provinces to develop preventative health care guidelines that incentivize active lifestyles and healthy diets, saving our system millions by keeping Canadians healthy from childhood onwards.
As a first order of business after the election, we will ensure the National Conference on Lyme Disease, required by law in the Green Party's first bill, will develop a national strategy to confront this growing threat.
It is scheduled for November to be chaired by the federal Minister of Health.
As part of the big picture project of creating healthy communities, we will adopt stricter regulations to prohibit cancer-causing chemicals in our food and consumer products.
The Green Party supports expansion of CPP as the most reliable and predictable pension plan.
2. IMPLEMENT A NATIONAL SENIORS STRATEGY
The Conservative approach to public policy is a series of unrelated, gimmicky, vote-buying schemes.
Canada's seniors deserve better.
We will work through the Council of Canadian Governments to develop a National Seniors Strategy with the following elements:  A Housing plan,
with affordable, predictable home care support;
A Guaranteed Livable Income to ensure no Canadian lives in poverty;
Pharmacare – strongly benefits seniors;
A National Dementia Strategy,
including more long-term care beds in neighbourhood facilities;
An approach that supports “aging in place”;
Pension protection,
expansion of CPP;
Promotion of intergenerational programs that allow our kids – from toddlers to high school students – to visit seniors and develop relationships that have proven benefits to both generations;
Convenient and safe public transport to support independent living;
Access to the equity in homes to support day-to-day living expenses;
Addressing the Supreme Court of Canada decision to allow physician-assisted death.
The most extreme challenges of aging are experienced by seniors living in poverty, a disproportionate proportion of whom are women.
While the percentage of seniors living in poverty dropped dramatically from a high of approximately 30 percent in 1976, to a low of 4.7 percent in 2007, the poverty rates for seniors have begun to move up once again – 5.8 percent in 2008.
We cannot be complacent about the economic struggles of seniors.
The Green Party supports expansion of CPP as the most reliable and predictable pension plan.
3. ELIMINATE POVERTY AND CHALLENGE INEQUALITY
Implementing a Guaranteed Livable Income,
ensuring equal pay for equal work,
and ensuring high quality child care for every Canadian family who wants it,
while providing a school nutrition program – providing healthy food to kids in school to help them learn better.
Despite the growing number of two-income households, Canadian families are finding it harder and harder to make ends meet.
Green Party programs and policies will reduce income inequality, and ensure all Canadians have the opportunity to prosper.
We will phase-in a national Guaranteed Livable Income, to ensure that no person's income falls below what is necessary for health, life and dignity.
Through the Council of Canadian Governments we will work with the other levels of government
whose inadequate poverty band-aid solutions (such as welfare, disability programs) can be rolled up in order to fund Guaranteed Livable Income.
Providing our most at-risk citizens with the resources they need to make ends meet greatly reduces the burden on our emergency and social services, our health care and criminal justice systems – saving Canadian society money and empowering all citizens to overcome periods of hardship.
As an immediate first step, the Green Party would implement a federal minimum wage of $15 an hour.
By providing a cheque to every Canadian over 18, the carbon fee and dividend system will also assist in providing help to those who need it most.
We will implement a National Housing Strategy based on Housing First principles.
Housing First is a proven, recovery-oriented approach that centres on quickly moving people experiencing homelessness into independent, permanent housing,
and then providing additional supports and services as needed.
This strategy will guarantee dignity and support for Canadians at the margins of our society, and will help address homelessness while at the same time reducing the burden on our emergency and health services.
Our Housing Strategy will address the continuum of needs – from social housing for those in poverty or dealing with mental health and addiction problems, to First Nations, Metis, and Inuit housing crises, to the market failures depriving those with even a decent income of access to the affordable housing they need.
We can ensure that all housing needs are met – whether seniors, youth, or the stressed middle class.
It is a black mark against Canada that, in 2015, Canadian women earn, on average, $8,000 less per year than their male counterparts for doing the same jobs.
We will fight to end gender-based discrimination in the workplace and in Canadian society at large,
and ensure that Canada eliminates the gender wage gap once and for all.
Although we must continue to work to address deeply-rooted gender bias in Canadian society, it will take time.
One important step is ensuring high-quality affordable child care.
We will work with the provinces, territories and Indigenous communities
to establish accessible, convenient, enriched and affordable child care spaces for any Canadian family that seeks it.
We will support women to re-enter the workforce whenever they choose after having children.
The Green Party believes that workplace childcare has many advantages – enhanced parenting time and access to children through the work day, extension of breast-feeding opportunities, improved employee productivity, and improving the convenience of public transport when parents and kids share their morning destination.
Tax breaks to employers for the creation of child care spaces is one tool among many we will use to ensure that families have the spaces they need.
4. BUILD STRONG FIRST NATIONS AND INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES
We need to move to implement the findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
The path to justice, healing and reconciliation begins with accepting a painful truth: the horrors of the residential school system constituted a policy of cultural genocide.
There is no way to undo the damage nor to compensate for the grief and loss of many generations of children and families.
The truth is hard to absorb, but absorb it we must.
True reconciliation will take time, and while we work to build a new, nation-to-nation partnership based on mutual respect and understanding, there are urgent and important steps that must be taken by the federal government to put the relationship on firmer footing.
We begin by recognizing indigenous rights and title,
and will negotiate in good faith to settle land claims, establish treaties and self-government arrangements, and move to repeal the Indian Act should that be the consensus of First Nations.
We will respect the rights of First Nations to take leadership of development projects on their traditional territories.
Creating opportunity for indigenous communities and their people means ensuring access to quality public services for all First Nations, Metis and Inuit.
It requires adequate funding for housing,
education,
and health care, both on and off reserves.
We will work to expand rural health care infrastructure by investing in telehealth and mobile medical units, to ensure indigenous communities have access to critical care.
The ongoing crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women must be urgently addressed.
We will launch a national inquiry
and fight to ensure that structural violence against indigenous communities is addressed.
We also recognize the critical importance of defending languages and cultures,
and will provide new federal funding for culturally appropriate education in traditional languages.
5. REVERSE CBC-RADIO CANADA FUNDING CUTS
Investing an additional $285-million in the first year of our new Green Parliament
and $315 million in every subsequent year to protect our national broadcaster.
We will ensure Radio Canada and CBC have adequate and stable funding,
reversing the Harper Conservatives' $117-million cut,
and investing an additional $168-million and $315 million every year thereafter to rebuild the CBC and Radio-Canada's local coverage and capacity.
We will also restructure the governance structure of the public broadcaster to end the political influence of partisan cronies being appointed to the board.
We need to re-invest in a CBC/Radio-Canada that is distinctly public and distinctly Canadian, ensuring our public broadcaster has the resources and expertise to provide quality local news coverage from our biggest communities to our smallest.
The CBC and Radio Canada define what it means to be Canadian by covering the unique, the unconventional, and the truly Canadian.
We'll make sure it has adequate and sustainable funding so it can continue to enrich our lives for years to come.
In addition, we will increase funding to all of Canada's arts and culture organizations including the Canada Council for the Arts and Telefilm Canada.
In addition to restoring funding to CBC and Radio-Canada,
we will work to rebuild the arm's length governance of our arts and cultural institutions to prevent political interference,
prevent further monopolization of Canadian media,
and defend the freedom and integrity of the internet by enshrining the principle of “net-neutrality” in Canadian legislation.
We must be very concerned about the threat of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and its Crown Corporation provisions.
If adopted, it could undermine our ability to maintain many public services provided through Crown corporations, including to our cultural industries.
6. PROTECTING CANADA POST
Daily mail service to everyone's front door.
Canadians in the 21st century deserve postal service to their doors.
Canada Post is experiencing a decline in letter service, but an increase in parcel delivery.
The impact of the internet cuts both ways: more emails reduce letters by post; on-line shopping has increased parcels.
Small business is very dependent on postal service.
We cannot afford to lose a strong Canada Post.
Fortunately, Canada Post is still profitable.
It can be sustainable and profitable into the future.
CUPW has long advocated a diversification of services.
This is particularly valuable as Canada Post is in every community – big and small.
As commercial banks have withdrawn their physical presence in many communities, Canada Post can offer much needed services.
Other countries have allowed their postal services to sell insurance, provide banking services and other services to remote communities.
Perhaps the best model is Israel where postal service has been diversified with over 70 different products and services.
We will reverse recent decisions to reduce home delivery
and we will set Canada Post on a profitable course for its future.
7- KEEP OUR COMMUNITIES SAFE
Creating peace of mind for Canadians by reversing funding cuts
and re-investing in disaster preparedness,
training,
and equipment for our forces on the frontlines of keeping our communities safe.
We must make sure that the Canadians tasked with keeping us safe are fully-resourced, well-trained, and equipped to fulfill their mission – from the Canadian Forces
to civilian forces like the Coast Guard, Park Rangers, Fisheries Patrol, Canadian Space Agency, and Northern Rangers.
We will re-open the shuttered Coast Guard stations on our coastlines.
Keeping our communities safe means strengthening Canada's defence capacity by prioritizing roles and missions for our forces that focus on peacekeeping;
defensive missions with our allies;
border, northern, and coast guard patrols;
search and rescue missions;
and patrolling our parks.
Recognizing the critical role that our forces play also means respecting and truly taking care of our veterans.
Canadian veterans deserve our grateful and ongoing support, including secure and generous pensions.
Our veterans should never be forced to fight in the courts to secure their long-term benefits or to ensure that Veterans Affairs disability pension promises are honoured.
We will re-open the Veterans Affairs offices across Canada, reversing the $200 million cut to Veterans Affairs.
Our veterans deserve more than to be left on hold with a government 1-800 number that is never answered, instead of the help they need from a compassionate person who knows their situation.
We will ensure access to service dogs trained to assist veterans suffering from Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Perhaps most importantly, keeping our communities safe means building Canada's disaster preparedness capacity.
We will invest in comprehensive earthquake, forest fire, flooding and tsunami response plans to bring Canadian disaster readiness up to world-class standards, so we can more ably respond to the extreme weather events that are becoming more common as the climate changes.
GOOD GOVERNMENT - BECAUSE IT'S TIME TO RESTORE DEMOCRACY.
Good government is founded on prudent planning and rational, evidence-based decision-making in the public interest.
Good government provides long-term stability, security from threats both domestic and abroad, and a vision that stretches well beyond fouryear election cycles.
To deliver on these basic principles, government needs to engage with, and be responsive to, the concerns of Canadian citizens.
The critical first step in this process is to ensure we have a government that represents the will of the people – that means an end to first-past-thepost voting, an end to false majorities, and the creation of a voting system that ensures all Canadians have a voice in our government.
The Green Party is the only party committed to ending whipped votes.
MPs from the other parties in Parliament routinely face whipped votes – they must vote the party line or face punishments, such as not being allowed to speak in the House or even being thrown out of the party.
No Green MP will ever face a whipped vote.
They will be free to put their conscience and their constituents first.
That is the commitment Green candidates make, to be your voice in Ottawa, your local champions.
BECAUSE IT'S TIME TO RESTORE DEMOCRACY, OUR TOP PRIORITIES ARE TO:   1- ELECT MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT WHO ARE HONEST, ETHICAL, HARD-WORKING REPRESENTATIVES FOR THEIR CONSTITUENTS AND CHAMPIONS FOR THEIR COMMUNITIES
When you look at the Green candidates across Canada you will not find a single “career politician.”
You will find people with impressive resumes – whether in science, law, academia, teaching, public policy, small business, the arts, journalism, First Nations leadership, municipal government, community organizing and volunteerism, and medicine.
The health of our democracy depends on electing Members of Parliament who are accountable to their constituents.
Following Elizabeth May's example, Green Members of Parliament will work tirelessly on behalf of their communities
and never abuse the public trust placed in them.
Green MPs will conduct themselves with integrity and civility,
treat others with respect,
and never heckle in the House of Commons
Green MPs will always keep the interests of Canada paramount
and never be told to vote against the interests and well-being of their constituents.
Green MPs will seek constructive solutions to issues in their local communities, striving to create dialogue and solve problems when they arise.
Green MPs will publish their expenses online, to ensure maximum transparency and accountability,
and never use Parliamentary resources for party or personal benefit.
2- RESTORE CANADIAN PUBLIC SCIENCE AND THE ROLE OF EVIDENCE IN OUR DECISION MAKING
Good policy and keeping government accountable depends on good information.
Under Stephen Harper, Canada moved from evidence-based policy making to policy-based evidence-making.
Funding for basic research and scientists in Canada is at an all-time low; research at small universities is disappearing and we are rapidly losing our capacity for long-term innovation.
As a result of the Harper Conservatives' decision to eliminate the long-form census, Canadian researchers, tracking everything from poverty to public health, know less and less about our country as time progresses.
Science, evidence, and transparency together form the backbone of informed decision-making.
We will immediately restore the long-form census to ensure that Canadian researchers and policy-makers have access to the latest data.
Canadian scientists, both inside and outside of government, must have the freedom to pursue important discoveries, without looking over their shoulders and worrying about whether their work is “industry relevant” or subject to political interference in funding decisions.
We will fight to ensure Canada remains a world leader in discovery science by enacting Public Access to Science legislation to ensure our scientists are unmuzzled and free to discuss their findings with the media and the Canadian public without censorship or political interference.
Our open science legislation would also ensure that all government-funded scientific research is publicly accessible by law.
We will begin to rebuild the public scientific capacity lost during the past decade by providing $75-million annually to add critical science capacity to Environment Canada, Health Canada, Parks Canada, and Fisheries and Oceans.
We will implement new legislation to ensure that any new laws or regulations are based on sound evidence that is transparent, rigorous, ethically produced, easy to access and understand, based on the best available information and free from political manipulation
Elizabeth May's bill (which died on the order paper due to the August 2 writ) will be re-entered to mandate that all publicly-funded science must be published.
We are committed to restoring the role of Canadian science as part of our wider vision of bringing back evidence-based planning and decision-making around climate change, criminal justice, drug policy, harm reduction, homelessness, and more.
3- CREATE A COUNCIL OF CANADIAN GOVERNMENTS TO FIND SOLUTIONS WITHIN CANADA, AND WORK COLLABORATIVELY WITH OUR ALLIES ABROAD
Canada's success has always depended on people working together.
We are a country of vast geography and distinct regions.
Good and effective government in Canada depends on bringing people together with a shared sense of purpose.
In an era of global insecurity, it is more important than ever that we work together here at home.
In the 21st century, we need to reinvent the way we work as a federation.
We need to work together to develop national goals and national strategies.
To this end, we will create a Council of Canadian Governments to address shared challenges and ensure more effective collaboration between the various levels of government in Canada – federal, provincial/territorial, municipal/local, and First Nations, Metis and Inuit.
Chaired by the federal government, the Council will regularly bring together the provinces and territories, municipal governments, and Indigenous leadership to ensure constructive collaboration to find real solutions for the problems that concern all Canadians from security to infrastructure to health care.
In order to make progress on these critical issues, it is important that all levels of government are pulling in the same direction.
With a transparent process, a published agenda and a clear path to set in place national strategies – on energy, transportation, culture, health care, and climate.
It is simply absurd that Canada has more internal domestic barriers to trade and movement of workers than the European Union has among 28 separate and sovereign nation states.
Canadian workers should be free to move anywhere in the country, without worrying about whether their certifications are recognized in one place or another.
The Council of Canadian Governments will be the catalyst for a new era of cooperation that establishes common standards to improve interprovincial labour mobility
and work towards recognition for international accreditations.
The bottom line is this – when our federal, provincial, municipal and First Nations governments work together, we can bring down barriers that restrict our employment opportunities and keep families apart.
From climate change to terrorism, we will work together with our allies to counter threats and ensure a safer world.
We will strengthen our international influence by investing in our diplomatic skills and talent,
and shift our focus and funding away from NATO military contributions,
towards United Nations peacekeeping, poverty alleviation and disaster relief efforts.
We will commit to ending poverty globally by contributing 0.7% of GDP to official development assistance.
