How do the other parties’ promises and platforms stack up against Vote Better, OPSEU’s election platform?
We’ve gone through their promises and platforms and compared them to the eight main subject areas in Vote Better:
Economy
Vote Better
Stopping privatization and P3s will save us billions of dollars — savings we can use to invest in a better Ontario. We need a moratorium on new privatization, and a cost-benefit analysis of all current privatizations and P3s, including hydro and the sale of alcohol in grocery stores.
Liberal Party
- Maintain low taxes for corporations and high-income earners
- Continued use of privatization and P3s
- Deficits of $6 billion a year to 2021. Auditor General says budget won’t likely return to balance by 2025
- Leave Hydro One private. Temporarily reduce rates by 25% for four years (but internal Liberal documents show rates will skyrocket by 50% over four following years)
New Democratic Party
- Small tax increases for large corporations and high-income earners (including a small tax on $90k+ luxury vehicles)
- End costly privatizations and P3s
- Deficits of $4.4 – $6.4 billion to 2021, shrinking to $3.3 billion by 2023
- Make Hydro public again, reducing rates by an average of 30%
Conservative Party
- During the PC leadership race, Doug Ford said he would leave “no stone unturned” searching for privatization opportunities
- $6 billion in public service funding cuts
- Cut corporate and income taxes
- No platform so no deficit projections
- Leave Hydro One private. Fire CEO, costing millions in dismissal fees. Temporarily reduce rates by 30% for 4 years (but rising 50% over following 4 years)
Jobs
Vote Better
Ending precarious work and investing in pay equity will reduce poverty and inequality and all the damage they do to our communities. We need a decent minimum wage, safe workplaces, and the freedom to join a union.
Liberal Party
- Raise minimum wage to $15 in 2019, but no plan for further increases tied to inflation
- No plan to make the unionization process more fair
New Democratic Party
- Raise minimum wage to $15 in 2019 and raise it by the inflation rate every year after
- Make it easier for workers to join unions by re-establishing fair “card-check” system
- Give all workers at least three weeks vacation
Conservative Party
- Scrap minimum wage increases but exempt minimum wage workers from paying income tax
- No plan to make unionization process more fair
Health Care
Vote Better
Investing properly in health care will ease wait times and overcrowding in hospitals, home care, and long-term care. Stable, long-term funding is key — we must have guaranteed annual health investment increases tied to the health care inflation rate.
Liberal Party
$7 billion for: hospital care and infrastructure; mental health, a registered nurse in every long-term care home; dental care for lowest-incomes; drug coverage for those younger than 25 and older than 65
New Democratic Party
- End costly and low-quality privatizations and P3s
- 5.3% investment increase this year; annual inflation increases after
- Eliminate wait times for home care and palliative care
- $19 billion for: 2,000 new hospital beds, 15,000 new long-term care beds, hiring 4,500 nurses in first year
- Guaranteed access to affordable dental care for all Ontarians
- Universal Pharmacare on 125 essential medications for all Ontarians
Conservative Party
- $1.9 billion for: mental health over 10 years, 15,000 long-term care beds (with another 15,000 within 10 years)
- Outlaw safe-injection sites
Education
Vote Better
Guaranteeing every Ontarian access to quality education — from grade school to college and university — will ensure we are ready for the jobs and the economy of the future. Public school classes must be properly staffed, and college and university should be free.
Liberal Party
- $16.9 billion to fix crumbling schools and education funding and special education programs
- Over 225,000 college and university students to receive free tuition, and another 175,000 to receive grants and loans.
- Increase apprenticeship spots by 15,000
New Democratic Party
- End privatizations and P3s
- Impose a moratorium on school closings
- Convert all student debt to grants and retroactively forgive student loan interest
- $16 billion to fix crumbling schools
- End standardized testing
Conservative Party
- Scrap health and sex education curriculum that has been used since 2005.
- Scrap modern math teaching techniques
- Expand university bureaucracy to investigate “free speech violations”
Society
Vote Better
Fostering equality and diversity will keep our communities safe, caring, and healthy. By investing in community services, universal public child care, and affordable housing, we will ensure our prosperity is fairly shared regardless of age, race, religion, or where you live.
Liberal Party
- $2.2 billion for full-day daycare for kids older than two-and-a half by 2020
- Privatized grocery alcohol sales; public cannabis sales
- Continued rent control
- 3% increase for those receiving Ontario Works and OntarioDisability Support Program
New Democratic Party
- End privatizations and P3s
- End police use of “carding”
- 15% reduction to auto insurance rates
- $10 billion for 200,000 new child care spots at $12/day or free for those earning less than $40k
- No expansion of alcohol sales in grocery stores
- Adequate public sale of cannabis to curb black market
- 65,000 new affordable housing units; ongoing rent control
- 5% increases for ODSP and 5%+ increases for Ontario Works
Conservative Party
- Further privatize alcohol sales by allowing the sale of beer and wine in more grocery stores and in convenience stores; mixed message on cannabis sales, telling some reporters he’ll privatize cannabis sales and others that he’ll leave it under public management
- Scrap rent control
- Reduce price of gas by 10 cents a litre by cutting cap-and-trade, fuel tax
- Cover up to $6,750 for child care costs—lower-income families pay 25% of care
- costs
Environment
Vote Better
Protecting the environment will bolster our economy and improve the lives of all Ontarians. We must ensure every community has access to clean water and clear air, and shares fairly in the benefits from sustainable resources.
Liberal Party
- Maintain cap-and-trade system to charge corporations for climate-change emissions
- $1.7 billion over three years to support energy-saving programs, development of new environmental technologies and to promote urban cycling
New Democratic Party
- Maintain cap-and-trade system to charge corporations for climate change emissions
- Ensure all communities have safe drinking water
- $50 million to encourage efficient home upgrades
- Clean up English–Wabigoon River and help those afflicted
Conservative Party
- Scrap Ontario’s Green Energy Act and restrictions on polluters by ending Ontario’s existing cap-and-trade system and opposing federal carbon tax
- Before the campaign, Ford told developers he’d scrap the Green Belt, but during the campaign he told reporters he’d protect it
Northern & Rural Communities
Vote Better
Investing in rural and northern communities will pay long-term dividends. When our farming and resource communities have safe roads, good health care, quality schools, and accessible services, their economies thrive, boosting the economy of the entire province.
Liberal Party
- Prioritize Northern communities in hiring of personal support workers
- Temporarily reduce hydro rates by 40-50% for four years (but internal Liberal documents show rates will skyrocket by 50% over four following years)
New Democratic Party
- End privatizations and P3s
- Bring highway snowplowing back under public management
- Impose a moratorium on school closings
- Direct 25 per cent of cap-and-trade revenue to rural, northern, and lower-income homes and trade-exposed industries
Conservative Party
- Leave “no stone unturned” searching for privatization opportunities, setting stage for high-cost, low-quality services such as highway snowplowing
- Cut aviation fuel taxes on inter-provincial flights to and from Northern Ontario
Ontario Public Services
Vote Better
Investing in public services will provide Ontario a strong foundation for long-term economic growth and social equality. From corrections to “digital government,” we must invest in our public service workers to ensure our safety, prosperity, and privacy are always protected.
Liberal Party
- Continue pursuing “digital government” initiatives and outsourcing the storage of private data
- Invest in Corrections, including new facilities in Thunder Bay and Ottawa
New Democratic Party
- End privatizations and P3s
- Reform Family Responsibility Office to ensure effective enforcement of family support payments
- Invest in Corrections to end dangerous under-staffing, including hiring 300 more probation and parole officers
Conservative Party
Repeal an unnamed number of government regulations