NDP 2021 Election Platform Guide

Text courtesy of Macleans Magazine

Taxes

Tax the sale of homes to non-residents by (See Housing) (source)
Introduce a temporary COVID-19 excess profit tax of 15 per cent tax on large corporate windfalls earned during the pandemic (note: the threshold for this is not specified). (source)
Increase the capital gains inclusion rate to 75 per cent. (source)
Boost the top marginal tax rate by two points to 35 per cent for those making over $210,000 a year. (source)
Enact a luxury goods tax on items like yachts and private jets. (source)
Enact a one per cent wealth tax on people with more than $10 million in wealth. (source)
Roll back the three-point cut to corporate income tax enacted by the Harper government, to bring it back to the 2010 level of 18 per cent, while keeping the small business tax rate at its current level. (source)
Close loopholes by eliminating bearer shares, forcing companies to prove economic reasons for offshore transactions and improving transparency on taxes paid by large corporations. (source)
Boost compliance funding to Canada Revenue Agency’s enforcement section for international and corporate taxes. (source)
Make the Canada Caregiver Tax Credit refundable so that low-income recipients benefit. (source)

Economy & Affordability

Expand income security programs, beginning with seniors and people with disabilities, to build toward a point where everyone has access to a guaranteed livable basic income. (source)
Expand domestic manufacturing capacity and supply chains for critical sectors including auto, aerospace, shipbuilding, construction materials, pharmaceuticals and personal protective equipment. (source)
Scrap the Invest in Canada agency in favour of creating iCanada, a “one-stop shop” to attract investors to Canada and boost Canadian industry internationally. (source)
Convene an auto summit with provincial, municipal, industry and labour leaders to develop a National Automotive Strategy to attract and retain jobs and adapt product lines and manufacturing processes to current consumer and industry needs. (source)
Restore the Automotive Innovation Fund and make contributions to automakers tax-free to help boost production capacity. (source)
Waive the federal sales tax on all zero-emissions vehicle purchases and provide additional incentives of up to $15,000 per family for ZEVs made in Canada. (source)
Create a “centre of excellence” for research and development of ZEVs to advance technologies such as hydrogen, batteries and energy storage. (source)
Develop a national industrial strategy to build “an advanced low-carbon manufacturing economy.” (source)
Require the use of Canadian-made steel and aluminum for infrastructure projects. (source)
Enact a price cap on cell phone and internet bills to ensure Canadians don’t pay more than the global average. (source)
Require providers to offer a basic plan for wireless and broadband that is comparable to affordable plans available in other countries. (source)
Require telecom providers to offer unlimited wireless data at affordable rates “as exist elsewhere in the world.” (source)
Abolish data caps for broadband internet. (source)
Introduce a Telecom Consumers’ Bill of Rights. (source)

Jobs & Skills Training

Create more than one million new jobs in the first term by spending on “bold public investments” in clean energy, social infrastructure, energy efficiency and climate resilience. (Note: no spending figure was attached to this item in the platform). (source)
Create a low-income supplement so that anyone using Employment Insurance benefits receives $2,000 a month. (source)
Make EI available to those who quit their job to return to school, provide necessary childcare or protect their health or the health of immunocompromised family members. (source)
Extend EI sickness benefits from 15 weeks to 50. (source)
Create a pilot project to allow people with episodic illnesses and disabilities to use sickness benefits one day at a time. (source)
Restore and make permanent the “extra five weeks” pilot project that allowed workers in seasonal jobs to fill the gap between the end of EI and the beginning of their seasonal work. (source)
Freeze EI premiums until the economy recovers (Note: what that would mean is not specified). (source)
Update the Canada Labour Code to “enhance safeguards for workers.” (source)
Establish a permanent “safety net” of paid sick leave across the country, including allowing workers to take sick leave one or two days at a time, offering full income replacement and reimbursing employers instead of requiring workers to apply for the program. (source)
Legislate “immediately” 10 paid sick days in the Canada Labour Code for federally regulated workplaces. (source)
Prioritize gender-based pay equity, requiring employers to be transparent about pay, and implement and enforce legislation and regulations. (source)
Update the Canada Labour Code to provide 10 days of paid leave for people dealing with family and domestic violence. (source)
Establish anti-scab legislation that will ban the use of replacement workers in the event of a labour dispute. (source)
Create a hiring bonus in which the federal government covers the employer’s share of employment insurance and Canada Pension Plan premiums for new hires or laid-off employees who are rehired. (source)
Require large employers to spend at least one per cent of payroll on employee training each year. (source)
Create a “workers development and opportunities fund” to expand training options beyond people who qualify for EI, providing dedicated support for marginalized workers, people in transitioning sectors and efforts to boost literacy and essential skills. (source)