We will not purchase the F-35 stealth fighter jets.
We will invest in new military equipment that fits Canada's defence requirements.
We will purchase fixed-wing search and rescue planes, ice-breakers and replace dangerous old military hardware to ensure that threats to our military are not posed by the equipment we give them.
We will overhaul our immigration and refugee protection system to ensure that Canada is seen as a welcoming and compassionate home for people fleeing violence and persecution.
Our immigration system should welcome and integrate new Canadians over the long term.
The short-term employment focus of the Temporary Foreign Workers Programs both exploits those workers, often denied a route to Canadian citizenship, while denying Canadians those job opportunities.
We will reverse numerous changes to our laws that have created two-tiers of Canadian citizenship – with some deemed more Canadian than others.
The matter of citizenship should never be political.
It must be based on facts
You are born here or you are naturalized a Canadian citizen.
Canadian citizens who violate the law go to jail.
But to create the notion that citizenship can be revoked for anything other than fraud in obtaining that citizenship is to move into a shifting and uncertain understanding of what it is to be Canadian.
We will act to resolve the confusion created for the “lost Canadians” – one million Canadians have effectively been denied recognition of their citizenship – including thousands of our war dead.
We will repeal as unconstitutional the Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).
It essentially deprives any Canadian with US connections (even those short of dual citizenship) of full rights to privacy and treats them as a lesser Canadian.
We will also repeal Bill C-24 which allows the minister of citizenship to revoke citizenship.
Other threats to Canadians will be eliminated with the repeal of Bill C-51.
4. REPEAL BILL C-51 TO DEFEND CANADIANS' CHARTER RIGHTS AND PRIVACY
Presented as an “anti-terror” bill by the Harper Conservatives, Bill C-51 needlessly expands the powers of Canada's spy agencies, without creating the necessary oversight.
At the same time, it actually undermines our policing efforts to abort terrorist plots.
It is a dangerous piece of legislation that does not make us safer.
We were the first party to oppose Bill C-51 in the House of Commons,
and we will continue to fight to repeal this Bill
and defend Canadians' constitutionally guaranteed rights and freedoms.
Among the thousands of ordinary Canadians of all political stripes who spoke out in opposition to Bill C-51, four former Prime Ministers, five former Justices of the Supreme Court, and over 100 independent legal scholars expressed profound concern with this ineffective, harmful, and overreaching new law.
Canada already has effective anti-terror laws that do not trample on our rights as egregiously as Bill C-51 does.
The RCMP has used these existing powers to keep Canadians safe; for this they deserve Canadians' gratitude.
Bill C-51 allows widespread government surveillance and intrusions into Canadians' privacy, will not make Canadians safer, and, in fact, will make us less safe.
Without any oversight or obligation to share information with RCMP, CSIS is allowed to secretly intervene in suspicious activity without coordinating with other security forces.
This is a recipe for disaster.
We now know that the Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC) already collects millions of Internet communications every day from average Canadians.
Canada Border Services also has no review or oversight mechanism.
And none of these agencies, all tasked in one way of another with confronting terrorism, have any oversight individually and no requirement to share information with each other.
This is unacceptable.
At a time when the United States is beginning to rebalance the relationship between government surveillance and the privacy of its citizens, the information sharing provisions in Bill C-51 will decisively tip the scales toward unchecked government intervention into our personal lives.
Bill C-51 must be repealed, as it infringes on the political and civil rights granted to all of us under the Canadian Charter.
For these reasons, Green MPs will make the repeal of Bill C-51 a top priority in Parliament.
5- REPLACE THE FIRST-PAST-THE-POST SYSTEM WITH PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION
Our current voting system is outdated.
It is the only voting system that allows a minority of the votes to elect a majority government with 100 percent of the power.
It makes voters feel as if their vote just doesn't count.
It is time to replace it.
The first-past-the-post voting system has lost the confidence of Canadians.
Our promise is to replace the first-past-the-post system with a form of proportional representation within the first year of the next Parliament.
We will determine the form of proportional representation best suited to Canada through extensive public consultation by an all-party committee.
We will overhaul the “Fair” Elections Act, establishing mechanisms that increase voter participation, and ensure greater fairness, transparency, and accountability in election financing.
We will make the Commissioner of Canada Elections (CCE) responsible for investigations into campaign irregularities, reporting directly to Parliament,
and give him or her the power to fully investigate and hold to account anyone who breaks Canada's electoral laws.
The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) should be clearly mandated to encourage voter turnout.
Both the CCE and CEO should be appointed by an impartial Public Appointments Commission.
To strengthen local democracy and enhance the freedom of MPs to stand up for the interests of their constituents, we will amend the Elections Act to remove the requirement that party leaders need to sign the nomination papers of candidates, giving this power instead to the local organizations.
In opening up the Elections Act, we will un-do damaging changes made in the Harper era that undermine Canadians' right and ability to vote, whether living within Canada (youth, First Nations, homeless and others) or living overseas.
6- DEFEND CANADA'S SOVEREIGNTY
Of all the damaging things done to Canada in the last nine years, ratifying the Canada-China Investment Treaty – in secret, by Cabinet alone, without any parliamentary or public hearings – poses the greatest long-term threat to our sovereignty.
The treaty, known as a Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement or FIPA, is lop-sided, benefiting the Peoples' Republic of China, while providing no advantage to Canada.
In fact, it locks us in until the year 2045, giving State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) of the People's Republic of China (PRC) superior rights to those of Canadian companies.
Beijing's SOEs now have the right to bring arbitration claims against Canada in secret tribunals.
These are not courts, but private arbitrations in which arbitrators gain personally and financially through a system that lacks the fairness and predictability of our national courts.
Thanks to Stephen Harper, our sovereignty has been significantly eroded.
In the next parliament, Green MPs will press for legislation to require that any and all complaints from Beijing under this treaty, even early diplomatic complaints, must be made public.
We must ensure that all the other party leaders understand that Canadians want to fight for our laws and push back against complaints from SOEs from the People's Republic of China.
If Beijing complains about a municipal by-law or proposed legislative change, such as reversing the damage to the Fisheries Act, Environmental Assessment or Navigable Waters Protection Act, we will not cave.
We will not let FIPA-chill cause government to pull back from doing the right thing.
We need a transparent commitment to aggressively defend Canada's policies and decisions, and, if we must, to write a cheque for damages under FIPA, rather than cancel planned laws or repeal existing ones.
We will vigorously oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)
and the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA).
Greens will also work with Green MPs in governments around the world to open a full-scale global review of all investor-state agreements with the goal of revising and improving all of them to rebalance rights to democracies and reduce global corporate rule.
7- REVERSE HARPER'S LEGACY TO PUT OUR GOVERNMENT BACK ON TRACK
Over the last decade there have been unprecedented changes to the way our government operates
Our government now functions in the least transparent, least accountable, most partisan and divisive manner in Canadian history.
The Harper Conservatives' invented the use of omnibus budget bills – bills that cover dozens of diverse and unrelated changes to law and policy.
Such bills have been rammed through Parliament time and time again since 2011, without proper study.
With the “might makes right” style of Stephen Harper, over 99 percent of opposition party amendments were routinely rejected.
Omnibus budget bills have severely damaged our democracy.
The Harper administration has used omnibus bills to devastate centuries-old environmental legislation, curb free speech, and cut billions in funding from health care.
A single omnibus bill in spring 2012 (C-38) changed 70 laws, which even former Conservative ministers said undermined our fisheries and environment.
The Green Party will work to end the illegitimate use of omnibus bills.
These sweeping bills have no place in our democracy.
In addition to ending the use of omnibus bills, Green MPs will restore all the environmental protections that the Harper government has eliminated over the past ten years.
Due to Stephen Harper's shocking use of prorogation to avoid political embarrassment and confidence votes he knew he would lose, Canada now needs to control access to prorogation by requiring a 2/3 vote in Parliament.
We need new rules to require the summoning of a new parliament (within 30 days of an election) and for the dissolution of Parliament.
We will work to end the “American-style” attack politics that is slowly becoming the norm in Canada, slashing the budget of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) by 50 percent.
The PMO is a taxpayer-funded office that has become a partisan central agency, controlling all government MPs, Cabinet ministers, all operations, and even attempting to force non-partisan civil servants into partisan schemes.
The PMO now constitutes a daily contempt of Parliament.
It spews out negative, partisan, and divisive campaigns.
The PMO has exerted control over parliamentary legislative committees, demanding Conservative MPs attack witnesses who disagree with Conservative policy and whipping votes in committee.
The PMO has (in violation of our Constitution) also dictated votes in the Senate and even attempted to interfere in an audit of Senate expenses.
We will slash the advertising budget of the federal government.
All contracts must be publicly tendered on a website with decisions being removed from political operatives.
We must empower parliamentary committees to fully discharge their oversight responsibilities: appoint committee members for a full session of Parliament;
select chairs through secret ballots
and ensure adequate budgets;
strengthen the mandates and establish genuine independence for officers of parliament (Parliamentary Budget Officer, Privacy and Information Commissioners, Auditor General, Commissioner for the Environment and Sustainable Development, Science Advisor, National Security Advisor).
We will overhaul Accountability,
Conflict of Interest,
Privacy
and Access to Information legislation.
It is time to curtail patronage through use of an independent Public Appointments Commission.
We need to act to diversify and enliven the media in Canada.
A robust news media is essential for an informed citizenry and a healthy democracy.
Canada's media has become dangerously concentrated in a few hands.
Recommendations have been made in numerous reports and Royal Commissions.
It is time to act on these recommendations and apply anti-trust legislation to corporate media,
while restoring our public broadcaster and its essential role.
We will enshrine in the Constitution the right to a healthy environment.
We will act to reform the Senate.
A comprehensive proposal for an elected Senate by proportional representation must be developed
and approved by Canadians in a national referendum.
It is time to grasp the nettle and amend the constitutional amending formula to approve changes through a referendum mechanism.
The PMO is not part of our system of government.
It is not even mentioned in the Constitution.
It was invented in 1970.
While initially exerting a minor level of control it has become too powerful, too centralized, and too unaccountable
– its budget needs to be cut
and practices reformed.
We must protect the fundamental principle that the prime minister reports to parliament; not the other way around.
BOLD CLIMATE ACTION - BECAUSE WE LIVE HERE.
Climate change is both the biggest challenge and the biggest opportunity that Canada has ever faced.
While the consequences of failing to address climate change would be catastrophic, our transition to a green, sustainable economy will create good local jobs, shorter commutes, more livable cities, and cleaner air and water.
Our plan is to move to the virtual elimination of fossil fuel use in Canada by mid-century.
Our short-term target is 40 percent below 2005 levels by 2025,
while we are calling for 80 percent reductions below 1990 levels by 2050.
These are ambitious targets, yet the scale and urgency of this challenge demands nothing less.
As Canadians, we will rise to this challenge and, in doing so, create a strong, stable, and prosperous economy today and for our children and grandchildren tomorrow.
For Canadians to benefit from this transition, we need to elect Green Members of Parliament. Only Green MPs will stand up to defend our coastlines from increased tanker traffic,
our rivers and parks from reckless pipeline projects,
and our economy from further pursuit of high-risk extractive schemes that threaten Canada's long-term prosperity.
Only Green MPs will position our economy to reap the full benefits of the inevitable global shift to a fossil-fuel free economy.
It is time for Canada to take bold climate action.
BECAUSE WE LIVE HERE, OUR TOP ENVIRONMENTAL PRIORITIES ARE TO:   1- DEFEND OUR COASTAL WATERS FROM RISKY PIPELINES AND OIL TANKERS
Only Green MPs will put our coastal communities first by standing against all new raw bitumen export schemes.
Kinder Morgan proposes a seven-fold increase in oil sands tanker traffic through Vancouver and Burnaby, while Energy East proposes to increase tanker traffic through the Bay of Fundy.
These tankers would carry bitumen from the oil sands, mixed with toxic diluents to make it flow, a mixture that is impossible to clean up if spilled.
A single tanker accident would ruin our coast and the lives and livelihoods that depend on its health.
That is why we recognize that the economic, social and environmental consequences of approving these projects is simply too high.
We will take a stand and defend our coastline.
Poll after poll shows that the people of the West Coast will not allow this risky project.
More than half of British Columbians say they oppose the Kinder Morgan expansion, including more than three-quarters of young British Columbians.
Even the Ontario Energy Board has ruled that Energy East poses more risks than benefits.
While the old parties use complaints about process to avoid taking a stand, or even fast track and support these projects outright, the Green Party is the only party standing up for the people and communities threatened by these projects.
2- ARREST THE GROWTH IN OIL SANDS EXPANSION
Protecting existing jobs in the industry,
creating new jobs by upgrading and refining existing production,
and providing skills training for workers who have been laid off or who want to transition to more stable, long-term jobs.
This strategy (more Peter Lougheed and less Ralph Klein) would actually help Alberta's economy avoid the disruptive boom and bust cycle.
Given climate realities and volatile international oil prices, expanding oil sands production is simply not on.
Most of the bitumen in the Alberta oil sands must remain in the ground.
We will create new jobs in Canada's oil and gas sector by refining the product we already produce, rather than shipping it out raw for refining in other countries.
In addition to increasing our refining capacity, Canada should be home to leading the global clean technology industry – an industry that has boomed in other countries like Germany, where over 1.4 million clean-tech jobs generate over 11 percent of the country's GDP.
We need to respect the oil sands workers whose livelihoods still depend on the industry,
and to support the tens of thousands of oil sands workers who have recently been laid off.
Canada should provide these workers with retraining to ensure they find good, long-term reliable jobs close to home, not jobs that are vulnerable to cycles of boom and bust and often thousands of kilometres away from their families.
We must also provide urgent support to First Nations living downstream from the oil sands, whose communities and traditional foods are being contaminated by oil sands pollution in the Athabasca water and air sheds, with devastating health consequences.
3- IMPLEMENT A ROBUST CANADIAN CLIMATE AND ENERGY STRATEGY
Partnering with the provinces to price carbon,
implement a Canadian Fee and Dividend Plan,
rapidly phase out coal-fired electricity
and transition to a prosperous, decarbonized economy.
Climate and energy are two sides of the same coin.
We urgently need a comprehensive, science-based national climate strategy to address rising sea levels, drought, extreme weather events, changing rainfall patterns, increased forest fires, melting permafrost and crumbling Arctic infrastructure.
A robust Canadian Climate and Energy Strategy begins with eliminating all fossil fuel subsidies.
Canada currently provides more than $1 billion dollars a year in subsidies to the fossil fuel industry, meaning, on a per capita basis, Canadian taxpayers provide more handouts to the fossil fuel industry than almost every other country in the G20.
Next, we must work together to put a national price on carbon.
In the complete absence of federal leadership, the provinces have taken up the challenge of climate change on their own.
Although some progress has been made, notably in British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec, this patchwork of climate strategies is an inefficient way to tackle an issue that faces all Canadians.
The Carbon Fee and Dividend Plan is the smartest, most efficient, and most effective way to shift away from burning fossil fuels.
We will place a fee on carbon,
and pay the funds it generates directly to every Canadian over age 18 in the form of an annual carbon dividend.
This plan will defend our climate, diversify our energy mix, grow our economy, and ensure energy security for Canadians.
Most economists and climate scientists agree that fee and dividend provides an efficient and comprehensive solution to a complicated problem.
British Columbia has had a carbon pricing plan in place since 2008, during which time BC's fuel use has dropped 16 percent, while GDP has outperformed the rest of Canada.
It incentivizes investment in sustainable jobs and green technology, discourages waste and pollution, and puts money directly back into the pockets of average Canadians.
We need to invest in an infrastructure that promotes renewable energy,
and a more robust east-west electricity grid to promote renewable energy transmission between provinces,
while reducing the enormous waste in our energy systems.
We still waste more than half the energy we use.
t's time to save money and reduce pollution by going after waste.
