Greens release partial costing of platform promising $210B in new spending over next five years
CBC
The Green Party of Canada has released a partially costed breakdown of platform commitments, saying a government headed by Annamie Paul would deliver $210 billion in new spending over the next five years, with no plan to return to budgetary balance before then.
The Greens say that their fiscal plan will reduce the "nominal deficit" to less than $30 billion a year, if the economy continues to grow.
According to documents released by the party, the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) provided a costing of only some of the party's promises, leaving two of the biggest programs; long-term care reform and pharmacare, off the list.
The Greens provided their own costing of those programs, saying they will cost $107 billion over the next five years, with $68.5 going toward reforming long-term care and $38.5 billion going toward a new pharmacare program.
The Green platform promises to implement a universal pharmacare program and to create a universal long-term-care system that would be governed by national standards of care under the Canada Health Act.
The platform also promises to introduce a guaranteed livable income that "would provide every Canadian with a basic revenue source, ensuring that people can cover basic expenses such as food and accommodation."
The partial costing of the Green platform promises comes on the second last day of the election campaign and only 20 minutes before Paul, in British Columbia for the day, appeared at a press conference in Victoria.
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