Promises, promises

Interesting piece from the Hamilton Spectator. Almost a score card for the election so far!

Hamilton Spectator
Mon 15 Sep 2008
Page: A7

Promises so far in the federal election campaign, with projected costs where applicable and available:

CONSERVATIVES

* A two-cent-per-litre cut in taxes on diesel and aviation fuels over four years; projected to cost $600 million a year, fully implemented

* Reinstate veterans' benefits for Second World War veterans who have lived in Canada for more than 10 years; $9 million a year

* Put the recognition of foreign skill credentials for immigrants on the agenda of the next first ministers' conference

* A near-complete withdrawal of Canadian troops from Afghanistan in 2011
* Allow 49 per cent foreign ownership of Canadian airlines and foreign ownership of uranium mines

GREENS

* Tackle poverty with a Guaranteed Livable Income supplement; make locally grown organic produce more readily available to food banks

* A national student-loan program that would forgive half the loan for those who get a degree or certificate

* Shift consumption taxes to environmentally harmful products and services and away from income and products, activities that do no harm

* Cut corporate tax by $50 for each tonne of carbon-emission reductions

* Require manufactured goods and vehicles to be designed for easy re-use or recycling; to contain 90 per cent recycled materials by 2025

LIBERALS

* A Green Shift carbon tax on fossil fuels to cut emissions, offset by income and business tax cuts, green-energy and conservation investments

* Add $350 to the Harper government's $1,200-a-year child-care allowance. Low-income families would also receive another payment of up to $1,225 a year

* Restore the Court Challenges Program to help defray the cost of Charter challenges, doubling budget to $6 million a year

* $50 million to upgrade Canada's food safety system

* $600 million in energy retrofit tax breaks for homeowners

* $250 million over four years to curb the spread of the mountain pine beetle

NDP

* A moratorium on expansion of Alberta's oil sands

* $8.2 billion over four years to create, protect and foster growth of "green-collar" jobs

* A "cap-and-trade" system to create incentives for big business to reduce their emissions

* Slashing greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent by 2050

* Cap credit-card interest rates by amending the Bank Act to limit them to 5 per cent above prime

* Outlaw automated-banking machine fees, a measure the party claims would save consumers at least $104 per year.

* $120 million a year in additional funding for women's groups

James Morton

1100 - 5255 Yonge Street

Toronto, Ontario

M2N 6P4