4- CREATE A NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION STRATEGY WITH STRICT NEW RULES ON RAIL SAFETY
Strict new rail safety laws and new investment for Canada's rail system –
Restore Canadian railways with new funding
and stronger rules to ensure efficient rail travel and safe movement of hazardous industrial goods including oil and gas.
Canada's national rail systems are in decline.
In much of Canada, rail routes that once moved thousands of people are abandoned.
Edmonton to Calgary, Saskatoon to Regina, Halifax to Sydney have all been axed, despite their profitability.
Green MPs will re-invest in our national rail systems,
building more train cars in Canada,
increasing train speeds,
phasing in high-speed rail where feasible,
and creating green transportation and energy infrastructure corridors in key regions.
An improved rail system will make Canada more economically competitive, create thousands of new jobs, reduce traffic congestion, and provide a fast, inexpensive and safe mode of transport in key commuter corridors.
We will develop a national transportation strategy
– investing in local public transit and expanding VIA Rail to provide more modern, efficient, and frequent passenger rail service.
We will invest $600 million in 2016-2017,
building to $764 million by 2020 in VIA Rail.
Rebalancing the relationship between passenger trains and freight cargo will begin with a comprehensive plan to limit the burden on our rail system that has been created by exporting unprocessed oil by rail.
Further, in order to reduce the risk to our communities and ensure that a tragedy like Lac Mégantic can never again occur, we will strengthen Canada's rail safety rules
and give regulators the tools they need to protect our neighbourhoods from train derailments, especially those involving hazardous materials.
We will fund the re-routing of tracks for freight and rail yards away from populated areas.
5- END THERMAL COAL EXPORTS
Work with provinces to ensure the rapid phase-out of coal fired generation plants within Canada.
Like the now-shuttered asbestos industry, it is wrong for Canada to profit from the export of coal destined to be burned in foreign power plants to create pollution and dirty energy abroad, while at the same time we work to eliminate its use within Canada.
Although solar energy is now cost competitive with the construction of new coal-fired power plants, existing coal-fired infrastructure at home and abroad is keeping the world on an unsustainable path.
We must do our part by curtailing the export of thermal coal from Canadian ports.
6- DEMONSTRATE CLIMATE LEADERSHIP AT THE UNITED NATIONS CLIMATE SUMMIT IN PARIS
The United Nations 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) will take place in Paris – starting a mere forty days after our federal election
COP21 represents the last, best and only chance for humanity to avert an intensified climate crisis and to prevent runaway global warming.
Only by electing Green Members of Parliament can we ensure Canada can lead in these critical negotiations.
We are committed to serious action to avert a climate crisis.
Our MPs will always work across party lines, because we understand the only way to make progress is through cooperation and mutual respect.
Canada has played a shameful and destructive role at climate negotiations during Stephen Harper's time in power.
It is time to restore Canada's role as a leader.
With the old parties' support for new pipelines, increased tanker traffic, and expanded oil sands production, only Green MPs will show the way with realistic and pragmatic climate leadership.
We do not care who gets the credit for Canada's return to the world as a climate leader.
We just need to be elected to make sure it happens.
We will fight to restore Canada's reputation as a nation that makes us proud at a pivotal time in human history.
In this election, we will take back our country and be Canada again.
BUILDING A CANADA THAT WORKS.
TOGETHER 2015.
PLATEFORME ÉLECTORALE NOUVEAU PARTI DÉMOCRATIQUE 2015
BUILDING THE COUNTRY OF OUR DREAMS TOM MULCAIR'S PLAN TO BRING CHANGE TO OTTAWA
A message from Tom
This election is about the country we want, the country of our dreams.   Canadians expect their Prime Minister to work hard each and every day to make life better for their families.   Leadership is about choices.   Our choices are based on our values.   From a young age, my parents taught me and my brothers and sisters the importance of living by your values.   These values are at the heart of who I am as a husband, a father and grandfather.   As your Prime Minister, I will wake up every day focused on building the country of our dreams.   With the NDP, that means:   Bringing in quality, affordable childcare.   Strengthening our public health care system.   Ensuring a cleaner environment by holding polluters accountable.   Kick-starting the economy and creating good jobs.   The NDP will ask profitable corporations to pay their fair share, and invest that money in childcare, pharmacare and health care.   The NDP will end unfair tax loopholes for CEOs, and invest that money to eliminate poverty.   The NDP will clean up Ottawa, and replace Stephen Harper's culture of corruption and scandal with transparency and accountability.   Stephen Harper has done great damage to this country – we only have this chance to stop him.   Only the NDP is in a position to defeat Stephen Harper and form a more progressive government in Ottawa.   On October 19th, you can bring change to Ottawa.   I'm ready; let's get started.
After Stephen Harper's lost decade, we must take immediate steps to repair the damage he has done to our country.
I pledge to you that a New Democratic Party government will take immediate action to turn things around for our environment,
for health care
and for you by delivering leadership at home and on the world stage.
IN OUR FIRST 100 DAYS AN NDP GOVERNMENT WILL:
Improve your health care
We will immediately inform Canada's premiers that Harper's unilateral health cuts have been cancelled
and begin work to develop a new health accord that will reduce waits for family doctors,
create 5,000 new long-term care beds
and lower prescription drug costs by 30%.
Step up to fight climate change
I will personally lead the Canadian delegation to the COP21 climate conference in Paris with firm targets to cut pollution,
and bring in a home retrofit program to lower your household heating costs.
Create and protect good jobs
We will pass legislation to cut small business taxes to 9% – starting with one full point on January 1st –
and fund priority transit and infrastructure projects to get people and the economy moving.
Make life more affordable for your family
We will take the first step towards our goal of universal, affordable childcare by immediately flowing funding for over 60,000 childcare spaces at no more than $15 a day.
We will restore the age of retirement to 65,
and introduce a new Consumer Protection Act to cap ATM fees
and ensure Canadians have access to a low-interest credit card.
Make ottawa work for you
We will call an inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women,
repeal Bill C-51
and introduce a new Accountability Act that will crack down on Senate expenses
and bolster Conflict of Interest laws.
THIS IS MY COMMITMENT TO YOU.
We will immediately bring change to Ottawa and implement our long-term plan.
You can count on the NDP to:   INVEST IN BETTER HEALTH CARE, STARTING WITH:   Helping five million Canadians with 7,000 more doctors, nurses and nurse practitioners and other health professionals in community clinics.
Lowering drug costs through a universal coverage plan.
Supporting people as they age by expanding home care to 41,000 more seniors
and providing funding for 5,000 more nursing home beds.
Implementing national strategies on aging, and on Alzheimer's and dementia.
Creating a youth mental health innovation fund to reduce wait times and improve access to care.
Tripling the paid leave available for Canadians who are too ill to work.
Supporting caregivers by expanding the compassionate care benefit so people can take up to six months paid leave to care for seriously ill loved ones.
HELP YOUR FAMILY GET AHEAD AND MAKE LIFE MORE AFFORDABLE, STARTING WITH:   Helping working moms and dads with one million quality childcare spaces at no more than $15 a day.
Giving parents an extra five weeks of parental leave.
Cracking down on excessive ATM fees
and ensuring Canadians can access a low-interest credit card.
Speeding up family reunification, specifically the reunion of children with their parents.
Fast-tracking foreign credential recognition for immigrants.
Increasing student grants
and eliminating interest on student loans.
Creating 40,000 jobs, co-op placements and internships for youth.
Reinstating the federal minimum wage
and raising it to $15 an hour.
KICK-START THE ECONOMY AND BUILD NEEDED INFRASTRUCTURE, STARTING WITH:   Cutting taxes for Canada's job creators by reducing the small business tax from 11 to 9%.
Supporting innovation and investment in companies creating jobs in Canada, with an early focus on the aerospace, automotive, forestry and mining sectors.
Creating jobs and building our economy with $1.5 billion per year in new infrastructure funding to municipalities to fix roads, bridges and water treatment systems.
Investing $1.3 billion per year in a national strategy to improve transit and reduce gridlock.
Boosting investment in tourism.
Supporting regional economic development.
Helping retrofit over 50,000 homes and apartment buildings.
Investing in flood mitigation and disaster preparedness.
GUARANTEE RETIREMENT SECURITY AND PROVIDE HELP WHERE IT'S NEEDED MOST, STARTING WITH:   Securing a better retirement for all Canadians by expanding the CPP/QPP.
Eliminating CEO stock option loopholes,
and reinvesting the money to eliminate child poverty.
Increasing the Guaranteed Income Supplement to help lift 200,000 seniors out of poverty,
and returning the retirement age from 67 to 65.
Restoring home mail delivery.
Creating an action plan to end violence against women,
increasing shelter funding
and launching an inquiry into murdered and missing Indigenous women.
Ensuring youth participation in sports with funding to support low-income and disadvantaged youth.
Taking action to close the pay gap between men and women.
Fixing the Nutrition North food program,
and investing in clean energy to get Northern communities off diesel.
Providing support to train and hire 2,500 more front-line police officers,
and investing in crime prevention and anti-gang programs for youth.
TAKE LEADERSHIP TO BUILD A BETTER CANADA, STARTING WITH:   Working with the provinces and territories,
and recognizing their efforts already underway, to develop a pan-Canadian cap-and-trade program to stop climate change.
Establishing a true Nation to Nation relationship with Indigenous communities,
and closing the education gap for Indigenous youth.
Bolstering food and rail safety regulations and enforcement.
Investing $454 million to give our veterans the respect and support they deserve.
Restoring Canadians' rights by repealing Bill C-51.
Ensuring everyone's vote matters by bringing in proportional representation for elections.
Giving the Parliamentary Budget Officer independent authority,
and creating a Parliamentary Science Officer.
HEALTH AND SENIORS' CARE
Canadians value the public, accessible, affordable health care system that the NDP first created over 50 years ago.
It's a big part of what defines us as Canadians, and why Canadians chose Tommy Douglas as the Greatest Canadian.
You want to know that your family can access the care they need close to home, and when they need it most.
Over the past 20 years, our health care system has suffered from funding cuts and neglect.
The Paul Martin Liberals slashed transfers to the provinces in the 1990s, forcing hospitals to close beds and fire thousands of nurses and other health care professionals.
RENEWING PUBLIC HEALTH CARE IN CANADA
Under Stephen Harper, the provinces and territories have been left on their own to deal with the major challenges confronting health care, including our aging population, finding a family doctor and the high cost of prescription drugs.
Stephen Harper has refused to step in to protect health care, refusing to meet with the premiers, allowing the health accord to expire, and making reckless unilateral cuts to health transfers that the provinces count on.
Unlike Stephen Harper, we will enforce the principles of the Canada Health Act.
We will bring Canada's health care system into the 21st Century by working cooperatively with the provinces and territories to negotiate a new health accord.
New Democrats will put innovation,
patient-centred care,
value for money
and accountability at the heart of our commitment to health care.
15% of Canadians can't access a family doctor, a number that hasn't improved at all since Harper took office.
To ensure that Canadians can access public health care where and when they need it, the NDP will reverse Stephen Harper's cuts to the Canada Health Transfer.
To provide stability, we will ensure the transfer increases by at least 6% per year.
This will put over $5 billion back into health care in the next four years to address the priorities that provinces and Canadians have identified, including:   Helping five million Canadians get better access to family doctors and primary care teams by building 200 clinics across Canada, including community health clinics and mobile rural clinics.
Providing funding to the provinces and territories to hire over 7,000 doctors, nurse practitioners, nurses and other health professionals.
Making prescription drugs more affordable by securing better prices
and working with provinces towards universal coverage for all Canadians.
Supporting improved seniors' care by expanding home care to over 41,000 more seniors
and helping provinces build 5,000 more nursing home beds.
This is what we can achieve with a federal government that invests in health care and makes it a priority.
We will work with the provinces and territories to make concrete improvements to care for Canadians.
But sadly, federal leadership to improve health care has been absent for decades.
This has led to Canadians sacrificing needed services, and paying more for required prescription drugs.
Families should never have to choose between the necessities of life and prescription drugs.
Those living with cancer should not have to mortgage their homes in order to afford the drugs they need.
« Canadians pay 62% more on prescription drugs today than when Stephen Harper took office. » (CIHI, 2015)
WORKING TOWARDS UNIVERSAL PUBLIC DRUG COVERAGE
Some provinces have worked to fill the void created by Conservative neglect of health care, which followed years of Liberal cuts and broken promises.
It's time for the federal government to do its part.
It's time to take the next long overdue step and expand our universal public health care system to include universal access to prescription drugs.
The NDP will help Canadians with the cost of medications by:   Working with the provinces and territories
to develop universal public drug coverage based on the following key principles:   Ensuring every Canadian, regardless of age or health condition, will have access to the medicines they need at little to no cost.
Improving public drug coverage in every province.
Reducing prescription drug prices through proven, evidence-based policies,
and by leveraging our combined buying power so that together we can bulk purchase and negotiate lower drug prices.
Streamlining the drug review and listing process, reducing duplication and overhead costs for the provincial and federal governments.
To support this partnership, we will dedicate funding over four years to improving provincial-federal capacity for drug reviews,
listing and joint pricing negotiations,
and strengthen safety by addressing inappropriate prescribing.
TAKING A PREVENTATIVE APPROACH TO HEALTH CARE
To truly help Canadian families live healthier, happier and more productive lives, the government must do more to promote healthy and active living.
And the government needs to take a leadership role in coordinating efforts to deal with chronic illnesses and conditions.
Strategies to deal with illnesses like diabetes, dementia and other major health challenges are a good start – but they need to be available for all Canadians, no matter where they live.
We will expand these programs
and target them to those most at-risk.
By taking a preventative approach to health care, we will ensure better health outcomes.
This will help save money in the long run, which can be reinvested in expanding programs and services to Canadians.
The NDP will improve health outcomes in Canada by:   Providing targeted funding to improve urban Indigenous health outcomes.
Expanding the National Diabetes Strategy to improve diabetes prevention, early screening and better chronic disease management in at-risk communities.
Increasing grants for community-based research and other community-based programming, so that local health care innovation can keep Canadian families healthier.
Improving young Canadians' health by investing in programs designed to decrease tobacco use,
implementing plain packaging of tobacco products
and banning junk food and beverage advertising targeted towards children.
Creating a Mental Health Innovation Fund for Children and Youth to reduce wait times and improve access to care,
including additional dedicated funds to preventing youth suicides in high-risk communities.
« By age 25, approximately 20% of Canadians will have developed a mental illness. » (Mental Health Commission of Canada, 2014)
EXPANDING CARE FOR SENIORS
Too often, seniors face the difficult choice between entering long-term care or making near-constant visits to the doctor and hospital emergency rooms, all the while facing long wait times for care.
Access to quality long-term care is crucial.
But it's not the choice many seniors would make if they were provided with the support to stay in their homes and communities for longer.
Many family members work hard to care for aging relatives or friends, while being sandwiched between other family and work responsibilities.
That is why the NDP is committed to expanding compassionate care leave for families through the Employment Insurance program, so that families can access the program not just when a loved one faces terminal illness but also in the event of other serious family illness that requires time away from work.
In addition to creating 41,000 home care and 5,000 nursing home spaces for seniors,
the NDP will improve care options by:   Developing and funding a National Alzheimer's and Dementia Strategy to address these growing epidemics.
Improving access to palliative and end-of-life care, resources and support.
Providing greater support for caregivers by expanding eligibility for the Compassionate Care Benefit.
Implementing a National Strategy on Aging that addresses the needs of our aging population.
HELPING FAMILIES GET AHEAD
The last 10 years have been difficult for families in Canada.
It's been harder and harder to make ends meet. And no matter how much you try, it seems like you just can't get ahead.
Families face choices every day – tough choices.
What do you need?
And how much of it can you afford?
New Democrats will take concrete steps to help improve the everyday quality of life for you and your family.
CHILDCARE AND FAMILY BENEFITS
The NDP's plan will help Canadian families by creating the first national program for families dealing with the rising cost of childcare.
