With the news this morning that an Angus Reid poll found that a Liberal-NDP coalition government headed by Jack Layton would defeat the Tories by 43 – 37 per cent, I got to thinking about what a Layton prime ministership would look like.
A cursory stroll through their election platform shows that an NDP-led government will do a whole lotta investing. This includes, but is not limited to, new energy solutions, affordable housing, education and training for workers and young people, more doctors and nurses, cheaper prescription drugs, home care, community centres and recreational facilities, income stabilization programs for farmers, higher safety standards for all forms of transportation, habitat protection and salmon enhancement, the forestry sector, post-secondary institutions, Icebreakers for the Canadian Arctic, Canada’s contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (a threefold increase no less), a pan-Canadian broadband strategy and so on……
From the looks of these points and the rest of the profligate platform, the NDP-led government is going to be a benefit bonanza.
How are these exuberant fiscal pledges going to be achieved you ask. No problem – Prime Minister Layton has a two-point plan:
- Raise taxes on corporations
- Stop the gouging of consumers by Canadian companies (who sets the criteria for distinguishing between profit and gouging is TBD)
With all these goodies at stake, here’s to hoping the Liberal-NDP coalition led by Mr. Layton get’s a kick at the can.
