As a Liberal Candidate in the urban riding of Edmonton Centre I believe the Liberal Party of Canada offers the best policy for a diverse urban riding. During the run-up to October 14  I will provide a series of interesting ‘one pagers’ on the core issues (below). Today’s timely note considers the plan for families (also see previous briefings, below):

 

October 12. LIBERAL PLAN FOR FAMILIES

Increased Family Incomes

Lower income taxes as much as 10 % for most Canadians.

A new $350 refundable child tax credit. 

Increase the employment credit for low and middle-income Canadians, putting up to $250 more into their pockets.

Improve Working Income Tax Credit for low-income Canadians to help them get over the welfare wall. 

Increase the Guaranteed Family Supplement for low-income families with children, worth $1,225 a year more per family.

Index the Northern Residents Deduction so the tax benefit addresses the costs of living in the Canadian North.

Increased Student Incomes

Improve the tax system for post-secondary students giving most students $1000 per year.

Extend the $400 per month education tax credit to apprentices.

Increased Senior Incomes

Increase the GIS by $600 a year for low-income seniors and by $800 a year for low-income senior couples, even if they don’t pay taxes.

Increased Incomes for the Disabled

Make the Disability Tax Credit refundable, improving the incomes of low income, disabled Canadians.

October 8. FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY

Why would anyone think that the Conservatives are fiscally responsible?

Liberal Record

The Liberals left the Conservatives with a $13.0 billion surplus and left a legacy of eight consecutive surplus budgets.

Conservative Record

Mr. Harper’s has been the biggest spending government in the country’s history. They incurred a 16% increase in expenditure in their first budget. 

Of the first three months of this fiscal year so far reported, deficits have been recorded for two.

 Mr Harper has brought Canada to the brink of deficit. Not surprising, his Finance Minister, Mr. Flaherty, left Ontario with a $5.6 billion deficit. 

They are following the Mulroney tradition of a $42.0 billion deficit.

The new Liberal government will create jobs, keep the budget balanced, cut taxes, and build the strongest economy in the world.

 

 

October 4. SUPPORTING OUR SENIORS

Liberals recognize the debt owed to seniors who survived the Depression, fought for our liberty, and built Canada. We want to make their lives better.

 30-50 Plan: About 242,000 Canadian seniors live in poverty. Our 30-50 Plan will lift them out of poverty and ensure that losing a partner does not put them in need.

Health Care: We will protect our health care system by:

Implementing a $900 million catastrophic drug plan.

Implementing a Doctors and Nurses Fund to increase the number of health care professionals

Increased Incomes: 

Increasing the GIS $600 for single seniors and $800 for couples. 

Cutting income tax by as much as 10% to help with RRSP and pension income. 

$150 grants each year to rural and northern seniors.

Liberal’s past actions for seniors include New Horizons to help seniors remain active in their communities, the 2004 federal-provincial agreement to improve the health system, and the 2005 GIS increase of $2.7 billion.

 

September 30.  NATIONAL EARLY LEARNING AND CHILD CARE

As every parent knows, NO space means NO choice.

Liberals are committed to universally inclusive and accessible early education and child care, centered on principles of quality, and development.

$1.25 billion annually to work with the provinces and territories to create new and improved quality spaces. 

Maintaining the $100-per-month-per-child cheques for families.

A new refundable child tax credit worth $350 to families for every child under 18.

Providing up to $1,225 per year to Canada’s low-income families through a new Guaranteed Family Supplement;

Making the federal maternity and parental leave programs more flexible for parents. 

This is in stark contrast to Harper’s record. He has broken his promise to create 125,000 spaces, and cancelled the Liberal early learning and child care agreements. 

Between 2001 and 2006, Liberals created an average of nearly 44,000 spaces each year. The Conservatives have averaged 13,000 spaces in 2006 and 2007.

 

Why would anybody think the Conservatives are best equipped to manage the economy?

When the Liberals left office in 2006, Canada’s economy was the strongest in the G8.

Under the Conservatives, we now have the weakest economy in the G8. We are underperforming the US economy this year.

Productivity has declined by 0.6%, 0.6% and 0.2% in the last three quarters. The GST cuts will do nothing to enhance Canada’s ailing productivity.

Statistics Canada: the Canadian economy is enduring the worst economic growth and productivity since 1990 when Brian Mulroney was Prime Minister.

The new Liberal government will create jobs, keep the budget balanced, cut taxes, and build the strongest economy in the world.

 

The Big Picture Policies

A key plank in the Liberal policy is of course The Green Shift.  The plan starts by reducing income taxes, putting money back in your pocket and putting a price on carbon or green house gas pollution.

Understand the plan for yourself - details can be found at www.thegreenshift.ca

We recommend trying out the calculator function to understand the dollar value of the real tax benefits under the Green Shift.

We announced a comprehensive policy on September 22 -
Action Plan for the 21st Century

Excerpts from the September 22 policy can be linked below -
A Fairer Canada
A Richer Canada 
A Greener Canada
Canada in the World 
What it Costs