In fact, this would be the first major new social program in Canada in generations.
The Liberals and Conservatives have made childcare promises for decades – and failed to deliver.
The NDP will get it done by:   Creating and sustaining one million quality childcare spaces at no more than $15 a day.
We will begin immediately to make funding available and work with all provinces and territories to recognize programs already underway, while ensuring Canadian families get the affordable childcare they deserve.
After 30 years of successive, hollow promises by the Liberals and Conservatives, the NDP will deliver affordable, high-quality, accessible childcare for Canadian families.
In Quebec, this means helping the provincial government maintain and improve the existing low-cost, quality childcare program.
Our childcare plan will help make life more affordable for hundreds of thousands of Canadian families every year,
create tens of thousands of jobs
and boost economic growth across the country.
Tom Mulcair has committed to helping working parents by investing upwards of $500 million annually in dedicated leave for the second parent,
doubling leave for parents of multiples,
and closing the loophole that punishes working moms who lose their jobs after taking maternity leave.
With these changes, the NDP will:   Add a dedicated five weeks of leave for the second parent, including leave for same-sex couples and adoptive parents.
This will help families spend more time together in the first year of a child's life.
Double leave time for parents of multiples.
Ensure that parents who are laid off after returning to work from maternity or parental leave will have access to regular EI benefits.
MAKING LIFE MORE AFFORDABLE BY PROTECTING CONSUMERS AND SMALL BUSINESSES
Just getting by day-to-day is becoming harder under Stephen Harper.
While Conservative-appointed Senators expense packs of gum, Canadian families are struggling to make it from one pay cheque to the next.
The NDP will stand up for Canadians and small businesses to make life more affordable by:   Passing a new Consumer Protection Act.
The NDP has long worked for greater fairness for consumers,
and the new Consumer Protection Act will go even further with legislated protections, including:   Capping ATM fees at a maximum of 50 cents per withdrawal.
Ensuring that all Canadians have reasonable access to a no-frills credit card with a fair interest rate – no more than 5% over prime.
Cracking down on the exorbitant fees that credit card companies charge to retailers and small business owners, which are passed on to consumers.
Ensuring that no bank or federally regulated company is ever able to make you “pay-to-pay” to receive your bills.
Taking action against abusive payday lenders
in conjunction with provincial governments.
Lowering the fees that workers in Canada are forced to pay when sending money to their families abroad.
Directing the CRTC to crack down on excessive cell phone roaming charges.
Creating a Gasoline Ombudsperson to investigate complaints about practices in the gasoline market,
while strengthening the power of the Competition Bureau to proactively investigate allegations of anti-competitive activity in the gasoline market.
BUILDING A MORE INCLUSIVE COUNTRY
Canada – starting with its original inhabitants – has a proud tradition of welcoming newcomers.
What makes our social and economic fabric so strong is our desire and ability to welcome people from all over the world.
We are a country where people can come and build a life.
Whether it's Pier 21 in Halifax which welcomed more than one million immigrants between 1928 and 1971, Quebec City during the Irish potato famine or ports of entry elsewhere in Canada, our immigration history is a proud and diverse one.
Our country can do more, and will do more, with the NDP.
To help reunite families and support refugees, the NDP will:   Remove the unfair cap on parent and grandparent sponsorships imposed by the Conservatives.
Reduce wait times by increasing resources to reduce the huge backlogs in processing applications.
Put greater priority on family reunification, especially the reunion of children with their parents.
Fully restore the Interim Federal Health Care Program for refugees, as ordered by the Federal Court.
Reverse the Conservatives' discriminatory changes to refugee determination
and ensure that every refugee claimant receives a fair and unbiased hearing.
Make the visitor visa system more transparent and accountable,
including by creating an appeal process.
Create an ombudsperson for the Department of Citizenship and Immigration to investigate complaints
and monitor human rights.
In consultation with communities, provinces and territories,
we will introduce a comprehensive action plan to foster immigration to Francophone minority communities across the country.
Canadians were touched and shocked by the image of a young boy on a beach, as evidence of the magnitude of the Syrian refugee crisis.
Municipalities, provinces and families stepped forward to say they would help.
The Conservatives continued to deny the proportion of the problem, and demonized many of those seeking help as extremists.
The NDP reached out to the government to seek a joint solution that would allow immediate resettlement,
and put forward a plan to:   Resettle 10,000 Syrian refugees in Canada by the end of this year.
Welcome 9,000 Syrian refugees per year starting in 2016.
Create a Syrian Refugee Coordinator to expedite and coordinate the efforts of the government,
and eliminate barriers to speedy resettlement.
For those who have immigrated to Canada and want to leverage their skills and background to benefit their chosen country, their community and their families, the challenge is often having their abilities fairly recognized.
Too many foreign-trained professionals are forced to work in part-time, precarious jobs, instead of putting their skills to good use in Canada.
The NDP will change this by:   Restoring $30 million for the Foreign Credential Recognition Program.
Offering grants to professional bodies to develop harmonized standards for credential recognition with a single point of contact.
Reaching out to potential immigrants seeking employment by holding more orientation sessions.
ENSURING TAX FAIRNESS
While families have been hit hard by the failed economic plan of the Conservatives, the wealthy and well-connected have flourished.
The interest of middle-class families need to start coming first.
The NDP plan will restore balance and fairness to the Canadian tax system by:   Rolling back Conservative tax measures that benefit the wealthy, not middle-class families.
The NDP will crack down on those who actively seek to avoid or cheat on their taxes.
The NDP will roll back the expansion of income splitting,
while protecting seniors' ability to split their pension income.
The doubling of tax-free savings accounts proposed by the Conservatives in 2015 will also be reversed.
Redirecting the CEO stock option tax break into poverty elimination.
The NDP will close the loopholes that allow CEOs to pay lower tax on their stock options – over 90% of of the value goes to those who make over $250,000 per year.
The NDP will redirect the $500 million in savings from ending this unfair tax break into supports to combat poverty and help the working poor.
This commitment will address situations where options are used primarily to avoid paying income tax, and will not impact options granted by early stage companies.
Cracking down on tax avoidance, tax evasion and the use of offshore tax havens.
The NDP will create a task force within government, including the Department of Justice and Canada Revenue Agency, to crack down on tax cheats.
We will proceed with concrete steps to limit tax evasion and avoidance by passing legislation that will require corporations to demonstrate that a transaction has an economic purpose beyond reducing the amount of tax owed.
We will also strengthen rules around transfer pricing.
Asking profitable corporations to pay a little bit more to ensure we can deliver the programs and services Canadians need.
The corporate tax rate will increase from 15 to 17% on January 1, 2016, keeping the combined federal/provincial rate well below the United States, and below the G7 average.
JOBS AND INFRASTRUCTURE
The lost decade since Stephen Harper's election hasn't been an easy one for middle-class families worried about their job security.
Under his watch, Canada has had the worst job creation record since the Second World War and the worst economic growth record since the Great Depression.
400,000 manufacturing jobs have vanished.
Today, there are nearly 300,000 more out-of-work Canadians than before the last recession.
Canada has fallen from 18th position to 25th out of 41 countries for the total business investments in innovation as a proportion of our GDP, between 2006 and 2011.
Gridlock is costing urban centres like Toronto an estimated $6 billion a year in lost opportunities and productivity.
KICK-STARTING THE ECONOMY
Stephen Harper's plan isn't working.
The Conservatives have spent tens of billions on tax cuts for Canada's wealthiest corporations,
gutted Canada's environmental laws,
and put all of their efforts into the oil and gas sector at the expense of a diversified, balanced economy.
Tom Mulcair's plan targets support where it is most effective – for small businesses and for companies that are reinvesting to create jobs here in Canada.
REDUCING TAXES FOR SMALL BUSINESS
The NDP plan will kick-start the economy and create good jobs by supporting Canada's real job creators, small businesses.
Our plan will make this happen by:   Cutting taxes for small businesses.
We will cut taxes for small businesses from 11 to 9% over two years.
Helping small businesses access foreign markets.
We will simplify access to government export services to make it easier for small businesses to break into foreign markets.
PROMOTING INVESTMENT IN THE MANUFACTURING SECTOR AND INNOVATION
The NDP plan will kick-start the economy by:   Ensuring foreign investment and trade deals support canadian jobs.
The NDP will strengthen the Investment Canada Act to protect Canadian jobs and ensure international trade deals provide a net benefit for middle-class Canadian families.
Focusing on growth in the manufacturing sector
and championing canadian companies abroad.
We will cut taxes for manufacturing firms investing in Canada by extending the Accelerated Capital Cost Allowance to improve economic growth and help the manufacturing sector take advantage of export opportunities.
Creating icanada, a one-stop shop inside the federal government to help investors turn their plans for canadian investment into reality.
The NDP will work with the provinces and territories
to create iCanada, whose sole task will be to make it easier for investors to turn their plans for Canadian investment from blueprint to reality.
iCanada will help investors access the financial incentives, government support programs and expertise they need to expand manufacturing production in Canada.
Supporting a culture of innovation among canada's leading businesses.
The NDP will introduce a new Innovation Tax Credit to support companies that invest in capital, equipment and property for R&D,
restore the tax credit for Labour Sponsored Venture Capital corporations,
and make it easier for businesses to access government support for innovation, talent and R&D as recommended by the Jenkins Report.
The NDP will also offer targeted support for key sectors.
We will protect good, middle class jobs in the automotive sector by:   Improving financial incentives for automakers and parts suppliers.
We will fix the Automotive Innovation Fund by making contributions to automakers tax free to help secure next generation production capacity.
We will also double funds for the Automotive Supplier Innovation Program over the course of our first mandate.
Securing and maintaining production capacity.
Export Development Canada, in a manner consistent with its arms-length commercial status, will be given a stronger mandate to recruit and retain investment in automotive plants and export-focused manufacturing here in Canada.
Developing a national automotive strategy.
Working with Canada's automotive advisor, we will convene an automotive summit with provincial, municipal, business and labour leaders to develop a consensus on a National Automotive Strategy.
Supporting industry-university partnerships.   Through the support of university and industry partnerships that foster innovation in the auto sector, we will help Canada stay on the cutting edge.
The NDP will immediately renew funding for the University of Windsor's Auto21 Network of Centres of Excellence, including partner institutions like the University of Waterloo's Waterloo Centre for Automotive Research and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology's Automotive Centre of Excellence (ACE).
We will also take concrete steps to ensure the long-term competitiveness of the aerospace sector by:   Supporting small and medium-sized aerospace companies to grow and innovate.
The NDP will create a new Aerospace Advanced Manufacturing Fund for small and medium-sized aerospace companies to help companies adopt new technologies, and scale-up production to compete globally.
Delivering stable, long-term funding to build capacity in our supply chain.   We will also help build a world-class aerospace supply chain modeled on Aéro Montréal's highly successful MACH program by dedicating a portion of current Strategic Aerospace and Defence Initiative funding to provide stable, multi-year funding for the pan-Canadian aerospace supplier initiative.
Reinvesting in the canadian space agency.
After years of Conservative neglect, we will invest in the Canadian Space Agency's Space Technology Development Program to help Canadian space companies commercialize new technologies.
SUPPORTING A DIVERSE RURAL ECONOMY
Canada's economy needs a government that is not simply focused on the success of one industry or sector.
Stephen Harper put all his economic eggs in one basket, and then dropped the basket.
Natural resources are a keystone of the Canadian economy and will continue to be long into the future.
Diversifying the areas of economic development and growth will make our economy more resilient and ensure market access for our natural resource products and outputs.
The NDP will diversify our economic landscape by:   Ensuring canada's natural resources are used sustainably to create good value-added jobs.
It's time to make strategic investments to provide infrastructure for mining projects like committing $1 billion in federal support for the Ring of Fire in Northern Ontario.
The NDP will also extend the Mining Exploration Tax Credit
and support forestry, manufacturing, innovation and the promotion of value-added Canadian wood products.
Investing in regional economic development.
The NDP will invest in regional economic development agencies to provide a broad range of targeted economic supports for regions going through difficult economic transitions.
We will also expand support for rural broadband across Canada, ensuring that the next generation of high-speed Internet is available to Canadians and Canadian companies.
Positioning canadian companies as leaders in growing market sectors.
The NDP will help Canada's tourism industry recapture the American tourist market by boosting support for Destination Canada,
and we will introduce a Microbrewery Tax Credit to help Canada's craft brewers thrive.
Giving family farms the tools they need to remain the backbone of our rural economy.
The NDP will protect supply management,
and ensure business risk management programs adequately protect and stabilize farm family incomes,
introduce a payment protection program for produce growers,
and support young farmers with enhanced skills training and mentorship.
We will also boost international confidence in our food manufacturing and processing by investing in the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
BUILDING AFFORDABLE AND EFFICIENT HOUSING
The volatility of energy markets and oil prices have affected all Canadians – from the pumps, to their jobs, to the cost of heating their homes.
Families should never have to make the choice between paying the rent and buying groceries.
The NDP recognizes that access to affordable housing – and the ability to afford to heat and maintain your home – is essential for all Canadians.
Our plan will invest in green and affordable housing by:   Introducing a green home energy program to help retrofit at least 50,000 homes and apartment buildings.
Through an initial investment of $200 million over four years, this initiative will help make homes and apartment buildings more efficient,
which will lower energy bills,
create thousands of jobs
and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Restoring and reinvesting in affordable housing programs abandoned by liberal and conservative governments.
Bringing in legislation to protect the improvements in affordable housing that will ensure safe, adequate, accessible and affordable housing for Canadians – safe from future Liberal and Conservative governments.
A National Housing Strategy will include the restoration of federal government investments dedicated to social housing and co-ops,
reinvestment of funding from expiring agreements back into operating agreements,
repairs and the construction of new units,
and a boost in funding for homelessness initiatives.
This legislation will also mandate that the redevelopment of federal lands include affordable housing and housing cooperatives.
Providing incentives to build 10,000 new afforsable and market rental housing units.
The federal government eliminated its role in social and affordable housing under the Paul Martin Liberal cuts of the 1990s, creating the affordable housing crisis we are experiencing today.
We will mandate the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation to provide grants and loans to construct at least 10,000 affordable and market rental units with any revenues to be reinvested back into rental housing supports.
This is a concrete step towards solving the crisis.
STANDING UP FOR WORKERS
Stephen Harper has not only presided over a massive reduction in manufacturing jobs and capacity, he has also actively attacked workers and those who seek to represent them.
Not only has he attacked workers' unions and professional associations, but the Conservatives have undermined Canadian health and safety laws.
The government has many roles to play in ensuring workers are treated fairly and are working safely.
For example, as a significant employer across Canada, the government has a duty to ensure that civil servants and federal contractors are paid the wages they have earned in a timely manner.
The NDP will stand up for workers in federal jurisdiction by:   Reinstating the federal minimum wage
and raising it to $15 an hour.
The NDP will restore the federal minimum wage, which the Liberal Party of Canada eliminated in 1996,
and raise it to $15 an hour.
Reintroducing the fair wages and hours of labour act.
Abolished by the Conservatives, this law ensured that tradespeople working on federal contracts received fair compensation.
Immediately repealing bills c-377, c-525 and other conservative anti-union legislation.
These Conservative laws make it more difficult for workers to join a union
and impose millions of dollars in red tape on unions and professional associations.
Introducing legislation to ban the use of replacement workers in labour disputes.
The use of replacement workers makes lockouts and strikes more disruptive to the economy, firms and workers.
To stay competitive, many companies have begun to use temporary foreign workers to help meet their need for employees.
In any circumstances where the use of temporary foreign workers is absolutely necessary and sanctioned by the Government of Canada, the rules need to be clear and the outcomes understood.
In order to ensure all workers are treated fairly, the NDP will:   Immediately reform canada's temporary foreign worker program.
The NDP will mandate an independent review of the program to make a determination on whether the program is meeting its goals
and to put an end to any and all abuses of the program as part of the reforms.
These changes will ensure that all TFWs, current and future, will have the ability to access a path to citizenship.
