StarBuzz Weekly, Toronto-For Immediate Release
April 3, 2011
Michael Ignatieff unveils new Liberal Platform, featuring the “Liberal Family Pack”
OTTAWA – In a historic online platform launch event, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff presented the fully costed Liberal Platform to all Canadians – featuring the Liberal Party’s five-point plan to strengthen families, the “Liberal Family Pack.”
“We’re bringing a new level of economic stability to Canadian families by helping them with the cost of post-secondary education, child care, family care, saving for retirement and energy-efficient home improvements,” said Mr. Ignatieff. “The new Liberal Platform belongs to everyone – because it’s about your family, your future, and your Canada.”
To share the new Liberal Platform with all Canadians, Michael Ignatieff hosted a live town hall – streamed live and online at Liberal.ca – to answer questions from Canadians in the first platform launch of its kind. The new Liberal Platform is now available for download, as is the platform summary.
The centerpiece of the new Liberal Platform is the “Liberal Family Pack” – a five-point plan to strengthen families:
1. Canadian Learning Passport – to help families pay for college and university
2. Early Childhood Learning and Care – to create more high-quality affordable
child care spaces
3. Family Care – to help family caregivers take time off from work to care
for sick loved ones, and to help with the costs of caregiving
4. Stronger Public Pensions – to enhance the Canada Pension Plan to make it
easier to save for retirement, and provide more help for low-income seniors
5. Green Renovation Tax Credit – to help families save on energy costs while
helping the environment
In the fifth and final announcement this week for the Liberal Family Pack, Mr. Ignatieff announced that a Liberal government will invest $400 million annually in a permanent Green Renovation Tax Credit that will allow Canadian families to claim up to $13,500 to cover the cost of energy-efficient changes to their homes, such as installing new windows, doors or roofing. This simpler, permanent and refundable tax credit will enable families and entrepreneurs to save on energy costs and help the environment.
Over the last two years, the Liberal Party has gathered input from thousands of Canadians who have helped shape the policies in the Liberal Platform, at the 2009 Liberal convention, the Canada at 150 conference, the "Policy Matters" sessions held across Canada last spring, and in feedback Canadians gave online or in person.
The Liberal budget is fully costed and does not raise taxes on families – it presents a plan with no increase in personal income tax, sales tax, or small business taxes.
“We can strengthen families – without raising their taxes – if we stop corporate giveaways, control wasteful spending like $30-billion fighter jets, and focus on what really matters: giving every Canadian the tools to succeed,” concluded Mr. Ignatieff.
Background
The Liberal Family Pack
The “Liberal Family Pack” is the Liberal Party’s five-point plan to strengthen families:
1. Learning Passport – The new Canadian Learning Passport will open the doors for every young Canadian who wants to go to college or university, and help every family struggling to save enough to pay for it:
$1,000 a year over four years for every high school student in Canada to use when they go to college or university, or $4,000 in total; and
For students in low income families, the amount will be $1,500 a year, or an extra $6,000 in total.
2. Early Childhood Learning and Care – To give our kids the best start while giving parents access to affordable, quality child care, a Liberal government will create a new Early Childhood Learning and Care Fund. This fund will help create new affordable child care spaces across Canada.
3. Family Care – To help Canadians who care for elderly or seriously ill loved ones manage the financial pressures of caregiving, the Liberal Family Care Plan will offer:
A new Family Care Employment Insurance Benefit, similar to EI parental leave, to let caregivers take six months off work to care for gravely ill family members at home; and
A new Family Care Tax Benefit up to $1,350 annually, modeled on the Child Tax Benefit, to help low- and middle-income family caregivers manage costs.
4. Stronger Public Pensions – To make sure every Canadian has a secure retirement, a Liberal government will:
Work with the provinces and territories to gradually expand the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), the most reliable, simple and low-cost way to save;
Put forward the Secure Retirement Option (SRO), a voluntary supplement to the CPP for any Canadian worker who wants it. Under the SRO, Canadians could save a tax-deductible percentage of their pay in a secure retirement fund backed by the CPP; and Help low-income seniors with a $700-million boost to the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS).
5. Green Renovation Tax Credit – To help Canadians save on energy costs while helping the environment, a Liberal government will implement a permanent Green Renovation Tax Credit of up to $13,500. This fund will help families with the up-front costs of energy-saving home renovations such as installing energy-efficient windows, improving insulation, replacing old appliances, and upgrading roofing.