Small Business

Continue wage and rent subsidies for small businesses until they can fully reopen from the pandemic. (source)
Establish a hiring bonus in which the government will pay the employer portion of EI and Canada Pension Plan for new and rehired staff. (source)
Cap credit card merchant fees at one per cent. (source)
Streamline access to government export services to help small businesses access foreign markets. (source)

Deficits & Debt

Ensure Canada’s long-term finances are fiscally sustainable according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer’s fiscal sustainability measures. (source)
Broadly, the party says its platform and spending commitments will be financed by reforming the tax system so that big corporations and wealth individuals pay more.(source)

Health

Establish prescription drug coverage for every Canadian citizen and permanent resident starting in 2022, using $10 billion in federal funds and working with the provinces. (source)
Work with provinces to develop public infrastructure for secure, accessible virtual health care. (source)
Identify impending gaps and make a plan to recruit and train the medical professionals who will be needed. (source)
Regulate natural health products with stand-alone legislation. (source)
End private, for-profit long-term care and bring these facilities under “the public umbrella.” (source)
Develop national standards for home care and long-term care, regulated by the same principles as the Canada Health Act, with funding tied to meeting standards, and a basket of core home care services that would be covered by provincial insurance plans. (source)
Work with provinces to create a “roadmap” to incorporating universal dental care into the public healthcare system. (source)
Establish mental health care for uninsured Canadians. (source)
Establish a national perinatal mental health strategy to support families before and after the birth of a child. (source)
Declare a public health emergency on the opioid crisis. (source)
Work with provinces and healthcare professionals to create a safe supply of medically regulated alternatives to street drugs, support overdose prevention sites and expand access to treatment on demand. (source)
Launch an investigation into the role of drug companies in the crisis and seek financial compensation for the public costs. (source)
Strengthen the Accessibility Act to cover all federal agencies equally, with the power to make and enforce accessibility standards quickly. (source)
Expand income security programs so that everyone with a disability has a guaranteed livable income. (source)
Develop and implement a national Autism strategy to coordinate support for research, provide access to needs-based service, promote employment and expand housing options. (source)
Enforce the Canada Health Act to require all provinces to make medical and surgical abortion available in all areas of the country. (source)
End the ban on blood donation by men who have sex with other men, moving instead to behaviour-based screening based on public health evidence. (source)
Work with provinces to ensure equal access to gender-confirming surgery and medication and that these services are covered by public health plans. (source)

Public Health & Pandemic Preparedness

Establish a Crown corporation in charge of domestic vaccine production. (source)
Protect in law the independence of the Chief Public Health Officer and require them to report annually to Parliament with recommendations to improving the country’s emergency preparedness. (source)

Food Security & Hunger

Partner with provinces and municipalities to establish a national school nutrition program that will provide every child with healthy food and food literacy skills. (source)

Climate Change & Environment

Set a target of reducing carbon emissions to 50 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, getting there by eliminating fossil fuel subsidies, enacting carbon budgets on a national and sectoral basis and redrawing the mandate of the Bank of Canada, the Export Development Canada Act and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Act to align them with a net-zero target. (source)
Retrofit all buildings in Canada by 2050, beginning with all buildings built before 2020 in the next 20 years, along with requiring large-scale building retrofits in all sectors. (source)
Create a National Crisis Strategy to help communities—particularly vulnerable, remote and Indigenous ones—reduce and react to climate risks and extreme weather, with long-term funding for adaptation, disaster mitigation and climate-resilient infrastructure. (source)
Permanently double the Canada Community-Building Fund and develop a public inner-city bus program. (source)
Set a target of net carbon-free electricity by 2030, ramping up to completely non-emitting electricity by 2040. (source)
Enact an Environmental Bill of Rights that enshrines the right to a healthy environment. (source)
Beef up the Canadian Environmental Protection Act to better protect people against toxic substances in common products like cosmetics. (source)
Immediately ban single-use plastics and protect workers in that sector by supporting a transition for these facilities to make new products. (source)
Enact new legislation to ban the export of plastic waste and reduce electronic waste by removing unnecessary restrictions preventing people from repairing devices. (source)
Launch a 10-year nature plan to reverse species loss and curb the import and domestic trade of wild animals. (source)
Force oil companies to pay to clean up inactive wells, creating jobs in the process. (source)
Develop a national food waste strategy to reduce the amount of food currently ending up in the garbage. (source)
Protect 30 per cent of the country’s land, freshwater and oceans by 2030. (source)
Offer low-interest loans to households making energy-efficient improvements, with targeted supports for low-income households and renters. (source)
Create a Civilian Climate Corps with jobs for young people performing conservation work such as restoring wetlands and planting billions of trees. (source)
Update the National Building Code to ensure that by 2025, every new building in Canada is net-zero. (source)
Establish a Canadian Climate Bank to boost investment in renewable energy, energy efficiency and low-carbon technology, support provinces interested in inter-connecting their power grids and implementing smart grid technology and support made-in-Canada manufacturing of renewable energy components and technology to scale up Canada’s clean energy industry. (source)
Create and fund a Climate Accountability Office to independently oversee federal climate progress, engage with the public and make recommendations on achieving targets. (source)
Appoint a Climate Emergency Committee of Cabinet and establish a Climate Emergency Secretariat in the PMO. (source)
Create an Office of Environmental Justice to address the disproportionate effects of environmental damage on low-income, radicalized and otherwise marginalized communities. (source)

