MOVING CANADA FORWARD: THE PAUL MARTIN PLAN FOR GETTING THINGS DONE PLATFORM BULLETINS MOVING CANADA FORWARD PLATFORM BULLETINS Table of Contents I – Strengthening Canada’s Social Foundations 1. Building a Sustainable Society 2. Improving Higher Education 3. Engaging Young Canadians 4. Our Society: A Celebration of Culture and Sport 5. Bilingualism 6. A Diverse and Multicultural Society 7. Creating Opportunity for New Canadians 8. Providing Shelter: Social and Affordable Housing 9. Respecting Our Obligations to Seniors, People with Disabilities and Family Caregivers 10. Safe Streets, Safe Communities 11. The Voluntary Sector and the Social Economy II – Building a 21st Century Economy 1. Focus on the Automotive Sector 2. Skills and Training 3. Focus on Small and Medium-Sized Businesses 4. Securing Canada’s Energy Future 5. Supporting Canada’s Farmers 6. Supporting Canada’s Fisheries 7. A Northern Vision III – Canada in the World: A Place of Pride and Influence 1. National Security Policy for the 21st Century 2. Focus on Trade and Investment 3. Supporting Canada’s Veterans MOVING CANADA FORWARD This election campaign is defined by a fundamental question that will be answered by you and by all Canadians: what kind of Canada do you want? We find ourselves at a fortunate moment, when many of the traditional barriers to getting important things done in this country have become less formidable. Thanks to the efforts of millions of Canadians, we have achieved a real economic turnaround. Old insecurities about the Canadian identity have been replaced by increasing confidence, pride and ambition. As a people, we know what we can do and we know how to do it. We just want to get on with it. The past decade has been one of extraordinary achievement for Canada and for Canadians. Our economy has grown strongly, and more than two million immigrants have come to Canada over the past ten years – people who have freely chosen Canada over all other countries in the world. Canadians have achieved global success in the arts, in science, in sports and in business. The time is right for meaningful changes and important reforms. You, and all Canadians, have been telling governments to get serious about dealing with issues such as health care, learning and the quality of life in our communities. In our main policy platform, we have outlined for you and for all Canadians how a Liberal government will respond to your top priorities – starting with Canada’s publicly-funded health care system. Fixing Canada’s health care system for a generation will require a commitment from the federal and provincial/territorial governments. This is, and will remain, our top priority. At the same time, other important initiatives to strengthen our social foundations, build a 21st century economy, and establish for Canada a place of pride and influence in the world will also move forward. This document outlines the broader range of policies and priorities of a Liberal government. In many cases, they seek to build on successful first steps, to continue a Canadian tradition of focused improvements in key areas. In other cases, we have new initiatives that will be led by Canadians, with government playing only a supporting role. As circumstances warrant, these priorities will need to be balanced against our most pressing needs and our unwavering commitment to fiscal prudence. We cannot deliver on the things we all care about without your vote. Meaningful changes require a strong mandate from voters. A determined, focused government, with a broad base of support among Canadians, can get important things done. The summaries that follow will, we hope, provide you with further details of our overall plan to move Canada forward. We believe this election is about choosing your vision for the future of Canada. We hope that, after reading this document, you will choose the plan for Canada we have put forward. Paul Martin STRENGTHENING CANADA’S SOCIAL FOUNDATIONS What do we want? A Canada where no individual, no community, no region is denied the opportunity to fully participate in the building of an even greater nation. Reply to the Speech from the Throne, February 3, 2004 Canada’s social programs – our belief that we have a collective responsibility to one another and especially to those who need help most – speak to our national values and character. They are part of what makes us Canadian. Strengthening our social programs is a fundamental part of the Liberal government’s plan for Canada. Our main platform highlights our intentions to fix health care for a generation, to bring early learning and child care to more Canadian families, to respect our obligations with respect to seniors, people with disabilities and their caregivers, and to securing the place of Aboriginal peoples in Canada. A Liberal government will strengthen and enhance Canada’s social foundations. We will work with partners – other levels of government, the private sector, the voluntary sector and other stakeholders – to bring lasting, meaningful reforms to those social programs Canadians value and cherish. Our emphasis on these major priority areas does not relieve the government of the responsibility to respond to other social policy challenges. Our plans with respect to these other issues follow. BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY THE LIBERAL PERSPECTIVE The tide of global population growth and the imperatives of economic development for all countries make sustainable development a challenge of national and global magnitude and a priority for Liberals. We are striving toward a truly sustainable society, where the goals of economic development, social progress, and environmental protection are integrated and pursued with equal vigour. Liberals see the balance of goals as vital to the future of our own country and the world. As stewards of a vast geography and abundant resources, Canadians must accept responsibility for meeting the environmental challenges of the 21st Century. THE LIBERAL POLICY The Liberal government has already made significant progress, with the following initiatives and activities: • Ratified the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, as well as the United Nations Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants; • Announced in 2003, a five-year, $2 billion initiative to address the climate change challenge. This includes $1.7 billion over five years to support partnership, innovation and targeted measures to promote energy efficiency, renewable energy, sustainable transportation and alternative energy sources; • Announced a 10-year, $3.5 billion program to clean up federal contaminated sites, augmented by a $500 million program for the remediation of certain other sites, notably the Sydney tar ponds; • Created the $250 million Green Municipal Funds Program which has already supported more than 60 water projects in municipalities across Canada and has leveraged $1 billion in total investment in environmental infrastructure; • Invested in new environmental technologies, to be further supported through the proceeds from the intended sale of the federal government’s stake in Petro-Canada. All told, the Government will invest at least $1 billion in environmental technologies over the next seven years; • Launched the $120 million Clean Air Action Plan, a 10-year regulatory road map promoting cleaner vehicles and fuels, reduction of smog-causing emissions from industrial sectors, and expanded public reporting by industry on pollutant releases; • Committed $210 million to further develop Canada’s leadership in hydrogen energy; • Implemented new regulations limiting the sulphur content of gasoline; • Removed federal taxes at the pump on ethanol and encouraged the commercialization of new ethanol fuel technologies; • Reached agreement with the United States on the Border Air Quality Strategy to jointly create pilot projects to improve air quality; • Created the Great Lakes Sustainability Fund, at a cost of $30 million, to restore and clean-up pollution hot spots in the Great Lakes Basin, and • Announced a program to develop environmental and sustainable development indicators, in collaboration with Statistics Canada, so as to improve Canada’s ability to measure its progress on improving the environment. These and other initiatives constitute significant achievements and contributions toward making Canada a sustainable society, but more needs to be done. One priority is to make Canada a world leader in wind energy utilization. We propose a three part plan: • Encourage investment – A Liberal government will quadruple the objectives of the existing Wind Power Production Incentive (WPPI) from its current 1,000 megawatts (MW) target to a 4,000 MW target. • Develop the market – We will promote the benefits and cost-effectiveness of wind power to increase consumer demand through a public education program and support for the stated targets. • Promote R&D – We will increase support for R&D on clean energy sources generally, and particularly for wind power. We will create a Canadian National Wind Atlas, a crucially important data source for determining the optimal locations for wind farms. IMPROVING HIGHER EDUCATION THE LIBERAL PERSPECTIVE Education is a key to ensuring Canadians succeed both in their lives and in the 21st century, knowledge-based economy. The majority of jobs and many of the best paying ones require some form of post- secondary education. It is estimated that by 2011, almost two-thirds of all jobs will be filled by people with higher education credentials. Canada’s productivity also increasingly relies