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NDP Leader Andrea Horwath has unveiled her prescription for winning next year’s election – universal pharmacare.

Horwath unveiled the ambitious $475-million-a-year program to about 1,000 New Democrats at the party’s annual convention on Saturday.

“‎When we win in 2018, we are going to create Canada’s first universal pharmacare plan right here in Ontario,” she thundered to cheering delegates at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

“It will mean lower costs, less worry, and better health for everyone. It will mean fewer emergencies, fewer people in ERs. It will mean we can save lives.”

Emphasizing that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, Horwath said her plan is both doable and affordable.

“Starting with the most commonly prescribed essential medicines, we will provide universal drug coverage for all Ontarians,” she said, lamenting that one in four people in the province aren’t taking the medication they need “because they can’t afford it.”

Environmentalist Tzeporah Berman, on the BC Liberals ‘climate plan’.

This is in contrast to her views on the BC NDP Climate Change plan:

It’s become the centrepiece at almost every campaign stop Christy Clark makes during this 2017 election campaign: Clark’s claim that under the B.C. Liberals, the province leads the country in job creation.

Her whistle stop in Dawson Creek on April 18 was typical. “We are the only party…with a plan to create jobs.”

Clark boasted the Liberals had created 220,000 jobs in British Columbia “since we started the Jobs plan.”

That plan was announced back in September 2011 to protect and create more jobs in the province.

But does Clark’s claim stand up to a CBC fact check?

The answer from three top economists: While the 220,000 figure over six years seems accurate, Clark appears to be taking credit for a recent uptick in employment that was mostly out of her control.

They use words such as “lucky,” “serendipitous” and “cyclical” to describe the reasons behind the job rise.

Incumbent BC Liberal candidate Linda Reimer seems to have a knack for making rooms full of voters gasp out loud.

During a debate hosted by the Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce in the BC riding of Port Moody-Coquitlam Thursday night, Reimer surprised many when she said she supports privatizing healthcare “for those who are able to afford it” – in other words, the wealthy:

“I do support the privatization to a certain extent of our healthcare system. I think that choice is always good for people and I myself have had a surgery in the private healthcare system […] and so I do support some choice for those who are able to afford it.”

In response, BC NDP candidate Rick Glumac blasted Reimer’s support for two-tier healthcare, arguing that prioritizing patients “just because they have more money” goes against “my Canadian values”:

“That right there, if there’s no other reason to not vote Liberal, that’s it right there because that is frightening.”

The Liberal Party of Canada is a Centre-Left party (although it can be argued that they’re becoming more Centre-right under Trudeau). It is a federal party.

The BC Liberals have no relationship to the Federal Liberals. They are a Centre-Right to Right Wing party.

-Trudeau is pushing an infrastructure bank, which is going to privatize public infrastructure.

-Trudeau selling weapons to Saudi Arabia.

-Trudeau approving 3 huge oil pipelines and happy about Donald Trump’s approval of Keystone XL.

-Despite making it pretty clear before the election that communities and First Nations would need to give consent for projects, Trudeau has backtracked and now says that this is no longer true.

-Justin Trudeau bailing out Bombardier with millions, doesn’t care that their CEO’s are getting huge bonuses as they’re laying off thousands of workers.

-Their Marijuana legislation is filled with harsh penalties, and it is not true legalization. There will be limits on the amount you can grow and carry (and if you exceed these limits you can be arrested or charged), and new harsh penalties related to youth & driving under the influence.

-Justin Trudeau’s government is refusing to pay First Nations children equally, despite the Human Rights Commission sending him notices saying he has to.

-Justin Trudeau’s government is still underfunding First Nations education.

-Justin Trudeau supports Donald Trump’s bombing of Syria.

-Justin Trudeau is in favour of Regime Change in Syria, which many feel could escalate violence in that region.

-Justin Trudeau has not ruled out sending the military into Syria.

-Justin Trudeau is refusing to change the ‘Safe Third Country’ agreement to help refugees fleeing the USA.

-Justin Trudeau is refusing to fund a basic income pilot project on PEI.

-Justin Trudeau abandoned electoral reform and has stuck with the First Past the Post system (a system the Conservative Party of Canada also supports).

-Justin Trudeau refuses to decriminalize marijuana in the meantime. Cops will arrest thousands more people for marijuana possession before 2018.

-Justin Trudeau is refusing to pardon anyone for marijuana possession despite knowing full well how harmful this can be for people job searching or crossing the border.

-Justin Trudeau is not in favour of a $15/hour minimum wage.

-Despite his feminist rhetoric, Status of Women Canada received no new funding in the 2017 budget.

-Justin Trudeau broke a campaign promise to close a tax loophole that largely benefits millionaire CEO’s.

-Justin Trudeau is breaking indigenous rights to consent with permits given on the Site C Dam and Kinder Morgan Oil Pipeline.

-Justin Trudeau’s tax cut for the middle cut, benefits the top 10% of income earners the most. Those making under $40,000 per year get nothing.

-Justin Trudeau still hasn’t changed or repealed the draconian anti-terrorism bill, Bill C-51.

-Despite a push from the NDP, Trudeau is refusing to expand our healthcare system to cover things like Pharmacare.

-Justin Trudeau is maintaining Stephen Harper’s cuts to healthcare transfers.

-Justin Trudeau is maintaining Stephen Harper’s weak climate change targets.

-Justin Trudeau wants to delay a promise to cut methane (a potent greenhouse gas) emissions for 3 years or more.

Justin Trudeau’s party is a party of centrists. They dabble in the right, and a bit of the left. But they’re far from Canada’s most progressive major party.

The more progressive Canadian parties in Canada are the NDP (New Democratic Party) and The Green Party. I like the NDP a lot, and unlike the Greens they have enough public support that they could get elected as a government.

The NDP proposes things like: $15/minimum wage, changing our electoral system to proportional representation, free college tuition, opposition to oil pipelines, strengthening labour rights, expanding Canada’s healthcare system (to cover things like medicine or dental or mental health), taxing the rich more, stronger anti-poverty policies, a national affordable childcare programs, LGBTQ & Women’s rights and more.