ENSURING FAIRNESS IN EMPLOYMENT INSURANCE
The nature of work has changed and it's harder for young Canadians to find a solid footing in the job market.
Instead of raiding the Employment Insurance (EI) fund like the Liberals – who raided $54 billion – and the Conservatives,
the NDP will help young people get a strong start by making EI eligibility fairer
and by investing in training that will help workers improve their skills and get better jobs.
An NDP government will hold EI premiums steady for four years
and invest in expanded training and benefits for young Canadians, precarious workers, workers in seasonal industries and new parents.
Tom Mulcair's plan to make EI sustainable and reliable will:   Scrap Stephen Harper's unfair EI changes that force workers to accept any job at 70% of their previous salary.
Set a fair qualifying period of 360 hours that will ensure EI is available for Canadians paying into it.
Support regional economies and workers in seasonal industries by providing a maximum of five extra weeks of benefits in regions where unemployment is high and work is hard to come by.
Provide a fairer EI benefit for Canadians with uneven work hours by calculating all EI benefits on the best 12 weeks of pay.
Protect EI premiums so they provide benefits to Canadians and are not used as the government's piggy bank.
Create over 90,000 training and work transition opportunities.
Help working moms and dads with expanded parental benefits,
and help those with relatives suffering from serious illness access improved compassionate care benefits.
Make eligibility rules fairer in recognition of the changing nature of work.
Stephen Harper's plan isn't working.
He has slashed EI benefits,
continued the Liberal raid on the EI fund
and made it much harder for Canadians to access the fund
Today, fewer Canadians than ever qualify for benefits,
and cuts to Service Canada mean that people who have followed all the rules are forced to wait weeks before receiving benefits for which they have paid.
Paul Martin launched the Liberals' cuts to Employment Insurance benefits in the 1990s
and raided more than $54 billion from the EI Fund.
Justin Trudeau says that was the “right decision.”
BUILDING NEEDED INFRASTRUCTURE
After decades of Liberal and Conservative downloading and neglect, Canada needs a Prime Minister who understands the benefits of long-term and sustainable investment in our municipalities.
Stephen Harper's lost decade has left communities with inadequate funding and complicated red tape that delays construction.
The NDP's plan will provide municipal partners with significant, stable, predictable federal funding to support their infrastructure and public transit needs over the next 20 years
and close Canada's infrastructure deficit.
Tom Mulcair knows that quality infrastructure supports businesses, improves productivity and keeps our cities moving, and that by boosting transit there will be thousands of fewer vehicles on the road.
The NDP's long-term infrastructure plan will:   Invest in transit to reduce gridlock
and give commuters the reliable options they need.
Our Better Transit Plan will reduce gridlock and commute times across Canada by investing in a 20 year plan to support municipal needs.
Funding will reach $1.3 billion annually by the end of the NDP's first mandate.
Increase direct transfers to municipalities
to build and repair roads, bridges, water infrastructure and transit.
With an additional $1.5 billion annually by the end of the NDP's first mandate, municipalities and communities will be able to make needed investments in their infrastructure priorities to keep our communities moving.
Invest in national infrastructure priorities to grow the economy.
Our plan will invest in strategic infrastructure priorities like northern roads, bridges and ports to build strong regional economies.
We will improve rail safety and infrastructure,
and keep the toll off the Champlain Bridge to help commuters while facilitating trade.
The NDP will continue support for federal infrastructure commitments under the New Building Canada Fund.
We will expand eligibility to ensure that important recreation, cultural, tourist and ferry infrastructure projects are supported.
The NDP will work with, not against, provinces, territories, Indigenous governments and municipalities to make smart investments while rigorously respecting their jurisdiction.
Our plan will simplify application processes by removing mandatory P3 requirements in order to speed up construction and reduce federal interference in local priorities.
By year four, the NDP's plan will create 54,000 construction, manufacturing and transit operations jobs across the country
and add $4.5 billion to Canada's GDP.
Unlike Justin Trudeau's reckless promise of years of deficits and future cuts, the NDP's commitment increases investment sustainably each year to grow the economy while balancing the budget.
TRANSITIONING TO A CLEANER FUTURE, A GREENER ECONOMY
Canada can no longer afford to stand on the sidelines when it comes to tackling catastrophic climate change and transitioning to a cleaner, greener economy.
After almost a decade of Conservative government, Canada's international reputation has suffered as a result of the failure to diversify Canada's economy and to transition to clean energy and technologies.
The vast majority of Canadians have clearly called for the federal government to take a leading role in the fight against climate change and in transitioning Canada to a cleaner economy, but Stephen Harper has refused.
The NDP understands that developing Canada's clean energy sector will stimulate the economy, create jobs and reduce greenhouse gases.
In addition to the NDP's Better Transit Plan
and investing in local infrastructure such as community energy systems,
the NDP will make strategic investments totaling $1.5 billion over four years to tackle climate change and adapt our communities,
including:   Improving energy security, affordability and reducing pollution by investing $100 million in renewable energy development in northern and remote communities.
Supporting local sustainable development leaders by investing $150 million in our communities through the Green Municipal Fund.
Providing support for improved passenger rail infrastructure
and restoring funds cut from regional rail services across Canada.
Reducing water pollution by investing $200 million in wastewater infrastructure in small communities.
Preventing damage from natural disasters by investing $400 million in flood mitigation measures and seismic upgrades for schools.
The NDP will also strengthen disaster relief financial assistance arrangements with provinces,
and invest $9 million annually to develop emergency plans and provide equipment and training for first responders.
Making the federal government a leader in electric transportation and energy efficiency.
The NDP will create federal targets for the electrification of federal fleets
and strengthen Canada's green procurement policy to reduce long-term fuel and maintenance costs,
including the installation of 150 electric vehicle charging stations on federal properties across Canada.
In addition, recognizing the leadership taken by provinces and efforts already underway, the NDP will work with provinces, territories, municipalities and Indigenous governments to:
Introduce green bonds so that canadians can invest in a cleaner economy.
Green Bonds will provide low-risk financing of up to $4.5 billion for clean energy development, climate resilient infrastructure, commercial and industrial energy retrofits, and other sustainable development projects.
Green Bonds will be independently invested and managed, while providing Canadians with a government-backed, reasonable rate of return.
Tom Mulcair knows that the right choice – the only responsible choice – is for Canada to commit to an approach based on sustainable development.
Not only is it the right thing to do, but it will also help ensure our long-term prosperity as a nation in a competitive global economy.
We must start working with the world and stop working against the planet.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUNG CANADIANS
Education is the foundation that allows Canadians to build a secure future
As parents, you want to see your children succeed and have the same or better opportunities than you had.
Under the Conservatives, many young people have worked hard and struggled to afford their educational opportunities.
But by the time they finish their studies, they have mortgaged their future in student loans.
DELIVERING AFFORDABLE, ACCESSIBLE POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION
The NDP knows that for many young people, a quality college or university education is the key to a secure economic future.
We will make education more accessible and affordable by:   Phasing out interest on all federal student loans.
Over the next seven years, interest on federal student loans will be eliminated.
The federal government will work with the Quebec and territorial governments to ensure equivalent benefits are made available to students under those systems.
Boosting funding for the canada student grants program.
The Canada Student Grants program will receive additional funding of $250 million, ramped up over four years, to make education more affordable with an emphasis on helping low-income and Indigenous students, as well as students living with disabilities.
CREATING JOBS, TRAININGS AND OPPORTUNITY FOR THE FUTURE
As the foundation to building a promising future, an affordable education should lead to greater chances of finding a good job.
During the Conservatives' lost decade, youth unemployment is nearly double the national average.
The NDP will take concrete steps to help young Canadians get a good start in the labour market by:   Helping to create tens of thousands of jobs for young canadians in both the private and public sectors.
Working with private sector employers and non-profits, this program will ensure the creation of 40,000 jobs, co-op placements and internships for youth.
The NDP will also bring in a requirement for youth apprenticeships in all major federally owned infrastructure and public works projects.
Amending the canada labour code to ensure young canadians are treated fairly.
The NDP changes will ensure that the abuse of unpaid internships in federal jurisdiction stops,
making sure that young Canadians are fairly paid and receive important workplace protections.
The changes will also restrict so-called “two-tier” provisions in employment contracts that all too often leave young workers at a disadvantage.
Providing direct investment to support young farmers.
To ensure opportunities for Canada's young farmers and support the long-term sustainability of our rural communities, we will invest $85 million towards flexible start-up grants and direct capital support towards access and down payment programs.
« Between 1991 and 2011, the number of farms where the oldest operator was less than 40 years old declined almost 75%. » (Statistics Canada)
Providing recruitment and training grants for better health care.
The NDP will deliver federal recruitment and training grants ranging from $15,000 to $50,000, helping to hire up to 7,000 doctors, nurse practitioners and other providers.
Students can apply while studying to help cover their tuition fees and return service after graduation, or international graduates can apply with the same return-of-service provision.
An NDP government will also hold EI premiums steady for four years
and invest in expanded training and benefits for young Canadians, precarious workers, workers in seasonal industries and new parents.
Tom Mulcair's plan to make EI sustainable and reliable will assist young Canadians by creating as many as 90,000 training and work transition opportunities.
HELP WHERE IT'S NEEDED MOST
Over a million Canadian children and their families live in poverty.
For many, that means living in substandard housing and going to school without enough to eat.
In a country as prosperous as Canada, we shouldn't be leaving anyone behind.
In 1989, the House of Commons unanimously adopted former NDP leader Ed Broadbent's motion to end child poverty in Canada.
But for 25 years, Conservative and Liberal governments have either done nothing or made token efforts to tackle this problem.
The NDP knows that one of the most important ways to judge the conscience of our country is how we treat our most vulnerable citizens.
Our government has to do more.
Much more.
PROTECTING THE MOST VULNERABLE
The NDP has a plan to lift families out of poverty, and we will back up our commitments in law.
We know the only meaningful result is when no children are living in poverty – so we will table legislation that sets goals to get us there.
To reach our goal, the NDP will eliminate the unfair CEO stock option loophole
and redirect every penny of this tax break, which largely benefits people earning over $250,000, into eliminating child poverty.
The NDP will:   Introduce an act to eliminate poverty in canada.
In consultation with provincial, territorial, municipal and Indigenous governments and with non-governmental organizations,
this Act will set targets and include regular reports to Parliament and all Canadians on the country's progress towards this important milestone.
Increase the government's investment in the Working Income Tax Benefit by over 15% to provide additional financial support to Canadians who work but still live below the poverty line.
Boost the national child benefit supplement by $300 million annually.
This change will provide additional financial supports to the most vulnerable families with children and is a direct way to reduce child poverty.
Create a national council on poverty elimination.
This council will engage the expertise and experience of Canadians in finding workable, sustainable solutions to help Canada eliminate poverty.
This independent advisory council will be modelled after the National Council of Welfare.
STRENGTHENING RETIREMENT SECURITY
No one should have to grow old in poverty, insecurity or isolation.
A 2014 report by Statistics Canada showed that the number of seniors living in poverty who live alone is nearly one in three.
Canadians deserve to retire in dignity.
Under Stephen Harper, too many Canadian seniors are living in poverty and it's leaving them vulnerable in their hard-earned retirement.
The number of seniors will nearly double in the next 25 years.
The NDP is the only party with a National Strategy on Aging that will ensure that everyone can age with dignity.
An NDP government will complete the work started by Jack Layton and boost the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) by up to $400 million,
as well as consult with experts and stakeholders to ensure seniors that are most in need will benefit from this initiative.
The NDP has already committed to reversing Stephen Harper's plan to raise the eligibility for Old Age Security from 65 to 67.
The NDP plan to protect retirement security and address seniors' poverty includes:   Reversing the conservatives' reckless decision to raise the age of retirement from 65 to 67.
This will give Canadians access to up to $13,000 in additional retirement income.
Increasing the canada/quebec pension plan benefit.
The provinces have long expressed interest in expanding the CPP/QPP, so the NDP will call a First Ministers' Meeting within the first 100 days of our government to get started on this initiative.
Increasing the guaranteed income supplement to help lift 200,000 seniors out of poverty.
Amending federal bankruptcy legislation to move pensioners and those on long-term disability up the line of creditors when their employer declares bankruptcy or enters court protection.
The NDP remains committed to ensuring that public sector employees are treated fairly in retirement.
The Conservatives have attacked the public service at every turn, and the Liberals have already announced that they intend to make massive cuts to the public service to balance the budget after their reckless deficit spending spree.
That's why the NDP will:   Halt efforts to convert public sector defined benefit pension plans to target benefit plans,
and protect the benefits to which present and future pensioners in federally regulated sectors are entitled.
The NDP has the plan and the team to reverse the damage done by Stephen Harper.
Canadian seniors can't afford another four years of Stephen Harper's Conservatives, and they can't afford to bring back the reckless Liberal approach of the 1990s.
DEFENDING THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS LIVING WITH DISABILITIES
Stephen Harper's own report on how Canada is living up to the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) confirms that the government has done little to improve quality of life for persons living with disabilities.
Persons living with disabilities are twice as likely to be living in poverty compared to other Canadians.
The situation is worse for persons with disabilities living in Indigenous communities,
which have been actively ignored by the Harper government.
As a signatory to the UN CRPD, Canada must take its obligations to Canadians living with disabilities more seriously.
That's why the NDP will:   Introduce a comprehensive canadians with disabilities act
Developed in consultation with provinces and Canadians living with disabilities,
the Act will eliminate barriers and promote accessibility, effective participation and equality of opportunity for persons living with disabilities.
Fully implement the un convention on the rights of persons with disabilities.
The NDP will develop a national action plan with concrete steps to implement the UN CRPD.
This plan will include mechanisms for collaboration, monitoring and reporting progress, and strategies for achieving priorities of the disability community including: disability supports, poverty alleviation, labour market participation, accessibility, and full participation and inclusion.
We will also bring an end to Canada's reservation on Article 12 (equal recognition before the law)
and ratify the optional protocol that provides for a complaints mechanism.
Undertake a review of income security programs for persons living with disabilities.
The NDP will work with the provinces, territories, Indigenous communities and stakeholders
to conduct a review of existing income support programs for persons living with disabilities with a goal of coordinating benefits, increasing accessibility and improving the lives of persons living with disabilities.
Fix the broken process for CPP Disability appeals.
RESTORING HOME DELIVERY OF MAIL
Over the past several months, Canadians have seen so-called “community mailboxes” popping up in their neighbourhoods.
This is the latest step in the Conservatives' plan to eliminate home delivery of mail.
At the direction of Stephen Harper, Canada Post has been implementing a sweeping five-year plan designed to end door-to-door mail delivery for millions of Canadian households.
The home delivery of mail is a simple matter of fairness.
The cuts to home delivery impact seniors and persons living with disabilities the most.
For them, this service is essential.
Not only will this make life harder for many Canadians, it will also cost Canada Post millions of dollars to defend this wrong-headed approach in court.
Hundreds of mayors have expressed their opposition to this decision, and cities like Hamilton and Montreal have already launched legal challenges to the Conservative plan.
Last year, Canada Post made $200 million in net profits.
They have the ability and the resources to restore home mail delivery.
The NDP will:   Put an immediate stop to the Conservatives' plan to end home delivery of mail.
We will stop the Conservative plan that unfairly impacts seniors and persons living with disabilities,
and restore home delivery for the one million Canadian households where it has already been cut.
The NDP will direct Canada Post to develop a new plan to restore home delivery
and to generate long-term sustainable revenues to maintain services, while protecting Canadian taxpayers.
ENDING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
On a single night in April last year, more than 500 women and children who were fleeing violence were turned away from shelters across this country.
Despite these alarming numbers, Stephen Harper has consistently shown that ending violence against women and girls is not a priority for his government.
Tom Mulcair's priority is to end violence against women.
We can no longer accept the status quo – we must take meaningful and significant action to address the violence being inflicted on our sisters, mothers and daughters across Canada.
