Canadian Federal Election, Minor Party Positions - 2006 Election

2006 Election

Taxation: The 2005 federal budget originally implemented relatively modest tax cuts that have been criticized by both the right and left. Parties, major and minor, from the centre to the right demanded much greater tax relief. The Christian Heritage Party (CHP) urged more support for families raising children at home. Parties on the left, the Communist and Marxist-Leninist parties, urged higher taxes for corporations and higher-income Canadians. The Green Party is proposing to "shift" $3.5 billion of taxes by raising taxes on polluting activities and reducing personal and corporate income taxes. In particular, the Green Party would impose a tax on motor fuel of 10 cents per litre, reduce the lowest personal income tax rate, and eliminate the Goods and Services Tax on "green" products and reading materials.

Electoral reform: The Green Party and the CHP promote the idea of proportional representation voting. Neither party has won a seat in the Canadian House of Commons under the current first-past-the-post system. The Marxist-Leninist Party advocates the enshrined right of the public to recall elected officials from office. They also support replacing Elections Canada with a Canada-Wide Electoral Commission, as well as having Electoral Committees in each constituency.

Gun registry: The CHP and the Libertarian Party strongly oppose the Canadian gun registry, while the other parties generally support it.

Foreign policy The Marxist-Leninist Paty calls for the complete and immediate withdrawal from all economic and military blocks such as the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement, North American Free Trade Agreement, APEC, NORAD, and NATO. They also call on the democratization of the United Nations. The Green Party says that it will commit to military actions only if sanctioned by both the Canadian parliament and the United Nations. The Green Party opposes the U.S. space based missile programme and would declare Canada a "military nuclear-free zone". The Green Party also calls on Canada to push for a delay in the Haitian elections, scheduled to be held in 2006, until all political prisoners are freed and the killing and intimidation of Lavalas Party supporters by the Haitian National Police is stopped.