Rival parties poke holes in NDP platform as Mulcair campaigns in Nova Scotia
Posted Aug 31, 2015 03:14:48 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
HALIFAX – NDP Leader Tom Mulcair was the only major party leader on the campaign trail today as he took his election campaign to Nova Scotia in an effort to increase the size of the foothold his party has in the region.
But his rival parties didn’t let Mulcair have the field to himself, as they both held news conferences to attack the New Democrats’ platform.
The front-running NDP leader came under fire from the Liberals and the Conservatives, both claiming there’s a multibillion-dollar hole in his platform.
The Liberals say there’s a $28-billion gap between Mulcair’s promises of new spending and his pledge that an NDP government would balance all its budgets over a four-year term.
Meanwhile the Conservatives put up cabinet heavyweight Jason Kenney, who says there’s at least an $8-billion gap and that’s just in the first year of an NDP government.
But Mulcair dismissed both claims at a rally in Halifax, calling them false and saying his party has carefully costed its platform.
While there, Mulcair reiterated an NDP pledge to raise the Guaranteed Income Supplement, which benefits low-income seniors.
The promise should resonate in a province with Canada’s highest proportion of seniors.