Too often, government policy and legislation fail to advance equality for women and many other marginalized groups in our society.
An NDP government will ensure all legislation and government policy is gender responsive and advances equality for women, girls and other disadvantaged groups.
The NDP will:   Create an action plan to end violence against women in Canada.
An NDP government will work with women's groups and Indigenous communities and organizations to create a comprehensive national action plan to end violence against women.
The plan will have dedicated funding and clear benchmarks,
and will focus on women who are most vulnerable to violence, including Indigenous women.
Ensure that no woman or child in need will be turned away from a women's shelter.
The NDP will restore the Shelter Enhancement Program ended by the Conservatives.
The NDP will expand access to shelter
and transition resources for women and girls needing support so that no woman in need is ever turned away.
PAY EQUITY
In Canada, like far too many other countries, there is a substantial compensation gap between men and women.
The NDP does not accept this status quo and will take concrete steps to address this problem.
Take action to close the pay gap between pay for men and women.
We will enact all of the outstanding recommendations of the Pay Equity Task Force released over a decade ago, starting with proactive pay equity legislation requiring public sector employers to take concrete measures so that all employees receive equal pay for work of equal value.
MOVING FORWARD ON WOMEN'S EQUALITY
The NDP has fought for years for women's equality.
We are committed to ensuring pay equity and ending violence against women.
As we work to ensure greater support and more resources to pursue equality for women, the NDP will:   Ensure access to safe, reliable sexual and reproductive health care.
We will enforce the Canada Health Act to ensure that all provinces provide health services to women who need them,
including accessible, reliable abortion services.
Enhance the mandate of Status of Women Canada.
The NDP will give the agency a strong mandate to advance women's and girl's equality in Canada
while ensuring funding for women's organizations includes advocacy work and independent research in line with Canada's international obligations.
Mandate that half of all government appointments to the boards of Crown corporations and government agencies are women.
Require that publicly traded, federally regulated companies have a minimum of 40% women on their boards.
EQUAL RIGHTS AND OPPORTUNITIES
The NDP has a proud history of supporting progressive, inclusive policies and ending all forms of discrimination against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Canadians.
Canada's first openly gay MP was an NDP MP.
He was the first to propose same-sex marriage legislation in Parliament – seven years before it was legalized.
There's much more work to do – and not just at home.
Canada must stand up and be counted in international struggles to end discrimination against LGBTQ persons.
The NDP will recognize and take action on historic wrongs faced by the LGBTQ community, including:   Adding gender identity and gender expression as prohibited grounds for discrimination in the Canadian Human Rights Act
and as a basis for hate crimes in the Criminal Code.
Suspending criminal records for individuals convicted of outdated and discriminatory offences which are no longer illegal.
Revising service records for those discharged from the Canadian Forces on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
The NDP will also work to right historic wrongs, such as issuing an official apology for civil servants fired on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
The NDP can always be counted on to defend and protect achieved rights, including spousal benefits and same-sex marriage.
RESPECTING NORTHERNERS
New Democrats recognize that many Canadians living in the North face unique challenges
and will take immediate steps to help improve their quality of life.
The NDP will:   Ensure that the Northern Residents Tax Deduction keeps pace with their needs and the rate of inflation in the North.
Fix the Nutrition North food subsidy program by immediately including the 50 fly-in communities that are not currently eligible with an investment of $32 million.
ENSURING LOW-INCOME YOUTH CAN PARTICIPATE IN SPORTS
There is strong evidence that lower household incomes have a significant negative impact on children's enrolment in sports.
Team sports are a great way for children to be active, but also to develop team and leadership skills that will serve them well later in life.
It's important that all children have the opportunity to participate in team sports.
Less than 10% of youth aged 5 to 17 are getting the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity each day.
Under Stephen Harper, Canada received a grade of D for the physical activity of our youth.
The Conservative plan isn't working for our children and grandchildren, and it's time to do better.
Whether it's taking part in recreational sports activities for healthy living or representing our country on the world stage as part of Team Canada, our youth should have equal opportunity to play sports.
More can be done and needs to be done to ensure our children are active and healthy.
Every child deserves an active and happy childhood.
To support our youth, the NDP will:   Provide $28 million over four years to Sport Canada to ensure youth participation in sports with a focus on low-income and disadvantaged youth.
This investment increases available funding to provinces and territories for community sports programs through Sport Canada bilateral agreements.
It will also help increase participation of underrepresented groups in sports activities, including girls and young women, new Canadians, youth living with disabilities, as well as low-income, Indigenous and LGBTQ youth.
Provide national sports federations with grants to support their initiatives to address concussions in youth sports.
SUPPORTING INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES
After decades of inaction in Ottawa, First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities have reached a tipping point.
There have been moments that encouraged hope and optimism: the day the Government of Canada issued its apology for the tragedy of residential schools, or the day the Shannen's Dream motion, sponsored by NDP MP Charlie Angus (Timmins–James Bay), was adopted by the House of Commons.
We thought maybe change was coming at last.
But as the years passed, there was no change.
Too many empty promises have been made with little progress
The NDP believes that not only is change possible; we believe that change is necessary.
With a dedicated team including 22 Indigenous candidates running in this election, we are ready to make change happen.
It is time for a new era that embraces a true Nation to Nation relationship built on respect and, above all, makes meaningful progress when it comes to bringing about change.
A new era means an understanding that “meaningful consultation and respecting rights” isn't just a catchphrase.
Without real, meaningful consultation, our country cannot move forward.
With your support, working together, we will make change happen.
ESTABLISHING A NATION TO NATION RELATIONSHIP
We will work on a Nation to Nation basis with Indigenous communities.
After so many years of broken promises, it's time for a Prime Minister you can trust to be a respectful partner.
The NDP will:   Create a cabinet-level committee chaired by Prime Minister Tom Mulcair to ensure that all government decisions respect treaty rights, inherent rights and Canada's international obligations.
Implement the principles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Take action on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's recommendations on a priority basis established in consultation with provinces, Indigenous communities and others,
starting with a funding contribution of $8 million over four years to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.
Call a national inquiry into the issue of the 1,200 missing and murdered Indigenous women in our first 100 days.
Remove the punitive 2% funding cap on social transfers to Indigenous communities imposed by previous Liberal and Conservative governments
and establish a fair fiscal relationship to close the gap between Indigenous communities and Canadians.
Fix our country's broken treaty process
and deal with unresolved land claims.
CLOSING THE EDUCATION GAP
We must not fail another generation.
Secondary school graduation rates are 53% for First Nations students on-reserve, compared to 85% graduation rates for other Canadians.
Inspired by the Shannen's Dream movement, we commit to closing the education gap to ensure that every Indigenous child gets the educational opportunities afforded to every other child in Canada.
To give Indigenous youth the best opportunities in life, the NDP will:   Work with Indigenous communities through a meaningful collaborative process to develop new education policies and laws based on the principle of Indigenous self-government.
Make a new investment in First Nations education of $1.8 billion over the next four years to immediately begin the work of ensuring every Indigenous child gets the educational opportunities afforded to every other child in Canada.
Continue the work with annual increases over the long term based on an escalator so that the increase to First Nations education amounts to $4.8 billion over eight years.
Provide skills training by working with Indigenous partners to renew and improve the Aboriginal Skills and Employment Training Strategy and ensure its long-term sustainability.
STRENGTHENING INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES
It's time we had a government that spends more time working with Indigenous communities than fighting them in court.
First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities need a federal partner that will work with them as they establish their priorities.
And we need to act on the reality that many Indigenous peoples are making their homes in Canada's cities.
An NDP will:   Improve critical infrastructure in Indigenous communities such as housing,
schools,
and clean water and sanitation facilities with $375 million of new investments over four years.
Address the needs of urban First Nations, Inuit and Métis people with special attention to the appropriate development and delivery of affordable housing,
public health care,
education
and skills training,
as well as the development of economic and employment opportunities.
Furthermore, the ability to not just maintain but revitalize Indigenous culture and languages requires focused effort and investment.
The NDP will:   Support initiatives to revitalize Indigenous languages by establishing,
in consultation with Indigenous communities,
a National Indigenous Languages Revitalization Fund
and a National Indigenous Languages Institute with a total new investment of $68 million over four years.
SAFE AND SECURE CANADA
To build the country of our dreams, we must be secure in our freedoms and resolute in our openness to build a more inclusive society.
Stephen Harper's narrow approach has left middle-class families less safe, both at home and abroad.
He talks about being tough on crime, but we have fewer police on our streets to enforce the law.
He claimed Bill C-51 would combat terror threats, but anti-terrorism experts say the bill not only threatens Canadians' rights and freedoms, it puts families at greater risk of terrorist attack.
He promised smart foreign relations that would ensure Canada was respected on the world stage, but instead we were denied a seat on the UN Security Council and veterans who fought for our country have been left scrambling for basic dignity.
Reckless cuts and empty promises won't make Canadian families safer.
We need a plan that will ensure that the police who protect us at home
and our soldiers all over the world have the tools they need to do their jobs.
More importantly, by building a more inclusive country, we will create more connected communities, increase our economic resilience and build the strong, safe communities that will make us the envy of the world.
MAKING OUR COMMUNITIES SAFER
The NDP's plan for safer communities starts with an investment in more front-line police officers.
It is boots on the ground that help to fight crime, not empty Conservative promises
Stephen Harper's plan is failing and despite years of his 'tough on crime' rhetoric, the number of police officers per capita in Canada has been on the decline.
For example, this past spring Stephen Harper promised the people of Surrey, BC, additional RCMP support to help address the city's increasing concerns over guns and gang violence, but he has failed to deliver.
To help police protect our communities, the NDP will:   Work with provinces, territories, municipalities and Indigenous communities
to provide stable, ongoing funding to put 2,500 new officers on the streets and keep them there.
In addition, the NDP will boost community safety in Canada by:   Providing the Canada Border Services Agency with additional support to make our borders more efficient for travellers, and secure for all Canadians.
Ensuring that communities have the resources they need to invest in crime prevention and anti-gang programs – especially those designed for youth – by investing an additional $30 million.
Giving police the tools they need to do their job by tackling the backlog in the Canadian Police Information Centre database, known as CPIC, a national tool for police and prosecutors to check the criminal history of suspects and those charged with or convicted of new offences.
New Democrats will free up front-line resources to ensure that police have the tools they need to keep our communities safe.
We will also make smart investments to ensure that police can focus on public safety.
For example, front-line police have been calling for better strategies on mental health, like the ones outlined in our health care commitments.
“We need a shift from dealing with the crisis to preventing the crisis from occurring in the first place.” –Jim Chu, former Chief of Vancouver Police Department, on the need for mental health support
The NDP will also take steps to ensure that police are free to focus on serious crimes by:   Immediately decriminalizing possession of personal amounts of marijuana.
Adopting recommendations of the Correctional Investigator of Canada to ensure appropriate care, treatments and procedures are available in prison for offenders with mental illness.
Improving access to prison rehabilitation programs, which are proven to reduce the rate of re-offence.
CLEAR REGULATIONS, CLEAR ACCOUNTABILITY
The Government of Canada has an important role to ensure public safety in many areas of people's lives.
Two in particular require focused attention to fix the tragedies and near misses we have experienced as a country.
The increased shipment of commodities by rail has brought increased scrutiny to the safety of practices and approaches used by the shippers.
All Canadians were shocked by the tragedy in Lac-Mégantic.
To ensure no other community has to go through this kind of sorrow, shock and anger, the NDP will:   Immediately launch a public inquiry into the Lac-Mégantic tragedy to improve transportation oversight.
Significantly improve the number and quality of rail inspections and audits,
while issuing strong penalties for safety violations.
Ensure that railways are adequately investing to improve the safety of rail infrastructure,
while making key public investments in rail safety upgrades and passenger rail infrastructure across Canada.
Protect communities by phasing out unsafe rail cars carrying dangerous goods,
providing better information to provinces, municipalities and first responders,
and taking action where necessary to lower speeds and re-route dangerous goods.
Few other regulatory roles of government are more important – or more wide-ranging – than ensuring the safety of our food supply.
Canadians have seen first-hand how the outbreak of a food-borne illness can have devastating and far-reaching consequences.
In order to better protect Canadians and their food supply, the NDP will:   Undo the Conservatives' damaging cuts to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
hese cuts have put the health and safety of Canadians at risk.
We will conduct an immediate audit of the CFIA to address the adequacy of inspection processes.
We will also reverse the Conservatives' damaging decision to increase self-regulation in Canada's food processing sector.
Ensure clear, accurate and verifiable labelling on the origin of food and food products, including those that have undergone genetic modification.
Work with industry and stakeholders to modernize animal welfare legislation
and update the Health of Animals Regulations.
FIGHTING TERRORISM WHILE PROTECTING PERSONAL LIBERTIES
Stephen Harper's Conservatives passed their dangerous and ineffective Bill C-51 with the support of the Liberals.
They teamed up to weaken the fundamental freedoms of every single Canadian.
That's wrong.
The Liberals have tried to have their cake and eat it too when it comes to Bill C-51: after saying they opposed it, they voted with Stephen Harper to pass the bill.
Justin Trudeau referred to Bill C-51 as “a great example of what Canadians expect their government to be able to do.
Then he said he thought it was probably unconstitutional.
Even Liberal candidates don't buy Justin Trudeau's failure of leadership on C-51.
Tom Mulcair's NDP voted against C-51 –
and an NDP government is committed to fighting terrorism
while protecting our personal liberties.
We will:   Repeal Bill C-51 within our first 100 days in office.
Restore the position of Inspector General for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS).
Allow the Security Intelligence Review Committee to conduct joint investigations with Canada's other independent national security review bodies, as recommended by the Maher Arar Commission.
Improve oversight of national security intelligence activities through the establishment of a special committee of Parliament.
Today, Canada is not making an effective contribution to the fight against terrorism and extremism.
To better harness the valiant efforts of our men and women in the Canadian Forces, the NDP will take a new approach.
The NDP will:   End the ineffective combat mission in Iraq and Syria
and redirect Canada's resources to saving the lives of civilians displaced by the conflict.
Work with regional and international allies to cut off the flow of funds and weapons to extremist groups, including the Islamic State
Prioritize de-radicalization efforts to protect Canada's youth from ISIS recruitment by creating a National Coordinator who will work in cooperation with local communities.
CANADIAN FORCES IN THE 21ST CENTURY
After almost a decade in government, the Conservatives have failed to effectively manage the Department of National Defence (DND), and have left the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) with a legacy of outdated equipment, bungled procurements, and a shameful disregard for CAF members when they need help.
A new vision is necessary to ensure that our military can defend Canada, protect Canadians, and contribute to international peace and security with an agile, well-equipped, world-class force.
As a result of Conservative cuts, already long overdue new equipment purchases are being delayed for years.
The attempt to sole-source the F-35 fighter jet while hiding the full costs was just one of several major procurement failures on the Conservatives' watch.
But the most shameful failure of the Conservatives during their time in office is the treatment of members of the Canadian Armed Forces and veterans.
CAF members who have to sell their homes at a loss when they are transferred have been unfairly compensated.
The grievance process simply isn't working to resolve CAF members' issues.
The Universality of Service policy has led to the unnecessary discharge of men and women, many of whom have been coping with mental or physical injury that could have been accommodated.
Moreover, many have been released without adequate support to transition to a new life outside of the military.
Additionally, the failure to acknowledge and address the problem of sexual harassment and assault in the military has been well-documented.
Given these challenges, it's clear that Canada's defence policy requires review.
It's time for a made-in-Canada defence strategy that reflects modern global realities.
The NDP will:   Provide the Canadian Forces with the personnel, equipment and training they need to defend Canada and protect Canadians.
Carry forward the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy to ensure Canada has the ships we need,
and focus on industrial and regional benefits to support our shipyards.
Ensure fairer treatment of our men and women in uniform and their families by improving the grievance process.
Immediately address the deficit of mental health supports in the Canadian Forces,
and provide psychologists in uniform as part of deployable mental health teams.
