10X10 for Change, Part 1

With us in the homestretch I think we Liberals need to be giving just as many reasons to vote FOR us as to vote AGAINST Stephen Harper. In the spirit of this I am starting a 10 part series "Danielle's 10x10 Campaign for Change". Each part will give 10 new reasons to vote FOR the Liberals and 10 contrasting reasons to vote against the Conservatives (who I note have REMOVED their last platform from their website that used to be here – why’s that Steve? Didn’t you keep your promises?). Part 2 will be tonight, with parts 3 to 10 coming each night thereafter. By the end of the last night of the campaign I'll have listed 100 reasons (in no particular order) for each. The lists are far from exhaustive, so I encourage other Liberal bloggers to come up with their ows lists. There are literally hundreds of reasons to vote for our party and against Harper so we can have a government to be proud of again. So let's get the message out.

Why vote for the Liberal Party of Canada?
1) An environmental plan endorsed by environmentalists endorsed by environmentalists that could be implemented in the next budget (not waiting until 2012)
2) A short-term economic plan to deal with the financial crisis to ensure we don’t face the same fate as the U.S. (which no other party has stepped up to provide)
3) A costed long-term economic plan endorsed by economists that has succeeded in those countries where it’s been implemented
4) A long-term infrastructure plan, endorsed by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities that finally provides municipalities with the stable long-term funding they need to tackle the infrastructure deficit
5) A plan to cut the poverty rate by 1/3 and child poverty by 1/2 over the next 5 years
6) The Liberals will build a STRONGER relationship with our Aboriginal People and they will do more to lift them out of poverty and settle land claims, hold a First Ministers Conference on Aboriginal issues within 6 months of assuming office, and bring back the Kelowna Accords
7) The strongest commitment to running female candidates at 36.7% with plans to run more next election
8) A strong plan to reduce wait times and increase the number of trained and family doctors in this doctors
9) The strongest plan to strengthen our post-secondary education system and access for students
10) Enhanced financial support to families combined with the restoration of a national child care program to provide real choice in child care.

Why Vote Against Harper's Conservatives?
1) An environmental plan that in the words of Conservative columnist Andrew Coyne is "just as costly as the Liberals'...… twice as complicated… and probably half as effective." Not to mention it’s been panned by every independent group that’s evaluated it (see here, here, here, here).
2) Harper’s “don’t worry be happy” about the economy which leaves him as the ONLY G8 leader who isn't doing anything about the financial crisis
3) Harper has no long-term plan for our economy, only ideas to get himself to October 14th.
4) Harper has ignored the needs of municipalities for long-term stable funding and the growing infrastructure deficit. Harper’s finance minister’s only response to this being “we aren't in the pot hole business” and calling municipal leaders “whiners”.
5) No plan to cut poverty or any mention of it frmo Harper in this campaign
6) Harper tore up Kelowna, does not plan to re-visit it and has no plan to combat Aboriginal poverty
7) The weakest commitment to female candidates among all the parties. It’s not a priority at all for him to see more women in the House of Commons and/or give them a louder voice in making government policy.
8) Broken promises on wait times and no plan to reduce them (we may get a belated one on Tuesday, but we have no reason to believe Harper on this since he broke his word already)
9) No plan for post-secondary education and whatever is included in his eventual platform will surely not place it in high of priority as the Liberals do. Harper doesn’t understand how essential our PSE system is to our economy.
10) The failure to create any new child care spaces despite promising to create 125,000. His Universal Child Care benefit offers no choice to families as those looking for child care spaces can’t find them.

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