Progressive Canadian Platform

[SaggyBalls]

So I guess the right is split a bit...

Questions for Canadians:

Are you as proud of being Canadian in 2007 as we all were in 1967 when launched confidently onto the world stage? How about in 1987, when we were fighting acid rain and working to free Nelson Mandela? How about in 1997 when we led the world into the historic Kyoto Accord?

Do you feel more secure now or less? There is nowhere to hide from terror except freedom. Terror grows in poverty, failed wars and greed. You can’t beat terror in a war – you beat terror with the firm stance of a peacemaker. With fairness and justice. And with compassion and assistance.

What are Canadian values? What is the essence of Canada? Is it found in the historic compromise of private and public enterprise? In the diversity we all share and admire? In the natural beauty and wonderful environment we have been blessed with. Or is it as simple as keeping your promises? Do you really feel that any political party represents those values?

Directions:

Good Business – Sustainable Prosperity

Economic growth is not the only measure of human achievement but the creation of wealth makes it possible for us to do many things. We seek to create a sustainable economy with true competition and a level playing field. Balance in the economy is crucial. If any one player has too much power, be they big business, big government or big unions – then the balance is lost.

We are, at heart, a party that supports small business. There is a role for government in the economy, but it must support and not compete with small business.

We support the “100 mile challenge†which encourages purchasing from local enterprises. It’s environmentally sound because it uses far less resources. It’s economically sound because local businesses return far greater amounts to the economy. It fits with our belief that small business is the engine of our economy.

We will restore income trust legislation to it’s previous state and work with all key stakeholders to develop legislation that makes sense for Canadians. For more information on our policy, click here.

Agriculture

We consider family farms to be one of the great examples of small business.

Our “100 mile challenge†would support family farms and innovative agricultural businesses

We completely support the Wheat Board but we need more. We need the equivalent of the CMHC for farmers.

We guarantee mortgages to facilitate the housing market.

We need a solution of a similar nature for farmers to once and for all relieve the terrible pressures that are driving them off the farms.

Our Place in the Global Community

A well equipped, highly motivated military is the key to our sovereignty and our place in the world. We are peacekeepers and diplomats – both of which take exceptional courage and determination. We need to find our own voice in the world and set our own policy – friendly, but independent of the dominance of any other nation. We need to find the .7 percent solution and make a contribution towards world peace by ending the scourge of world hunger and disease in our lifetime.

We have a plan to get out of Afghanistan with dignity and to rethink our role as peacekeepers and protectors of our own sovereignty. People in poor nations take desperate measures due to extremes of poverty. Economic aid and justice are the best weapons against terror.

Investing in Education:

Our education system needs to be set to meet our future needs. In a country where we are chronically short of doctors, and where the population is aging does it make sense that we can only find 5 students to enter geriatric medicine? Does it make sense that a student should have to go more than 60 and perhaps even as high as 100 thousand in debt to fill these important needs?

Our education policy is about equal opportunity for all. We will provide a program of economic support for every student in post secondary education to ensure that education is accessible for all. Over a period of years we will phase in a tax based program to relieve students of the burden of debt. Providing the graduate stays in Canada for a period of years, and providing the student participates in the tax system, Canadian students will no longer carry debt.

We will renew funding to post secondary institutions for operations and not just capital projects. This program will cover all post secondary education from trade schools to universities.

Our program will feature a “head start†to ensure that young children are given an equal opportunity by recognizing some of the challenges in early years that must be addressed

Health Care

We believe in a One-Tier health care system – BUT - we believe that small business has a key role in the public system. Doctors are one type of small business that already supplies the public system. If it is more cost effective to utilize business in our health care system that is what we should do, providing that health care is still available to all at no cost and that payment will not put someone at the front of the line.

Through our education program we will have more trained medical staff staying in Canada to relieve the severe shortage.

Democratic Deficit, Accountability and Intergrity

Keeping promises is essential to faith in democracy. We propose a Contract with Constituents – we will be clear on what we will promise versus what we will make up our minds on with the facts at some future date. To keep from keeping his promises, Mr. Harper has started a campaign of disinformation on all of these areas. We need to set the records straight

Government needs accountability and an end to patronage. There are too many examples of senior officials and agency appointees who have been “fired†with colossal severance. We need to reward great performance but not poor or substandard performance. Ensuring that accountability is in place is the best way to restore pride in civil service and encourage those who work hard

We need to start keeping our promises by honouring the Kelowna Accord with First Nations; we need to continue what we started by meeting Kyoto Commitments; we must keep our promises with Provincial governments;

Environment

We need to end the culture of defeat on the environment. This is the country that won at Vimy Ridge. We helped with the only battle that Churchill feared to lose – the battle of the Atlantic. We invented peacekeeping. Canada as a nation is at its best when confronted by “impossible†challenges.

Our natural environment is not only a treasure, it is an asset. Water is the oil of the next century…our natural resources have to be protected as they will be our currency on the world stage in the next hundred years. Kyoto is an opportunity to transform our economy, retrofit our infrastructure (especially in cities), clean up our air and water and make this the “wealthiest†country in the world. Sadly, we have to prepare for the impact of global warming while we try to minimize it.

Equality is Not Entitlement but Equality of Opportunity

We need to end some of the shames of aboriginal and child poverty in our country. If we cannot convince Canadians to do this because it’s the right thing to do, we have to make the economic and safety arguments. A dollar invested in crime prevention is equal to seven or more spent on criminal justice systems.

Financial Responsibility

We need to schedule paying off our real debt over the next 25 years. The current government has increased spending at a rate of 8% -- the highest in years.

We spend approximately 25% of our national tax revenues on social programs such as health and education, yet these programs are not federally audited to ensure that your tax dollars are being spent fairly and wisely. It is the duty of the Government of Canada to ensure that all tax dollars collected are spent in a manner that benefits every Canadian. We will institute a “Social Auditor†to track and measure spending in social programs.

Support for Local Municipalities:

Cities, particularly our major cities are a key to our economic prosperity. Aging infrastructure and archaic funding formulas threaten the ability of our cities to compete on a world stage. We support the 1 cent solution brought forward by the country’s mayors.

[mattm]

http://progressivecanadian.ca/english/navigation/policies/policies.html

All that doesn't sound half bad if you ask me. Too bad that not really many people even know of the PCP's (I don't think many do anyway, it's the first time I've heard of them anyway).

Edited September 26, 2008 by Guest

[SaggyBalls]

it was the first I'd heard. There's a PC candidate in my riding.