Jack Layton appeared in one of his largest crowds of the election campaign to announce plans to earmark $103 million for retired and disabled soldiers on Saturday, while his competition spent the day away from the campaign trail.
The NDP leader told gathered party faithful in Dartmouth, N.S., that if elected he would "stand up for veterans," a group of people he said Stephen Harper had "shamefully turned his back on."
"Stephen Harper's Veterans Affairs department has adopted an insurance company's culture of denial," he said on Saturday. "Instead of being an advocate for our veterans, Mr. Harper has done nothing to address the cuts to veterans' hospitals, leaving those who've served our country with fewer options for quality health care."
During his speech, Layton promised to restore the insurance plan for retired and disabled veterans and make sure the Veterans Review and Appeal Board was made up of members from the military, the RCMP and medical personnel.
His speech was preceded by Col. Pat Stogran, a former veteran's ombudsman who the Conservative government failed to appoint to a second term despite being supported by many veterans.
While ombudsman, Stogran complained of how the federal government handled injured soldiers and policies, such as replacing pensions with lump-sum payments and disability stipends.
Legislation to provide more cash and support to seriously wounded veterans was passed with all-party support by the House of Commons before the campaign began.
Though the Conservatives pointed out Saturday the bill received royal assent in the Senate just before the writ dropped last week, Layton's overriding message was that he wanted to "fix" the system for veterans, saying things had become so bad that veterans in Calgary were having to rely on a food bank just to get by.
"It's unacceptable, it's wrong," said Layton.
Saturday's events offered one of the biggest turn-outs so far for the Layton campaign, with about 400 people cramming into the hall, many of them carrying signs and waving.
Tories attack, shift focus to economy
Though the Conservative leader wasn't on the campaign trail, two of his top lieutenants accused the Liberals of pushing a "high-tax agenda" that could stall the country's economic recovery.
"This week, Canadians saw Stephen Harper focused on completing the economic recovery and strengthening the financial security of Canadian families through his plan for low taxes, training and trade," said Baird.
Cannon also trotted out the Conservative line that the Liberals are bent on creating a "coalition" with the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois if another Conservative minority government is elected.
"This is the only choice Canadians face," said Cannon.
As the Conservatives push for an elusive majority government, the party has been using the coalition accusation as a key talking point, despite the fact that Ignatieff said he would not create one with the NDP and the Bloc.
Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff was off the campaign trail Saturday, but his party has made several key policy announcements since the campaign began.
Among the key promises:
- Student-aid grants for post-secondary study
- An expansion of the Canada Pension Plan
- A new, national child-care initiative
On Saturday, the Liberals also issued a statement outlining what it called "Harper's very bad week." Meanwhile the party is set to unveil its election platform at during an "online town hall" at 11 a.m. Sunday morning.