Reform the Universality of Service Principle, which is unfair to our men and women in uniform.
Draft a new Defence White Paper by 2016 to articulate a clear strategic vision for the Canadian Armed Forces and Canada's defence policy in the 21st Century.
Meet our military commitments by maintaining Department of National Defence budget allocations.
Improve our search and rescue systems to meet international standards with respect to response times,
and ensure that our capabilities are sufficient to meet the needs of the North.
Launch a comprehensive review, as part of the Defence White Paper, to determine how best to meet Canada's needs in the replacement of our aging fleet of CF-18 Fighters,
and ensure that any new program is subject to a competitive process.
Implement a fair and open process for military purchasing, ensuring that Canadians get the most competitive price and that military personnel get what they need.
Increase transparency within the Department of National Defence through the creation of the Office of the Inspector General.
Implement the recommendations of former Supreme Court justice Marie Deschamps to address sexual harassment and assault in the military,
and continue the movement to reform and civilianize the military justice system.
Tom Mulcair would get us back to being #1 in peacekeeping again.
The NDP will work to increase our contribution to UN peacekeeping missions every year so Canada can become the top western contributor to peacekeeping.
The NDP will also seek to contribute personnel who can play a leadership role and prioritize the contribution of personnel to situations requiring advanced linguistic, logistical and intercultural expertise.
TREATING OUR VETERANS WITH RESPECT
Stephen Harper has clawed back veterans' pensions, cut front-line services and failed veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
To add insult to injury, Stephen Harper then spent nearly a million dollars of their own tax dollars fighting them in court.
The Conservatives closed nine Veterans Affairs offices, which made it harder for veterans to get the services they need.
Tom Mulcair's plan will reverse the Conservatives' disrespect of these nation-builders with investments to improve medical care for Canada's veterans and their families.
The NDP will ensure Canada honours the sacrifices of our veterans and provides the services and benefits they've earned by making a $454-million investment over four years to help give veterans the help they need and deserve,
including:   Working with veterans to immediately review, update and improve the New Veterans Charter, including addressing the issue of lump-sum payments currently offered to seriously injured veterans.
Developing a “One Veteran, One Standard” policy that ensures all veterans are treated equally, regardless of when or where they served.
Providing $165 million to improve treatment for veterans with PTSD and mental health issues.
Enhancing long-term care for Canadian Veterans
and expanding the Veterans Independence Program.
Establishing a formal covenant for veterans' care that recognizes the government's moral, social, legal and fiduciary obligation to care for Canada's veterans.
Eliminating the Veterans Review and Appeal Board, which is staffed by appointees who have often been unresponsive to the realities faced by veterans seeking disability benefits,
and replacing it with a medically focused peer review process for appeals.
Increasing survivors' pensions
and ensuring funding is in place to support dignified funerals for veterans through the Last Post Program.
Launching a public inquiry into the spraying of Agent Orange at CFB Gagetown.
For many years, the NDP has fought for Canada's veterans and their families so that they get the services and care they deserve.
We will give the Veterans Ombudsperson greater powers to ensure that programs for veterans are delivered efficiently, effectively and transparently,
and reopen the nine Veterans Affairs offices closed by the Conservatives.
We will also apologize and make amends to those who were dismissed or forced out of the military on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity – fairness that is long overdue.
We will recognize the contributions of police, firefighters and other public safety officers by:   Establishing a Hero's Benefit to recognize the contributions of firefighters, police officers and other public safety officers who die or are permanently disabled in the line of duty.
RESTORING CANADA'S PLACE IN THE WORLD
The country that the Conservatives are projecting onto the world stage is no longer recognizable to many of the countries we have worked with closely over the decades, and it's no longer recognizable to us as Canadians.
Canada's role in the world in the past 10 years has become one where we lecture foreign governments at the United Nations and stymie progress to tackle climate change.
An NDP government would work as an even-handed, fair arbiter abroad with a renewed focus on the UN and other international institutions.
With the NDP, Canada will become a world leader on climate change cooperation, in the same way the Canada-United States acid rain agreement became a model for the world.
Under Stephen Harper, Canada's relationship with the U.S. has deteriorated, causing damage to Canadian businesses and decreasing economic opportunities.
We will prioritize results over rhetoric,
take an active and collaborative approach to diplomacy,
and promote an independent foreign policy that's accountable to Canadians.
This approach starts by working to earn a Canadian seat at the United Nations Security Council, something the Conservatives failed to do.
This is an important step in rebuilding Canada's role as a leader in democratic development, peacekeeping and peacebuilding.
To make Canada a leader on the world stage, the NDP will:   Bring a clear plan of action to the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris to advance global action on climate change.
Fully implement Canada's Action Plan on Women's Peace and Security.
This action will help eliminate sexual violence as a weapon of war and ensure women's equality is at the heart of Canada's foreign policy.
We will also increase funding for the promotion of women's rights and health, including access to safe abortion.
Ratify key agreements to advance peacebuilding and equality.
The NDP will ratify the UN Arms Trade Treaty,
the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture,
and the Optional Protocol of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Actively support negotiations to arrive at an international nuclear weapons convention.
Work with partners for peace and justice in Israel and Palestine.
Within a framework of respect for United Nations resolutions and international law, Canada will work towards a two-state solution where Israelis and Palestinians can live in secure, viable and independent states within negotiated, agreed-upon borders.
Enable Canadian pharmaceutical companies to export generic versions of life-saving medicine for people suffering from HIV/AIDS, TB, malaria and other diseases in the developing world.
Reverse cuts to Canada's Overseas Development Assistance (ODA).
The NDP will set a timetable to meet an aid target of 0.7% of GNI with an increase of $500 million over the first mandate of an NDP government.
These are important steps to focusing on the promotion of health,
democracy
and human rights abroad.
The world has been waiting nearly a decade for Canada to step up in these ways, and the NDP will do so.
We will also make sure that our businesses and citizens working or travelling abroad receive the best support and assistance possible from their government by:   Providing a focused mandate to Canadian trade offices and government-supported development initiatives to work with small and medium-sized enterprises in Canada.
Enacting legislation to ensure consistent and non-discriminatory provision of consular services to all Canadians abroad.
STRONGER COMMUNITIES, STRONGER DEMOCRACY
It's time to restore Canada's environmental credibility at home and around the world by putting a price on carbon,
making polluters pay
and taking meaningful steps to reduce carbon emissions.
UNDOING STEPHEN HARPER'S ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE
Under Stephen Harper, Canada's climate record has lacked leadership and been criticized by the United Nations for falling behind many other countries.
For decades, Conservatives and Liberals have promised and failed to reduce Canada's greenhouse gas emissions and even joined together to defeat Jack Layton's Climate Change Accountability Act.
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and making polluters pay for the pollution they produce are part of the NDP's plan to grow the economy while protecting the environment.
NDP climate change initiatives will be undertaken in collaboration with provinces, territories, municipalities and Indigenous governments.
Federal carbon pricing revenues will be returned to the provinces so that they can be reinvested in greenhouse gas reduction efforts.
The NDP will:   Work with provinces and territories
to develop a pan-Canadian cap-and-trade system that sets concrete emissions limits for Canada's major polluters.
The NDP initiative will recognize efforts already underway in provinces like British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec,
and will allow jurisdictions to opt out if their own carbon pricing plans meet or exceed federal standards.
Reintroduce Jack Layton's Climate Change Accountability Act to make certain that Canada meets its long-term target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Tom Mulcair's record as Quebec's Environment Minister means Canadians and the international community will be able to count on Canada's NDP government to make polluters pay and do our part on climate change.
The NDP will also protect our natural environment for future generations and reverse Stephen Harper's damaging changes to environmental protection laws by:   Affirming government's strong role in environmental protection and assessment.
Ensuring and supporting public participation in decision-making.
Incorporating consideration of cumulative effects, regional assessments and greenhouse gas impacts for all major projects.
Ensuring that the Crown's duty to consult Indigenous peoples in the environmental assessment process is upheld,
and that Indigenous peoples' meaningful participation is facilitated.
Restoring protection to Canada's lakes and rivers by reversing changes made to the Navigable Waters Protection Act in Budgets 2010 and 2012.
Restoring habitat protection to the Fisheries Act.
Meeting Canada's G-20 commitment to cut subsidies to non-renewable energy
and end the federal bias towards non-renewable energy production.
Taking action to ensure Canadian taxpayers don't pay the cost of dealing with toxins.
We will adopt the principles from the European Union's REACH regulation to make industry responsible for assessing and managing the risks posed by chemicals produced or imported into Canada, instead of imposing the burden on the taxpayer.
After a decade of Conservative disregard for our natural environment, there is much work to do to repair the damage they have caused.
We must also look to the future, and continue to expand our environmental protections.
The NDP will:   Consult with municipalities, provinces, the insurance industry, federal departments, Indigenous communities and other key stakeholders
to develop a regionally targeted blueprint to deal with increasingly severe impacts of climate change (drought, floods, severe weather, health impacts, etc.) on communities and infrastructure.
Introduce a Safe Drinking Water Act to support provinces and municipalities in their efforts to keep the drinking water of all Canadians safe, particularly those living in Indigenous communities.
Introduce legislation banning the bulk export of water across international boundaries.
Apply a green lens to all new federal legislation to ensure it is consistent with the principles of a strengthened federal Sustainable Development Act.
Introduce an Environmental Bill of Rights giving all Canadians the right to a clean and healthy environment.
PARKS AND WATER
We will protect our natural environment for future generations and reverse Stephen Harper's damaging changes to environmental protection laws.
The NDP will:   Move quickly to complete all proposed national parks and national wildlife areas, starting with Qausuittuq (NU).
Others we will move on are Thaidene Nene (NWT), Mealy Mountains National Park Reserve (NL) and Edéhzhíe National Wildlife Area (NWT), and expanding the Rouge National Urban Park (ON).
Recommit Parks Canada to prioritizing their legal obligation to maintain or restore ecological integrity as the first priority for park management.
Update Parks Canada's national park system plan to focus on expanding parks where needed to protect their ecological integrity,
creating new parks to improve representation of natural regions,
and improving ecological connectivity between national parks and other protected areas.
Review Environment Canada's protected areas system,
and develop a clear vision and plan for protecting more nationally significant wildlife habitat.
Review and update the National Conservation Plan to articulate a clear path towards achieving our Aichi 2020 targets,
working with the provinces and territories, Indigenous communities and other stakeholders.
As a country, we need to do more to protect and preserve our oceans.
The NDP will meet Canada's 2020 target of 10% of our oceans protected.
Canada has only protected 1.1% so far.
We will set a 2017 target to formally dedicate those under existing consideration.
Formally protect the following areas under consideration:   Quebec: Îles-de-la-Madeleine, St. Lawrence Estuary, American Bank of the Gaspé Peninsula   Nova Scotia: St. Ann's Bank   New Brunswick: Shediac Valley   British Columbia: Race Rocks, Hecate Strait/Queen Charlotte Sound Glass Sponge Reefs, Scott Islands Marine National Wildlife Area, Southern Strait of Georgia National Marine Conservation Area   Newfoundland and Labrador: Laurentian Channel   Northwest Territories: Anguniaqvia Niqiqyuam (Darnley Bay)   Nunavut: Tallurutiup Tariunga (Lancaster Sound) National Marine Conservation Area
INVESTING IN THE ARTS
The NDP firmly believes the arts and culture sector is vital to our collective identity,
and is an important driver of job creation and economic growth.
To strengthen Canada's arts and culture sector, including reversing the damage Stephen Harper has inflicted on our public broadcaster, the NDP will:   Restore funding cut from the CBC/Radio-Canada by the Harper government,
and guarantee stable, predictable, multi-year financing to the public broadcaster.
Institute an independent appointment process for the CBC Board to ensure that it's accountable to Canadians and delivering on its mandate as a core cultural institution, broadcasting Canada's unique identities and linguistic realities.
Reinvest in core cultural institutions like the Canada Council for the Arts, Telefilm Canada and the National Film Board.
Ensure Canadians continue to enjoy quality, diverse and local Canadian content on traditional broadcasting platforms.
Support our cultural industries in developing new international markets by providing embassies with appropriate cultural personnel and funding.
Support artists by implementing income tax averaging for artists and cultural workers.
Help Canadians preserve our heritage by restoring the National Archival Development Program.
Ensure that celebrations for Canada's 150th anniversary are non-partisan and inclusive,
and support Montreal's 375th Anniversary Celebration.
Ensure that arts and culture are a pillar of Canada's 150th anniversary by creating a special fund to support the creation, diffusion and promotion of Canadian content on digital platforms.
MOVING FORWARD ON WOMEN'S EQUALITY
The NDP has fought for years for women's equality.
We are committed to ensuring pay equity and ending violence against women.
As we work to ensure greater support and more resources to pursue equality for women, the NDP will:   Ensure access to safe, reliable sexual and reproductive health care.
We will enforce the Canada Health Act to ensure that all provinces provide health services to women who need them,
including accessible, reliable abortion services.
Enhance the mandate of Status of Women Canada.
The NDP will give the agency a strong mandate to advance women's and girl's equality in Canada
while ensuring funding for women's organizations includes advocacy work and independent research in line with Canada's international obligations.
Mandate that half of all government appointments to the boards of Crown corporations and government agencies are women.
Require that publicly traded, federally regulated companies have a minimum of 40% women on their boards.
CLOSING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE
From rural Newfoundland and Labrador to Iqaluit and Powell River, communities across Canada need reliable, dependable Internet access to go about their daily lives, whether for business or family use.
The NDP recognizes the challenges when reliable Internet access is not available,
and we will:   Move to close the digital divide
and expand rural broadband access across the country.
Look to support the development of the next generation of high-speed Internet to support our high tech sector.
Move to create a more open and transparent government by working with developers, academics and engaged citizens to use government data to solve problems and improve services for all Canadians.
Continue to be committed to net neutrality.
LEADING A TRANSPARENT GOVERNMENT
Stephen Harper's hand-picked ethics spokesperson being sentenced to jail time after a conviction for breaking election laws is just one illustration of how broken Ottawa has become under his leadership.
Conservatives have now been convicted of cheating in every election they have won: the in-and-out scheme in 2006, election spending in 2008 and the robocalls scandal in 2011.
Conservatives even rammed the Unfair Elections Act through Parliament.
Mike Duffy is on trial, Pamela Wallin and Patrick Brazeau potentially face charges, and the RCMP are reviewing the cases of 30 other Liberal and Conservative Senators identified in the Senate expense scandal.
Conservatives promised they were going to change Ottawa and get rid of Liberal corruption and scandal – instead, Ottawa changed them.
Canadians deserve better.
Canadians are ready for change.
The NDP will increase government transparency for Canadians by:   Providing clear objectives and timelines for Canadian participation in military operations abroad
and subjecting mission mandates to a vote in the House of Commons.
Releasing the aims and objectives of trade negotiations to Parliament
and actively engaging Canadian stakeholders in business and labour to improve Canadian access to strategic markets and create good jobs.
The NDP will also set a new standard for open, transparent trade negotiations, which will ensure that we always get the best trade agreements possible for Canadians.
The recent Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) debate has shown just how secretive the Conservatives are when it comes to major trade agreements.
The NDP will consult with Canadians
and bring greater transparency to trade talks.
Ensuring that improvements to social and environmental standards, as well as improvements to workers' quality of life in partner countries, are included in Canada's trade strategy.
Issuing a government-wide open data directive to make government data sets easy to find, accessible and usable for Canadians by default to strengthen our democracy, improve the efficiency of services to the public and contribute to economic growth.
Restoring and improving the Court Challenges Program to provide funding for citizens and organizations to protect and advance language and equality rights guaranteed under the Charter.
Eliminating all fees, after the $5 filing fee, to expand Canadians' access to information on their government and its activities.
Modernizing the Access to Information Act by:   Giving the Information Commissioner the power to order the release of information.