Indigenous Affairs

Fully implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action. (source)
Work with Indigenous peoples to co-develop a National Action Plan for Reconciliation to ensure that the country’s laws, policies and practices follow human rights commitments, including cultural and land rights and rights to self-determination and self-government, and establish through legislation a National Council for Reconciliation to provide oversight and accountability for this process. (source)
Provide funds to communities to commemorate a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. (source)
Fully fund the search for gravesites at former residential schools, along with the maintenance, commemoration, reburial and protection of residential school cemeteries and establishing memorials to those who died. (source)
Appoint a special prosecutor to pursue those who enacted harm in residential schools, and require churches and governments hand over all records that may assist in identifying children in unmarked graves or identifying those who were involved in their deaths. (source)
Implement the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal orders that require the government to equally fund child welfare services on reserves, work to implement the Spirit Bear Plan and immediately end government litigation against Indigenous children. (source)
Fully implement Jordan’s Principle, working with provinces to end delays and ensure access to health and educational services, end the court challenge and ensure Jordan’s Principle applies to children living off-reserve as well. (source)
Work with Indigenous communities to implement a co-developed and fully-funded Indigenous National Housing Strategy within the first 100 days in office. (source)
Expand financial assistance for post-secondary education for Indigenous children who grew up in care. (source)
Work with the provinces to establish Indigenous history education programs based on the TRC’s Calls to Action, and ensure the development and implementation of these programs is led by Indigenous people. (source)
Build a treatment centre for residents affected by long-term mercury exposure, and compensate families affected by mercury poisoning in Grassy Narrows. (source)
Create a Northern Infrastructure Fund to fast-track investment to improve infrastructure such as roads and broadband internet. (source)
Implement the Calls for Justice from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, including establishing a comprehensive plan to address violence and ensure that anyone fleeing it has access to culturally appropriate programming, emergency shelters and transitional housing. (source)
Ensure full gender equality for First Nations status so that Indigenous women can pass on the ability to qualify for Indian status registration to their children. (source)

Race Relations & Justice

Ensure that all major cities have dedicated hate crime units in their local police forces and convene a national working group on online hate, ensuring that social media platforms are legally responsible for removing hateful and extremist content. (source)
Prioritize the collection of race-based data on health, employment, policing and other areas with the goal of improving outcomes, working with the province to improve data collection and develop reporting and accountability measures. (source)
Ban carding by the RCMP and work with local partners to end this practice in all jurisdictions in the country. (source)
Create a national task force to develop a “roadmap” to end the overrepresentation of Indigenous and Black Canadians in the federal prison population. (source)
Establish a First Nations justice and policing strategy and make policing an essential service with long-term, sufficient and equitable funding, while also allowing Inuit to independently oversee policing in Nunavut. (source)
Conduct a review of existing employment equity rules in order to close the radicalized wage gap, strengthening labour laws and ensuring equitable hiring in the federal public service and in federally regulated industries. (source)
Implement a federal use-of-force standard with a zero-tolerance policy for inappropriate use of force by police. (source)
Create a national action plan to deal with white supremacist and neo-Nazi organizations and dismantle far-right extremist groups, including establishing national standards for identifying and recording hate incidents and their movement through the justice system. (source)
Proactively expunge criminal records for people convicted of minor cannabis possession. (source)
Increase federal funding to legal aid programs across the country. (source)
Remove most mandatory minimum sentences, increase the sentencing discretion of judges, ensure bail programs are culturally appropriate, boost funding for restorative justice programs and ensure Gladue principles are upheld in court proceedings. (source)
Deliver a National Action Plan to end gender-based violence, with funding for shelters services and other programs in all areas of the country, especially those that have been lacking them. (source)
Ban conversion therapy and work with provinces and territories to eliminate this practice in all regions. (source)
Add sexual orientation, gender identity and expression to the Employment Equity Act to address the disadvantages—particularly for transgender people—in finding work. (source)
Establish a clear and permanent path to resettlement for LGBTQI2S+ refugees (See Immigration) (source)
Ensure that justices on the Supreme Court are bilingual. (source)