Platform Questions & Answers
Q: What are the base fiscal assumptions of the Liberal Platform?
A: The Liberal Platform uses the 2011 fiscal framework of the Government of Canada as its base, and outlines all the specific ways in which a Liberal government will change that fiscal framework. The Liberal Platform’s costing table outlines all of the sources of funds and where we’ll invest – including a prudence reserve to more credibly reduce the deficit. We identify where every dollar is coming from every commitment in our platform.
Q: When will a Liberal government balance the budget?
A: The Conservatives claim they can balance the budget in 2015-16, but analyses by the Parliamentary Budget Officer and International Monetary Fund have said they have no credible plan to achieve this target.
A Liberal government will have a more credible plan to reach such a target, and hopefully exceed it. Rather than unreliable five-year targets, we will establish rolling two-year fiscal projections - like the Liberal government of the 1990s - and as a first step will commit to reduce Canada’s deficit to 1% of Canada’s GDP within two years. We will also re-establish a $3-billion prudence reserve to manage unforeseen events without missing our targets and go toward deficit reduction if it’s not required.
A Liberal government will not go forward with an ill-advised corporate tax cut in the midst of a large deficit. Our plan is more prudent and will tackle the deficit in a more responsible way approach than the Conservatives.
Q: What Conservative spending will Liberals cut to achieve the Platform’s fiscal goals?
A: After five years, Stephen Harper is the highest-spending, biggest-borrowing, most wasteful Prime Minister in Canadian history. Wasteful spending and poor fiscal management combined to create a record $56-billion Conservative deficit – and will add $200 billion more to the national debt over the next five years.
A Liberal government will make better choices by cutting wasteful Conservative spending and bringing the deficit under control with a responsible, targeted fiscal plan. We can focus on what really matters – strengthening equal opportunity for middle-class families – without raising personal, small business or sales taxes. Examples of out-of-control Conservative spending include:
$1 billion for a 72-hour G8/G20 meeting;
$5-$6 billion annually on tax cuts for the largest corporations;
$10-$13 billion for U.S.-style mega-prisons;
$30 billion on untendered stealth fighter jets;
$3 billion more on consultants and outside professional services;
An unprecedented $27 million on signs and tripling advertising spending to $130 million; and
An explosion in ministers’ and the Prime Minister’s office budgets.
April 3, 2011
Michael Ignatieff unveils new Liberal Platform, featuring the “Liberal Family Pack”
OTTAWA – In a historic online platform launch event, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff presented the fully costed Liberal Platform to all Canadians – featuring the Liberal Party’s five-point plan to strengthen families, the “Liberal Family Pack.”
“We’re bringing a new level of economic stability to Canadian families by helping them with the cost of post-secondary education, child care, family care, saving for retirement and energy-efficient home improvements,” said Mr. Ignatieff. “The new Liberal Platform belongs to everyone – because it’s about your family, your future, and your Canada.”
To share the new Liberal Platform with all Canadians, Michael Ignatieff hosted a live town hall – streamed live and online at Liberal.ca – to answer questions from Canadians in the first platform launch of its kind. The new Liberal Platform is now available for download, as is the platform summary.
The centerpiece of the new Liberal Platform is the “Liberal Family Pack” – a five-point plan to strengthen families:
1. Canadian Learning Passport – to help families pay for college and university
2. Early Childhood Learning and Care – to create more high-quality affordable
child care spaces
3. Family Care – to help family caregivers take time off from work to care
for sick loved ones, and to help with the costs of caregiving
4. Stronger Public Pensions – to enhance the Canada Pension Plan to make it
easier to save for retirement, and provide more help for low-income seniors
5. Green Renovation Tax Credit – to help families save on energy costs while
helping the environment
In the fifth and final announcement this week for the Liberal Family Pack, Mr. Ignatieff announced that a Liberal government will invest $400 million annually in a permanent Green Renovation Tax Credit that will allow Canadian families to claim up to $13,500 to cover the cost of energy-efficient changes to their homes, such as installing new windows, doors or roofing. This simpler, permanent and refundable tax credit will enable families and entrepreneurs to save on energy costs and help the environment.
Over the last two years, the Liberal Party has gathered input from thousands of Canadians who have helped shape the policies in the Liberal Platform, at the 2009 Liberal convention, the Canada at 150 conference, the "Policy Matters" sessions held across Canada last spring, and in feedback Canadians gave online or in person.
The Liberal budget is fully costed and does not raise taxes on families – it presents a plan with no increase in personal income tax, sales tax, or small business taxes.