Expand the coverage of the Act to cover the administration of Parliament, the Prime Minister's Office, and Minister's Offices, and start implementing the Commissioner's recommendations to strengthen and modernize the Act.
Subjecting the exclusion of cabinet confidences to review by the Information Commissioner.
Obliging public officials to create the records necessary to document their actions and decisions.
Providing a general public interest override for all exemptions, so that public interest comes before the secrecy of the government.
Transparency in government also includes ensuring that Canadians know their digital rights, and have their privacy protected.
The NDP will:   Move to reform and strengthen Canada's privacy laws by implementing Bill C-475.
This legislation would create mandatory data breach reporting if individuals may face personal risk,
and increase the enforcement powers of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.
Consult with business, IT experts and concerned citizens on how to protect privacy
and ensure informed consent as more and more everyday objects – from thermostats to cars to bio-chips in animals – are connected to the Internet and are collecting and sharing data about our daily lives.
We will strike an all-party committee to examine privacy issues as the “Internet of Things” grows more and more mainstream.
End the practice of bulk collection of data as part of cyber surveillance by Canadian agencies.
Reinstate the requirement for a warrant before ISPs release data, except in emergency situations.
The accountability that Stephen Harper promised has instead given way to scandals and corruption.
The NDP will increase accountability in Ottawa by:   Adopting a cooperative approach to Parliament, in sharp contrast to the culture of fear, division and intimidation that Stephen Harper has brought to Ottawa.
Committing to make the 42nd Parliament work by focusing on delivering results for Canadians, rather than political games.
We will work with other federalist parties through informal or appropriate stable arrangements to end Stephen Harper's lost decade.
Checking the power of the PMO by strengthening Parliament through:   Improving Question Period by mandating that the Speaker call on ministers to answer questions asked of them.
Empowering the Speaker to break up omnibus bills, like the ones that Stephen Harper used to ram changes through Parliament in order to avoid scrutiny.
Establishing the Office of the Parliamentary Science Officer to ensure that parliamentarians have the best possible access to science-based analysis.
Making the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO), our budget watchdog, an independent officer of Parliament just like the Auditor General, the Chief Electoral Officer and the Privacy Commissioner.
We will enshrine in law the obligation for federal departments to share information with the PBO.
Ensuring ministers are accountable for what occurs in their department by enshrining in law the Ministerial Code of Conduct,
and changing the oath of office to include adherence to the Conflict of Interest Act and the principles of ethical government and accountability.
Closing loopholes in the Conflict of Interest Act
and empowering the Commissioner power to fully investigate, enforce the rules and issue real financial penalties when the rules are broken, such as:   Banning MPs from charging speaking fees.
MPs are elected to work for Canadians and Canadians shouldn't have to pay for the privilege of hearing from their elected representatives.
Prohibiting parliamentarians from receiving compensation to serve on external boards.
Removing partisan patronage from government appointments by taking the of government appointments away from the governing party,
and setting up a six-member board jointly selected by the government and the Official Opposition to review and approve all political appointments.
Restricting partisan government advertising by giving the Auditor General the added responsibility of reviewing proposed government advertisements.
ENSURING EVERY VOTE COUNTS
The NDP will ensure every vote counts,
and that this will be the last unfair election Canadians participate in.
As government, the NDP will:   Make your vote truly count by bringing in a system of mixed-member proportional representation that is appropriate for Canada in our first mandate.
Repeal Stephen Harper's so-called Fair Elections Act, which has made it harder for Canadians to exercise their right to vote,
and replace it with legislation that will encourage voting
and give Elections Canada the powers it needs to crack down on electoral fraud.
Work with provinces to abolish the unaccountable, unelected and unaffordable Senate.
As a first step, we will immediately introduce measures to clean up unjustifiable spending, curtail partisan activity and make the Senate more accountable.
Make sure Canadians who live abroad can participate in our electoral process regardless of the length of time they have resided abroad.
PUTTING EVIDENCE FIRST
Stephen Harper never seems to let the facts get in the way of whatever story he is trying to tell.
While principled leaders approach a situation with fact-based decision-making, Stephen Harper does the opposite: decision-based fact-making
He and his cabinet have muzzled scientists and dismissed the advice of experts from across the spectrum – even cutting their budgets whenever possible.
The NDP will respect the public service and the independence of scientists and officers of Parliament by:   Creating a Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister to ensure that our government always has access to the best possible scientific advice from experts in all fields.
Immediately moving to restore the long-form census and provide the necessary funding to ensure it can be included in the 2016 census.
Reversing the Conservatives' policy of muzzling scientists
and ensuring that Canada's leading experts are freely available to speak to the media and to publish their findings.
Ending the toxic culture of fear that has emerged in the civil service
and committing to a new partnership with Canada's civil servants to provide Canadians with high-quality services in which their work is respected.
STRENGTHENING PARTNERSHIP AMONG GOVERNMENTS
Not only did Stephen Harper refuse to listen to the advice of scientists, he actively ignored Canada's premiers.
He refused to meet them as a group, and actively attacked them as elections neared.
The NDP will build a stronger federation by:   Convening a biannual meeting of all the premiers and the Prime Minister.
The NDP will also bring transparency and balance to Supreme Court appointments by:   Improving the process for Supreme Court appointments by making it more transparent, non-partisan and respectful of the provinces.
For Supreme Court appointments from Quebec, nominating from a list of candidates submitted by the provincial government.
Following the advice of the Commissioner of Official Languages by making fluency in both official languages an essential criterion for Supreme Court appointees.
RESPECTING OUR OFFICIAL LANGUAGES
As a bilingual country, Canada has a unique perspective and diverse voices that need to be heard in the halls of government.
The NDP will respect our official languages by:   Reviewing and strengthening the official languages governance structure
and by providing senior officials with clear expectations with regard to the Official Languages Act.
Enhancing our support to official language minority communities by indexing the funding for the Official Languages Roadmap.
In Quebec, the NDP will protect workers' right to work in French in federally regulated workplaces.
FISCAL APPENDIX: A BALANCED PLAN FOR INVESTMENT AND GROWTH
Stephen Harper has presided over a lost decade – marked by job losses, weak economic growth, crumbling infrastructure and escalating household debt.
Canadians are ready for a change in Ottawa.
As Prime Minister, Tom Mulcair will lead a government that isn't simply focused on the short-run, but that takes long-term fiscal planning seriously.
We will ensure that Parliament and citizens – and both current taxpayers and future generations – are respected.
Our approach to Canada's finances is responsible, accountable, transparent and sustainable.
Under projections from both the Department of Finance and the Parliamentary Budget Officer, we will balance the federal budget in all four full fiscal years under an NDP government, spanning 2016-17 to 2019-20.
With the broad consensus of projections for 2016-17 projecting real GDP growth of over 2%, this is the appropriate fiscal policy and we will run small structural surpluses throughout our mandate.
We will fund new investments over these four years from new revenues and,
in the out years, we will also invest a portion of the projected surplus from the existing fiscal framework in new programs.
Our surpluses in all four years are sufficiently large to absorb moderate economic shocks.
We will strengthen Canada's automatic economic stabilizers by making substantial new investments in the Employment Insurance program.
And our substantial investments in infrastructure,
childcare
and health care
will boost economic growth and productivity over the medium-run.
Surpluses run by an NDP government will be used to reduce the debt,
invest in infrastructure
and strengthen health care.
Fiscal Transparency
We will work alongside the experts inside and outside of the Department of Finance to set a new standard for fiscal transparency in government.
We will introduce a Charter of Budget Honesty based on best practices from Australia, the United Kingdom and around the world.
It will enshrine key values of responsible fiscal management, evidence-based budgeting, transparency and accountability.
The Charter will require governments to develop Fiscal Policy Statements with every budget, which will lay out the government's fiscal goals, including debt-to-GDP ratios, spending targets and growth targets.
It will make the full disclosure of all measures of debt, including accumulated deficits, gross liabilities and contingent liabilities, the law in Canada.
The Charter will ensure quarterly budget updates are presented on the first of April, July, October and January every year and by providing an opportunity to publicly measure progress of the Fiscal Policy Statement from each federal budget.
We will ensure that spending is fully transparent, provide a full reporting of departmental spending online, using industry standard reporting methods – with all data being made available to Parliament and the PBO.
The Charter will require the annual publication of a Fiscal Sustainability Report, which will present long-term projections for public spending and tax revenue, describe the public sector balance sheet, and set out summary indicators of the long-term sustainability of public finances.
The Charter will also provide for an Intergenerational Report every four years, which will detail demographic and economic changes to identify challenges Canada will face over the next 40 years and how this may influence decision-making today.
Fiscal Sustainability
Stephen Harper has added over $150 billion to the national debt since 2008, while slashing our social safety net and ignoring the realities of climate change.
As a whole, he has added to the weight of a massive economic, social and environmental debt that will be left to our children.
While deficit spending was justified during the 2008 financial crisis, the Harper government has consistently run structural deficits as a result of their reckless tax handouts to the wealthiest Canadians.
New Democrats will end this approach by cancelling Stephen Harper's tax breaks for the wealthiest Canadians
and by asking profitable corporations to pay their fair share.
New Democrats believe we can do better, while acting in a way that is sustainable for future generations.
Under the NDP's balanced, fiscally responsible plan, we will not leave billions of dollars in unnecessary debt to the next generation.
An NDP government will take steps to put this country on a firm footing, and we will deliver on our commitments.
An NDP government will pursue a balanced approach
and will work with the Department of Finance to set realistic long-run, descending targets for Canada's debt-to-GDP ratio.
We will run balanced budgets
and, unlike successive Conservative and Liberal governments, this will not be achieved through cuts to the front-line programs and services that matter to Canadians.
PLATEFORME ÉLECTORALE PARTI LIBÉRAL DU CANADA 2015
ECONOMIC SECURITY FOR THE MIDDLE CLASS
A strong economy starts with a strong middle class.
Our plan offers real help to Canada's middle class and all those working hard to join it.
When our middle class has more money in their pockets to save, invest, and grow the economy, we all benefit.
We will give families more money to help with the high cost of raising their kids.
We will cancel tax breaks and benefits for the wealthy – including the Universal Child Care Benefit –
and introduce a new Canada Child Benefit to give Canadian families more money to raise their kids.
With the Canada Child Benefit, nine out of ten Canadian families will receive more than under Stephen Harper's confusing collection of child benefit programs.
For the typical family of four, that means an additional $2,500 in help, tax-free, every year.
Because the Canada Child Benefit is tax-free and tied to income, it also provides greater support to those who need help the most: single-parent families and low-income families.
Our plan will lift 315,000 Canadian children out of poverty.
Stephen Harper thinks that government should provide child support payments to millionaires.
We will end that unfair giveaway.
MIDDLE CLASS TAX CUT
We will give middle class Canadians a tax break, by making taxes more fair.
When middle class Canadians have more money in their pockets to save, invest, and grow the economy, we all benefit.
We will cut the middle income tax bracket to 20.5 percent from 22 percent – a seven percent reduction.
Canadians with taxable annual income between $44,700 and $89,401 will see their income tax rate fall.
This tax relief is worth up to $670 per person, per year – or $1,340 for a two-income household.
To pay for this tax cut, we will ask the wealthiest one percent of Canadians to give a little more.
We will introduce a new tax bracket of 33 percent for individuals earning more than $200,000 each year.
ENDING UNFAIR TAX BREAKS
We will cancel income splitting and other tax breaks and benefits for the wealthy.
Income splitting costs the federal government $2 billion a year but delivers benefits to only a few.
It will not create a single job.
It will not give one young person an opportunity to get ahead.
Income splitting delivers no benefits to working parents who earn similar salaries, no benefits to single parents, and no benefits to Canadians who do not have kids.
All told, income splitting benefits only about 15 percent of Canadian households.
We will cancel Stephen Harper's tax breaks for the wealthy,
to give Canadian families more money to raise their children.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUNG CANADIANS
We will invest to create more jobs and better opportunities for young Canadians.
After ten years under Stephen Harper, good-quality job opportunities for young Canadians are tougher and tougher to find.
Faced with high unemployment and underemployment, many young people have stopped looking for work altogether.
This is hard for both young people and their families.
Many parents are seeing their household debt rise and retirement savings dwindle as they struggle to support their grown children, who often return home.
It is time to invest in young Canadians – to help them get the work experience they will need to start their careers and contribute fully to our economy.
We will create 40,000 good youth jobs – including 5,000 youth green jobs – each year for the next three years, by investing $300 million more in the renewed Youth Employment Strategy.
We will more than double the almost 11,000 Canadians who access Skills Link each year.
This program helps young Canadians – including Aboriginal and disabled youth – make a more successful transition to the workplace.
After this initial three-year boost in funding, we will set the renewed Youth Employment Strategy 's funding level at $385 million per year – a $50 million increase from 2015/16.
We will invest $40 million each year to help employers create more co-op placements for students in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and business programs.
And to encourage companies to hire young Canadians for permanent positions, we will also offer a 12-month break on Employment Insurance premiums.
We will waive employer premiums for all those between the ages of 18 and 24 who are hired into a permanent position in 2016, 2017, or 2018.
We will also work with provinces, territories, and post-secondary institutions to develop or expand Pre-Apprenticeship Training Programs.
This will provide up to $10 million per year to help young Canadians gain the skills they need to enter high-demand trades.
We will end the rule that discriminates against new workers and those re-entering the workforce by requiring them to accumulate 910 hours of work to qualify for Employment Insurance benefits, including training support.
We will invest $25 million per year in a restored Youth Service Program, to give young Canadians valuable work and life experience, and provide communities with the help required for much-needed projects.
RETIREMENT SECURITY
We will provide Canadians with a more secure retirement.
After a lifetime of hard work, Canadians have earned a secure and dignified retirement, but too many now wonder when – or even if – that will happen.
We will help Canadians realize their goal of a secure retirement.
That security starts with a strong and stable pension program.
We will work with the provinces and territories, workers, employers, and retiree organizations to enhance the Canada Pension Plan.
We will not end pension income splitting for seniors.
We will also restore the eligibility age for Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement to 65, putting an average of $13,000 into the pockets of the lowest income Canadians each year, as they become seniors.
We will help to lift hundreds of thousands of seniors out of poverty by increasing the Guaranteed Income Supplement for single low-income seniors by ten percent.
This will give one million of our most vulnerable seniors – who are often women – almost $1,000 more each year.
Because many seniors live on fixed incomes, we will introduce a new Seniors Price Index to make sure that Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement benefits keep up with seniors' actual rising costs.
We will also make the Compassionate Care Benefit more flexible and easier to access, so that those who are caring for seriously ill family members – not just family members who are at risk of death – can access six months of benefits.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
We will make it easier for Canadians to find an affordable place to call home.
Today, one in four Canadian households is paying more than it can afford for housing, and one in eight cannot find affordable housing that is safe, suitable, and well maintained.
When affordable housing is in short supply, Canadians feel less secure and our whole economy suffers.
We will renew federal leadership in housing, starting with a new, ten-year investment in social infrastructure.
We will prioritize investments in affordable housing and seniors' facilities,
build more new housing units
and refurbish old ones,
give support to municipalities to maintain rent-geared-to-income subsidies in co-ops,
and give communities the money they need for Housing First initiatives that help homeless Canadians find stable housing.
We will encourage the construction of new rental housing by removing all GST on new capital investments in affordable rental housing.
This will provide $125 million per year in tax incentives to grow and renovate the supply of rental housing across Canada.
We will modernize the existing Home Buyers' Plan to allow Canadians impacted by sudden and significant life changes to buy a house without tax penalty.
This will ease the burden on Canadians facing job relocation, the death of a spouse, marital breakdown, or a decision to accommodate an elderly family member.
We will direct the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and the new Canada Infrastructure Bank to provide financing to support the construction of new, affordable rental housing for middle- and low-income Canadians.
We will conduct an inventory of all available federal lands and buildings that could be repurposed,
and make some of these lands available at low cost for affordable housing in communities where there is a pressing need.