Immigration & Refugees

End the cap on family reunification applications to sponsor parents and grandparents and reduce the backlogs there. (source)
Provide government regulation for the immigration consultant industry. (source)
Establish a clear and permanent path to resettlement for LGBTQI2S+ refugees to replace the current patchwork system that deals with emergency cases. (source)

Democracy & Governance

Introduce legislation to encourage political parties to run more women candidates. (source)
Enhance the Action Plan for Official Languages to improve access to services, including working with provinces to improve minority language education and attracting more French-speaking immigrants to communities across the country. (source)
Modernize the Official Languages Act to strengthen oversight and accountability, expand language rights and endure that minority language communities are consulted about decisions. (source)
Enact tougher penalties within the Conflict of Interest Act and fully ban cash-for-access events to prohibit government officials from accepting private donations from anyone with private interest in government decisions. (source)
Prohibit corporations facing criminal charges from lobbying elected officials. (source)
Work with provinces toward abolishing the Senate, and in the meantime change the rules so that unelected Senators can’t hold up legislation that has been already adopted by Members of Parliament. (source)
Introduce an ethical, social and environmental screen on government procurement. (source)
Empower the Auditor General to review government advertising to ensure it is non-partisan. (source)
Bring in mixed-member proportional representation voting within the first mandate, establishing an independent citizen’s assembly to recommend the best way to implement this; after Canadians experience voting under the new system, call a referendum to confirm the choice. (source)
Lower the voting age to 16. (source)
Update privacy legislation to include a digital bill of privacy rights and boost the power of the Privacy Commissioner to make and enforce orders and enact penalties. (source)
Establish a Service Guarantee in which government departments must establish and publish “binding service standards” for programs such as Employment Insurance, veterans support, Indigenous services, passports and Canada Revenue Agency call centres; Ministers would be held responsible for these targets. (source)
Enact legislation to prevent credit and debit card companies from selling consumers’ personal information. (source)
Create a Fair Gasoline Prices Watchdog to investigate complaints about pump prices, and boost the Competition Bureau’s ability to investigate anti-competitive activity in the gas market. (source)

National Defence

Renew the priority on advancing multilateral peacekeeping around the world. (source)
Bring domestic search and rescue response times up to international standards and ensure they are capable of serving the needs of the North. (source)
Oppose the privatization of services on Canadian Armed Forces bases. (source)
Make mental health supports for military members and their families a priority. (source)
Implement the recommendations in the Deschamps Report on sexual harassment and assault in the military, including establishing independent oversight and accountability. (source)

Public Safety & National Security

Work with international allies and enhance real-time oversight of security services while respecting the Charter and privacy rights of Canadians in dealing with foreign interference and espionage, terrorism and cybercrime. (source)
Strengthen protection for Canadians who are victims of foreign interference and threats. (source)

Infrastructure

Restore door-to-door mail delivery “to all communities that lost it under the Conservative government.” (source)
Declare high-speed internet an essential service and ensure every Canadian has access to reliable high-speed broadband within four years, on the way to establishing a Crown corporation to deliver “quality, affordable telecom services” everywhere. (source)
Develop an inter-city bus system to replace lost Greyhound routes. (source)
Support creating high-frequency rail along the Quebec-Windsor corridor (Note: no specific information was provided). (source)
Work with Canada Post to develop a “postal banking” model that would bring banking services to the 1,200 rural communities that have a post office but no financial services. (source)
Create a “new deal” for rural infrastructure programs to provide long-term predictable funding , along with increasing funding from the federal government to deal with the effects of climate change and disaster recovery. (source)

