Posted by Joanna Smith, Ottawa Bureau
As the New Democratic leadership race picks up pace this winter, more and more candidates are releasing more and more policy proposals to let members know where they stand on given issues. I wanted to collect them in a central place to help me compare/contrast/keep track of them and figured I might as well share it with you.
Below is what I hope is a comprehensive list of policy proposals on a number of issues the candidates have released so far. I will try to update this list regularly as more are released. Please note there is no analysis here, and the summaries are more like keywords to help me sort them out. I have provided links to the campaign websites so that you can refer to the primary sources for more details. Please also note that I tried to keep this list to actual proposals (with varying levels of detail) and excluded vague "calls" for this or that or general statements on the topic of the day. The candidates are listed in alphabetical order.
I hope you find this useful as the race progresses. Please feel free to tell everyone what you think of them (and let me know if I am missing any) in the comments section.
ECONOMY/JOBS
Paul Dewar: Dec. 2 - national infrastructure program, support for small and medium-sized businesses, promote renewable energy industries, better national training program for youth
HEALTH CARE
Niki Ashton: Jan. 11 - national standards, Pharmacare, accessible dental care, more focus on primary care teams, rural health care, strategy to improve health in First Nations, Metis and LGBT community.
Paul Dewar: Nov. 24 - include hospitals and health equipment in proposed permanent national infrastructure program
Peggy Nash: Feb. 23 - federal support for midwifery in First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities, Expand the role of midwives in maternal and newborn healthservices at the federal level
Martin Singh: national pharmaceutical strategy that includes pharmacare and bulk purchasing
Brian Topp: Jan. 26 - home and community care accord, national pharmaceutical accord (to supplement newly negotiated health accord), national child nutrition program
ENVIRONMENT/ENERGY
Thomas Mulcair: Dec. 8 - cap and trade plan that includes all major sources of emissions and uses revenue to help families reduce energy use and costs
Peggy Nash: Jan. 18 - focus on cities and green jobs, national transit strategy with 10-year funding horizon, new Canada Green Buildings fund, permanent inventory of pre-approved green infrastructure projects and speed up funding to stimulate economy when needed, mandate CMHC to support investments in energy efficiency, revise national building and energy codes and bring all federal buildings up to these higher standards and Feb. 23 - reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent 1990 levels by 2050, cap-and-trade system, restore ecoENERGY Retrofit with focus on low-income housing and new financing options for single-family homes, direct incentives for renewable energy technology, end federal subsidies for oil and gas sector, enhance Canadian Environmental Assessment Act and Species at Risk Act
DEMOCRATIC REFORM
Paul Dewar: Dec. 7 - Link per-vote subsidy to number of female candidates
Brian Topp: Jan. 10 - abolish or reduce power of Senate, mixed-member proportional representation, forbid prime minister from asking for a prorogation to avoid a confidence vote
FOREIGN AFFAIRS/INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Niki Ashton: Jan. 25 - Remake the Canadian International Development Agency (perhaps renaming it Solidarity Canada) and give it the mandate to reduce poverty in the poorest countries
Nathan Cullen: Dec. 21 - includes renegotiating trade agreements to include "real" labour and environmental standards, ensuring Canadian goods have access to foreign markets for new agreements and building support for a currency speculation tax and Feb. 19 - modernize Investment Canada Act to block foreign takeovers in key sectors without transparent net benefit to Canada
Romeo Saganash: long-term, preventative, global approach to diplomacy
FOREIGN INVESTMENT
Niki Ashton: Dec. 21 - lower dollar value for screening
EDUCATION
FAMILIES/CHILDREN
Peggy Nash: Jan. 26 - policy framework and funding commitments to guide provinces/territories in developing and maintaining more and better early childhood education and care (ECEC) programs.
Brian Topp: Jan. 26 - national child nutrition program, reverse moratorium on family reunification applications (and clear up backlog)
ARCTIC/NORTHERN CANADA
WATER
ARTS AND CULTURE
MUNICIPALITIES
Paul Dewar: Oct. 24 - give municipalities a seat at the table for federal/provincial/territorial negotiations that affect their interests.
Thomas Mulcair: Feb. 19 - dedicate one additional cent from the gas tax to public transit in municipalities, devote $500 million annually to public transit and eventually increase to $2 billion annually and Feb. 21 - make co-op housing a priority and reinvest in rental housing through Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation
AGRICULTURE/RURAL CANADA
PENSIONS
Brian Topp: Jan. 26 - double CPP (discuss parallel reinforcements for QPP with Quebec), reinforce Old Age Security program
LABOUR
INNOVATION
Martin Singh: national strategy for innovation and entrepreneurship
WOMEN
Paul Dewar: Feb. 1 - new proactived pay equity law and expand pay equity coverage to include women, Aboriginals, workers with disabilities and workers of colour, national child care plan
LGBTQ

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