The NDP promises to balance the books by 2014-15, in part by hiking the corporate tax rate, according to its campaign platform unveiled in Toronto Sunday morning.
The NDP is pledging to meet five key priorities within the first 100 days of taking office, if it forms the next government. That strategy is reminiscent of the Conservatives' strategy to hit the ground running after the 2006 vote.
In the first 100 days, the party pledges to:
- hire more doctors and nurses
- double the Canada Pension Plan
- cut taxes for small businesses by two per cent, from 11 to nine per cent
- cap credit-card rates at five percentage points above prime and remove federal tax from home heating
- commit to working with the other federal parties to get its priorities off the ground
The 100-day pledge contrasts the Conservatives' more cautious approach to some of their campaign pledges. Stephen Harper has pledged to boost the children's fitness tax credit, and introduce a similar measure for adults, after the government gets back to balanced budgets. In their budget unveiled in March, the Conservatives had pledged to balance the books by 2015. However, the Tories shaved a year off that target in the election platform they unveiled Friday.
The Tories also vowed to introduce an income-splitting measure for families, a move many Canadians have long anticipated that will also have to wait until the government is back in the black. However, the Conservatives have pledged to pass a bundle of crime bills within the first 100 days in office should the party win a majority on May 2.
On Sunday, Layton accused Harper of being out of touch with the immediate needs of Canadians, who he said need help managing basic household costs.
"Today's seniors can't wait. Today's families can't wait. We can't wait three more years to start hiring more doctors and nurses for those who need health care," NDP Leader Jack Layton told a roomful of supporters at the Toronto Hilton. "So New Democrats are going to deliver right now."
One of the platform's key measures is to hike the corporate tax rate back to 19 per cent. The NDP is also pledging to crack down on Canadians who put their money in foreign tax havens, a move the party estimates could generate as much as $3 billion for government coffers.
On the small-business front, the New Democrats are pledging tax credits for companies that hire new workers. And in a further nod to struggling families, the NDP is promising a range of measures, from reducing the cost of prescription drugs to expanding family and maternity leave benefits, including expanding the Compassionate Care Benefit for workers who must take time off to care for an ill family member.
The NDP would also introduce a cap-and-trade system for carbon emissions, which it believes could generate as much as $3 billion in revenue in the first year, and $7 billion by year four.
The platform also included compensation for Quebec for its harmonized sales tax to the tune of $2.2 billion, compensation that politicians from the province have been lobbying for. The Tories also included a similar nod to Quebec in their platform.
Layton also pledged to "fix Ottawa" by shunning political games and working with the other parties to get the NDP's measures off the ground.
Layton signed a copy of the NDP platform in front of hundreds of supporters, "so we can be held to account as a political party to do what we say we are going to do for all Canadians."
CTV's Richard Madan, reporting from Toronto, said while the document contains many of the promises on social programs Canadians are used to hearing from the NDP, "the party is also trying to gain some fiscal credibility."
"The NDP wants to cancel the corporate tax cuts, and through that, with some modest spending, they think they can balance the books by year four," Madan told CTV's Question Period.
While Layton pledged to end the squabbling between the parties on Parliament Hill, he did take swipes at the platforms previously unveiled by the Conservatives and the Liberals.
Layton accused the Tories of pledging to help only wealthy families with their campaign promise on income splitting. The NDP leader also scoffed at the Conservatives' pledge to boost the yearly maximum amount that can be deposited into a tax-free savings account to $10,000.
Layton also criticized Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff for supporting corporate tax cuts, and for failing to produce a jobs-creation strategy or new money for health care in the Grits' campaign platform.
"Despite what they say, Stephen Harper and Michael Ignatieff are telling Canadian families to wait at the back of the line. And that's not right," Layton said. "It all adds up to the fundamental fact that Ottawa is broken when it comes to the needs of most people in this country, and it's time for us to fix it."