Housing

Work toward ending homelessness within a decade. (source)
Spend $14 billion building 500,000 units of affordable housing in the next 10 years—half of them in the next five. (source)
Establish “fast-start funds” to streamline the application process to stimulate the creation of more co-op and non-profit social housing. (source)
Enact a 20 per cent Foreign Buyer’s Tax on the sale of homes to non-Canadian citizens or permanent residents. (source)
Implement a 20 per cent foreign buyers’ tax. (See Taxes) (source)
Waive the federal portion of the GST/HST on the construction of new affordable rental units. (source)
Reintroduce 30-year terms for mortgages backed by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation for “entry-level homes,” which the party says will allow for smaller monthly payments. (source)
Double the Home Buyer’s Tax Credit to $1,500. (source)
Provide model co-ownership agreements and offer CMHC-backed mortgages for co-ownership of homes. (source)
Establish a “public beneficial ownership registry” to increase transparency about property ownership, with the aim of fighting money laundering, and require the reporting of suspicious transactions. (source)

Retirement & Seniors

Spend $5 billion on long-term care systems across the country in the first mandate and commit to increasing the Health Transfer. (source)
Create a national task force to transition all long-term care to non-profit within a decade, and immediately turn the Revera for-profit chain into a publicly managed entity. (source)
Set national standards for long-term care and make that $5 billion in federal funding contingent on meeting them. (source)
Ensure that unfunded pension liabilities and severance pay are top priorities when a company goes bankrupt. (source)
Stop companies from paying out dividends and bonuses when pensions are under-funded and create a mandatory industry-funded pension insurance program. (source)
Create a pension advisory commission to develop a long-term plan to enhance Old Age Security, boost the Guaranteed Income Supplement and strengthen the Canada Pension Plan. (source)
Make automatic enrolment in Old Age Security and Guaranteed Income Supplement retroactive. (source)
Create a National Seniors Strategy working with the provinces to prioritize senior health care, reduce isolation and poverty, along with a funded national dementia strategy and an elder abuse prevention plan. (source)

Child Care

Provide relief funds to re-open non-profit childcare centres that closed during COVID-19. (source)
Work with the provinces to build a universal $10 per day childcare system (Note: there is no monetary figure attached to this pledge). (source)
Create a special new parental leave that allows parents to take a shorter leave at a higher financial replacement rate. (source)
Allow self-employed workers to opt-in to parental benefits at any point before taking leave. (source)
Double the length of parental leave for parents of multiples. (source)

Education

Remove interest permanently on all federal student loans. (source)
Give new graduates a five-year moratorium on student loan payments. (source)
Permanently double non-repayable Canada Student Grants. (source)
Eliminate interest from federal student loans and introduce a “targeted debt forgiveness program that forgives up to $20,000 in student debt. (source)
Work with provinces to cap and reduce tuition fees, “building toward” making post-secondary education free and part of the public education system. (source)

Veterans

Provider one caseworker for every 25 veterans to reduce backlogs and improve service. (source)
Automatically carry forward all annual lapsed spending for Veterans Affairs and use it to improve services. (source)
Make the position of Veterans Ombudsman fully independent so they can report directly to Canadians. (source)

Arts & Culture

Modernize the Broadcasting Act to level the playing field between Canadian broadcasters and foreign streaming services like Netflix. (source)
Increase funding for Telefilm, the Canada Media Fund and CBC/Radio-Canada. (source)
Support Canadian media to help with digital transitions. (source)
Support Indigenous theatre at the National Arts Centre. (source)
Enact income tax averaging for artists and cultural workers to help with the challenges in making a living. (source)

Agriculture

Create a Canadian Food Strategy to address regional needs and priorities by investing in agricultural communities, supporting new farmers and ensuring that rural livelihoods are sustainable. (source)

Protect supply management and ensure reciprocity in trade negotiations. (source)

Introduce a payment protection program for produce growers and restore protection for growers selling to the U.S. under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act. (source)

Implement the recommendations of the Cohen Commission to support the transition to land-based closed-containment systems for Pacific wild salmon. (source)

Foreign Affairs

Boost Canada’s international aid contributions to 0.7 per cent of gross national income. (source)
Stand up to China with a strong and coherent strategy to defend Canadian interests, working with allies to craft a robust and coordinated international response, stand with Hong Kong pro-democracy asylum seekers and provide coordinated support for those facing threats by Chinese entities in Canada. (source)
Contribute more to The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and support health care systems in developing countries. (source)
Support nuclear disarmament, recommit to peacekeeping and ensure Canadian-made weapons are not fuelling conflict and human rights abuses in other countries. (source)
Work toward a “just and lasting” two-state solution between Israel and Palestine that respects human rights and upholds international law. (source)
Take on a leadership role in helping low-income countries deal with the effects of climate change. (source)

International Trade

Improve the transparency of proposed trade agreements so citizens can understand the terms and have a say before they are signed. (source)
Ensure all trade deals follow the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. (source)
Modernize Canada’s trade remedy system and ensure that unions have full standing in cases and the ability to initiate trade disputes. (source)

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