MAKE POVERTY HISTORY - 2005

Election 2006
The Federal Party Platforms

• Propose that the federal government puts forward a more realistic plan regarding international aid so that it reaches the target set by the UN of 0.7% of the GNP by 2015.

• Endorse “Make Poverty History” platform.

• Endorse “Make Poverty History” platform.

• Provide $2 billion each year for affordable housing.

• Create a Family Tax Credit for families with children.
  • Reform the Employment Insurance system so that it covers more contributors (Dec. 19 letter.)
    
    

• Retain all current commitments up to 2010, i.e., 8% annual increases and the special $500 million increase for 2006/7 and 2007/8. Add $425 million in total up to 2010. Reach the OECD average (currently 0.42%) for aid spending by 2010.
  
  
• Concentrate Canada's foreign aid on fewer countries and in “countries that face genuine poverty and have a sincere desire to pursue human rights and good governance.”
  
  
• “Reverse the recent Liberal trend of taking aid dollars away from Canadian NGOs and giving it to large multilateral organizations.”
  
  
• On HIV/AIDS: “Clearly more needs to be done.” (Dec. 1, Press Release).
  
  
• Double the size and capacity of the Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) based at CFB Kingston, to enhance international disaster relief capability.
  
  

• Concentrate debt relief in countries “that face genuine poverty and have a sincere desire to pursue human rights and good governance.”

• N/A

• Provide families with a new $1200 per year Choice in Child Care Allowance for each child under six, starting in 2006, to supplement the Canada Child Tax Benefit, the National Child Benefit Supplement and the Child Care Expenses Deduction.
  
  
• Invest $250 million annually for five years to help employers and communities create 25,000 new child care spaces per year.
  
  
• Honour the government’s existing one-year bilateral commitments to provinces for institutional child care.
  
  

• Support the provision of royalty-free and low-cost AIDS medicines for Africa, Asia and South America.
  
  
• Increase foreign aid spending to 0.5 per cent of GDP by 2010, and meet Canada's commitment to spend at least 0.7 per cent by 2015.
  
  
• Deliver humanitarian aid and assistance effectively and efficiently.
  
  
• Provide security for international aid and development groups on the ground as well as assist international aid agencies and local authorities in implementing environmental protection and restoration measures.
  
  

• Erase debts with emerging countries that have been in default for over 10 years.
  

• Renegotiate our multilateral trade agreements, such as NAFTA and the upcoming FTAA, to include fair trade tariffs that work to protect human rights and our ecosystems, as well as terminate investor-state dispute mechanisms that erode Canada's sovereignty and environmental laws.
  
  
• Propose a reform of the WTO, the IMF and the World Bank, placing these institutions under the authority of the UN general assembly, and shift the direction of international trade away from "free trade" to "fair trade" focusing on the global protection of human rights, labour standards, cultural diversity, and ecosystems.

• Pass the Canada Well-Being Measurement Act and implement the Canadian Index of Well-being.
  
  
• Create a “Comprehensive Anti-Poverty Strategy for Canada.”
  
  
• Expand child tax credits and benefits.
  
  
• Create tax incentives for businesses to implement flexible schedules and on-site child care.
  
  
• Support a nation-wide healthy lunch and snacks program from K-12.
  
  
• Boost funding for early childhood education and work with other governments to link local childcare and education centres into a national network.
  
  
• Support child-focused programs that boost self-confidence and foster a love of learning.
  
  

• Retain the commitment to increase Canada’s ODA by 8 per cent annually.
  
  
• Establish the Pearson Scholarships ($60 million over five years) that would provide 50 scholarships for scholars from Canada’s 25 development-partner countries to study in Canada, and for 25 Canadians to study abroad in fields such as multilateralism, international development and human rights.

• N/A

• Establish a Corporate Social Responsibility Centre to help ensure Canadian activities in emerging markets foster social and environmental goals.

• Make new investments in early childhood development and address deficiencies in the K-12 system to support Aboriginal children.
  
  
• Extend current commitment of $5 billion over five years for early learning and child care (ELCC) to at least $6 billion from 2010 to 2015.
  
  
• Make “not-for-profit” ELCC facilities eligible for the Canada Strategic Infrastructure Fund and the Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund.
  
  
• Develop a National Quality Framework to support evidence-based benchmarks for future ELCC programs.
  
  

• Endorse “Make Poverty History” platform.
  
  
• Honour the Millennium Development Goals and commit immediately, through a plan, to increase Canada’s aid budget to 0.7% of Canada’s GDP by 2015.
  
  
• Improve our aid effectiveness by strengthening the partnership with civil society, both in Canada and overseas.
  
  
• Introduce legislation before the next federal budget that establishes poverty reduction as the priority for Canada’s Official Development Assistance (ODA).
  
  
• Ensure the increased funding is reflected in the 2006-2007 federal budget.
  
  
• Immediately implement the Pledge to Africa legislation to send drugs to developing countries to support the fight against HIV/AIDS.
  
  

• Endorse “Make Poverty History” platform.
  
  
• Develop an aggressive debt cancellation strategy for eligible countries.
  

• Endorse “Make Poverty History” platform.

• Endorse “Make Poverty History” platform.
  
  
• Increase the Child Tax Benefit by $1,000 per child above currently scheduled increases and inflation adjustments. This will be directed to the first tier of the benefit, which is not subject to clawback of provincial social assistance benefits.
  
  
• Enact legislation to establish an independent Children’s Commissioner to monitor, advocate and recommend on behalf of the rights and welfare of Canada’s children; the Children’s Commissioner shall report annually to Parliament.