Promises, Promises and more Promises

Here are some of the key election promises already made by the four major parties in Ontario.

Liberals

• Close all coal-fired power plants by 2014 (promised by 2007 in 2003)
• No new taxes or tax increases (promised in 2003)
• No roll back on health-care tax.
• Increase education funding by $3.1 billion a year by 2011.
• All-day junior and senior kindergarten classes starting in 2010 (promised in 2003)
• $300 textbook grants to college and university students.
• Tax-credits for kids in extra-curricular programs.
• A $45 million denticare program for low-income families.
• A $42 million program to help kids with homework.
• A new statutory holiday in February.
• Hire 9,000 new nurses.
• Ban trans fats from all school cafeterias.
• Ban the cosmetic use of pesticides.

PC's

• Eliminate $2.6 billion Ontario Health Premium.
• Provide public funding to privately-run, faith-based schools.
• Increase annual health care spending by $8.5 billion over four years.
• Hire more family doctors.
• Increase annual education spending by $2.4 billion over four years.
• Fix the education funding formula.
• Find $1.5 billion in spending "efficiencies."
• A zero-tolerance approach to aboriginal land-claims disputes.
• A 5% cap on annual property assessments and a review of the current system.
• Put 100% of provincial gas tax revenues towards roads and transit.
• Hire an additional 200 provincial police officers and push for manditory minimum sentences for marijuana grow-ops and a stronger Youth Criminal Justice Act.

NDP

• Increase minimum wage by $2 to $10 per hour.
• Establish Ontario Smiles, a $100 million denticare program for low-income families.
• Allow northern Ontario to keep proceeds from levies on mining profits, Crown timber and hydroelectric power,
• Freeze college and university tuition fees at 2003 levels for four years.
• Cap industrial hydro rates, residential property tax assessments and transit fares.
• A ban on allowing replacement workers during labour disputes.
• Eliminate public-private partnerships, or P3s.
• Funding for municipalities to hire 3,000 new police officers.
• Reverse $3.6 billion in costs downloaded to municipalities by 2015.

Green's

• Shift taxes "off goods and onto bads" by taxing resources like fossil fuels and unearned income like capital gains, rather than workers and businesses.
• Shut down coal-fired power plants by 2009; stop building and refurbishing nuclear plants; encourage communities, businesses, individuals and institutions to conserve and produce renewable wind and solar power.
• Stop funding religious schools, amalgamate Catholic school board into a single public board, cap university tuition at $3,000 a year and college at $1,500 a year.
• No more private-public partnerships; maintain a publicly funded, publicly delivered health-care system; better home care with minimum wage for caregivers.
• Decriminalize all drugs, expand safe injection sites for hard drug users, invest in programs for marginalized youth rather than more police officers.
• Expand Alternative Land Use System to better compensate farmers for environmental protection efforts like water and soil conservation and bird habitat protection.

So these are some of the promises which have been made by the major political parties. I'm sure that the closer we get to election day the more "goodies" will suddenly be found and placed on our tables ... bon appetit!