CityVote Day 4: Education grants, a tax break, and a cap on credit card fees
Posted March 29, 2011 8:01 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Liberals pitched their learning passport to voters Tuesday, promising to give every post-secondary student a tax-free grant between $4,000 and $6,500. The Conservatives revisited a tax break for small businesses first announced in last week’s budget. And NDP Leader Jack Layton is vowing to take on the credit card companies by forcing them to reduce high interest rates.
The coalition chatter and blame game about who’s responsible for this election and why likely won’t die down any time soon, but policy announcements have started replacing at least some of the mudslinging on the campaign trail.
Leader Michael Ignatieff outlined his party’s plan to encourage Canadian kids to pursue learning after high school during a campaign stop at Sheridan College in Oakville. The Liberal chief called education the “key economic challenge” in Canada and said he’s willing to spend $1 billion on the plan.
“I think this will give an incredible incentive to people,” he said.
“The Learning Passport will be a powerful tool for reducing barriers to attending college and university, increasing the flow of highly skilled workers into the Canadian economy.”
Under Ignatieff’s education plan, students who attend college or university would be entitled to a tax-free grant of $4,000 for a four-year program. Young people from low-income families would be eligible for up to $6,500 over four years.
The money for the program would come from the Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP). To get the money, students only need to have an RESP in their name and no contribution is required by the family.
The Liberals based the $1 billion cost of the plan on estimates that roughly one million students attend post-secondary every year. Party officials say the program would be funded, in part, by increasing business taxes to 18 per cent, up from the current 16.5 per cent.
Campaigning in Saskatchewan, Harper promised small businesses a one-time EI credit of as much as $1,000 to offset a hike in premiums this year.
The Conservatives figure the move will cut payroll costs by about $165 million.
“Small businesses are the engine of job creation in Canada, and are indispensable in their role as job creators and innovators,” Harper said. “Providing incentives to business to hire new employees creates jobs and creates economic growth.”
The tax break was part of the federal budget tabled last week, days before the government fell on a confidence vote in the House of Commons.
During a stop in Brantford, Layton vowed to force the banks and credit card companies to lower sky-high interest rates.
“I believe that we need strong banks….but for all of the federal benefits that the Canadian people have extended to the banks, I think Canadians deserve something in return here,” he said.
Layton wants to cap credit card rates at five per cent plus prime. He has also promised to crack down on excessive fees and give federal regulators real power to go after gougers.
He says his plan will give many Canadians a “fighting chance” to pay of their credit card debt and will level the playing field for small businesses. Layton said Canadian consumers pay some of the highest credit card fees in the world and Canadian businesses pay some of the highest transaction fees.
Two law firms announced Tuesday that they’ve filed a proposed class action lawsuit against Visa, MasterCard and some Canadian banks.
The suit, filed by Branch MacMaster LLP and Camp Fiorante Matthews, alleges the financial institutions worked together to fix transaction fees.
Credit card companies and banks take a percentage from merchants that varies depending on which card a customer uses. Basic cards have lower fees, while cards with features such as points and rewards have higher fees attached to them.
The lawsuit claims retailers aren’t allowed to charge customers more for transactions in which premium credit cards are used.
With files from The Canadian Press.
You can follow the CityVote 2011 list on Twitter here.
Here’s a look at some reaction to Tuesday’s campaign developments on Twitter:
@M_Ignatieff
@pmharper
@cpcsoudas
@stevenchase
@jacklayton