“We can strengthen families – without raising their taxes – if we stop corporate giveaways, control wasteful spending like $30-billion fighter jets, and focus on what really matters: giving every Canadian the tools to succeed,” concluded Mr. Ignatieff.
Background
The Liberal Family Pack
The “Liberal Family Pack” is the Liberal Party’s five-point plan to strengthen families:
1. Learning Passport – The new Canadian Learning Passport will open the doors for every young Canadian who wants to go to college or university, and help every family struggling to save enough to pay for it:
$1,000 a year over four years for every high school student in Canada to use when they go to college or university, or $4,000 in total; and
For students in low income families, the amount will be $1,500 a year, or an extra $6,000 in total.
2. Early Childhood Learning and Care – To give our kids the best start while giving parents access to affordable, quality child care, a Liberal government will create a new Early Childhood Learning and Care Fund. This fund will help create new affordable child care spaces across Canada.
3. Family Care – To help Canadians who care for elderly or seriously ill loved ones manage the financial pressures of caregiving, the Liberal Family Care Plan will offer:
A new Family Care Employment Insurance Benefit, similar to EI parental leave, to let caregivers take six months off work to care for gravely ill family members at home; and
A new Family Care Tax Benefit up to $1,350 annually, modeled on the Child Tax Benefit, to help low- and middle-income family caregivers manage costs.
4. Stronger Public Pensions – To make sure every Canadian has a secure retirement, a Liberal government will:
Work with the provinces and territories to gradually expand the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), the most reliable, simple and low-cost way to save;
Put forward the Secure Retirement Option (SRO), a voluntary supplement to the CPP for any Canadian worker who wants it. Under the SRO, Canadians could save a tax-deductible percentage of their pay in a secure retirement fund backed by the CPP; and Help low-income seniors with a $700-million boost to the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS).
5. Green Renovation Tax Credit – To help Canadians save on energy costs while helping the environment, a Liberal government will implement a permanent Green Renovation Tax Credit of up to $13,500. This fund will help families with the up-front costs of energy-saving home renovations such as installing energy-efficient windows, improving insulation, replacing old appliances, and upgrading roofing.
Platform Questions & Answers
Q: What are the base fiscal assumptions of the Liberal Platform?
A: The Liberal Platform uses the 2011 fiscal framework of the Government of Canada as its base, and outlines all the specific ways in which a Liberal government will change that fiscal framework. The Liberal Platform’s costing table outlines all of the sources of funds and where we’ll invest – including a prudence reserve to more credibly reduce the deficit. We identify where every dollar is coming from every commitment in our platform.
Q: When will a Liberal government balance the budget?
A: The Conservatives claim they can balance the budget in 2015-16, but analyses by the Parliamentary Budget Officer and International Monetary Fund have said they have no credible plan to achieve this target.
A Liberal government will have a more credible plan to reach such a target, and hopefully exceed it. Rather than unreliable five-year targets, we will establish rolling two-year fiscal projections - like the Liberal government of the 1990s - and as a first step will commit to reduce Canada’s deficit to 1% of Canada’s GDP within two years. We will also re-establish a $3-billion prudence reserve to manage unforeseen events without missing our targets and go toward deficit reduction if it’s not required.
A Liberal government will not go forward with an ill-advised corporate tax cut in the midst of a large deficit. Our plan is more prudent and will tackle the deficit in a more responsible way approach than the Conservatives.
Q: What Conservative spending will Liberals cut to achieve the Platform’s fiscal goals?
A: After five years, Stephen Harper is the highest-spending, biggest-borrowing, most wasteful Prime Minister in Canadian history. Wasteful spending and poor fiscal management combined to create a record $56-billion Conservative deficit – and will add $200 billion more to the national debt over the next five years.
A Liberal government will make better choices by cutting wasteful Conservative spending and bringing the deficit under control with a responsible, targeted fiscal plan. We can focus on what really matters – strengthening equal opportunity for middle-class families – without raising personal, small business or sales taxes. Examples of out-of-control Conservative spending include:
$1 billion for a 72-hour G8/G20 meeting;
$5-$6 billion annually on tax cuts for the largest corporations;
$10-$13 billion for U.S.-style mega-prisons;
$30 billion on untendered stealth fighter jets;
$3 billion more on consultants and outside professional services;
An unprecedented $27 million on signs and tripling advertising spending to $130 million; and
An explosion in ministers’ and the Prime Minister’s office budgets.
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