Examining where Ontario's main political leaders stand on key issues in the 2007 provincial election.

TAXES

Dalton McGuinty: Vows not to implement new taxes or tax increases, which he promised in 2003. After that election, he introduced the health premium, saying it was needed to improve health care services and because the previous Conservative government hid a $5.6 billion deficit. McGuinty says he won't roll back the health premium, saying if it was removed it would leave a "multi-billion-hole in the budget" and lead to service cutbacks. Pledges low- and middle-income seniors a property tax grant of up to $500 a year, and says he will extend the land transfer rebate of up to $2,000 to all first-time homebuyers.

John Tory: Says he will repeal the $2.6-billion health premium over four years, but those earning less than $30,000 a year will see the cuts begin on Jan. 1, 2008. Since the government is in a surplus position, he says he can lower taxes. Also pledges a five per cent cap on annual property assessments and a review of the current system.

Howard Hampton: Promises to phase out the health tax for some low and middle-income taxpayers over four years. Says he will create a new tax bracket for the wealthy and increase corporate taxes for banks and insurance companies. Pledges to cap residential property tax assessments.

EDUCATION

McGuinty: Wants to be known was "the education premier." He opposes Tory's idea to fund private religious schools, saying it threatens the public education system because it would take $500 million a year out of public education and segregate students. Says he will increase education funding by $3.1 billion a year by 2011, expand junior kindergarten and kindergarten to full time starting in 2010 (which he promised in 2003), hire 1,200 new elementary teachers in 2007-08, establish a $42-million program to help kids with homework, ban trans fats from all school cafeterias, and continue to lower class sizes in primary grades and boost student test scores. For post-secondary students, he vows to implement a $300 textbook grant and increase the number of apprenticeship programs by 25 per cent, but he is not going to freeze or roll back tuition fees. He also says he will review the education funding formula by 2010.

Tory: Promises to give private religious schools $400 million if they opt into the public system. Ten days before the election, he softened his stance on the issue, saying he will allow a free vote in the Legislature and hold extensive public consultations. Says he will increase education spending by $800 million in 2006/07, and bring that annual figure up to $2.4 billion over four years. Vows to review the funding formula, reduce class sizes and expand standardized testing.

Hampton: Opposes Tory's idea to fund private religious schools. Pledges to roll back college and university tuition fees to 2003 levels and maintain them for four years. Says he will invest an additional $100 million through a grant to give school boards $200 per student to fund essentials and unique priorities. Promises to review the funding formula.

GOVERNMENT GRANTS

McGuinty: Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Mike Colle resigned in July after an auditor general's report deemed the Liberals did not provide an accountable and transparent process for awarding $32-million in year-end grants to various multicultural organizations. McGuinty apologized to Ontarians for not respecting their tax dollars.

Tory and Hampton: Both Progressive Conservatives and New Democrats criticized the questionable spending, accusing the Liberals of having a "slush fund." They jumped on the fact the Ontario Cricket Association received $1 million in funding after they had requested only $150,000. Both parties joined forces in calling for the attorney general to request a criminal probe into how the millions were handed out.

HEALTH CARE

McGuinty: Promises to hire 9,000 new nurses, hire more doctors, introduce a $45-million denticare program for low-income families, add 50 more family health teams, continue to reduce wait times, boost the home-care system by $700-million, spend an additional $12 million on specialized autism treatment, offer free prostate cancer exams for men over the age of 50, and compensate living organ donors up to $5,500 for their expenses and lost wages.

Tory: Vows to facilitate a private/public health-care partnership that residents can access with their provincial OHIP card, which he says will reduce wait times. Promises to hire more family doctors and possibly pay them more. Vows to increase annual health care spending by $8.5 billion over four years. Promises to spend $540 million to create electronic health records. Says he will increase spending for children with autism by $75 million immediately and quickly wipe out a backlog of autistic children awaiting treatment. Says he will bring 35,000 care spaces up to standard, and eliminate three-bed and four-bed long-term care wards. Vows to have a 70 per cent full-time employment rate for all registered nurses by 2010.

Hampton: Pledges to establish Ontario Smiles, a $100-million denticare program for low-income families. Vows an additional $400 million to hire more doctors, nurses and health-care professionals. Says he will invest $230 million in home care and increase personal care for seniors in long-term homes to 3.5 hours per day. Promises to increase taxes on cigarettes by 17 per cent to help prevent cancer and bring in revenue. Says he will spend $100 million annually for children with autism and clear the wait period for treatment. Vows to keep health care public; accuses McGuinty and Tory of supporting profit-driven hospitals.

ECONOMY

McGuinty: Says Ontario is in a "new era of economic strength," and the Liberals have added 327,000 new jobs since 2003 and expect another 270,000 over the next three years. He says a new $1.15-billion job-creation fund will help counter the loss of manufacturing jobs in Ontario. Part of that fund will go towards the development of Ontario-built green cars and auto parts. He claims the opposition is exaggerating by saying the province has lost more than 150,000 good-paying manufacturing jobs since the Liberals were elected. McGuinty says for every job lost, three more have been created, and 95 per cent of them pay more than $19.50 an hour. The leader says the new jobs fund will help create jobs in other manufacturing sectors, much like the Liberals' $500-million auto sector fund, which led to $7 billion in new investments and 7,000 new jobs.

Tory: Calls it one of the most important issues facing Ontarians. Pledges to revitalize the economy by helping skilled immigrants and those with mental health problems get jobs, better promote tourism, reduce the regulatory burden on small businesses and join the inter-province free trade agreement with between British Columbia and Alberta while exploring a similar arrangement with Quebec.

Hampton: Promises the auto sector a $600-million cash injection over five years, which would provide incentives for manufacturers that develop green automotive technology. Proposes longer layoff notice periods and mandatory job adjustment committees for mass layoffs of 50 or more jobs, and one-year notice from companies to allow time for the province to intervene and help negotiate a closure agreement. Says he will double severance packages to two weeks' pay for every year worked and to remove the 26-week severance cap. Vows to boost the economy by keeping electricity prices down and helping to sustain good-paying jobs.

ENVIRONMENT

McGuinty: Vows to close all coal-fired power plants by 2014, which he promised in 2003 to have shut down by 2007. Says it may be necessary to build more nuclear reactors to attain his long-term goal of about 40 per cent of Ontario's electricity to come from nuclear generation. Promises to continue to cut greenhouse gas emission levels, which he says is now below 1990 levels and almost one-third lower since the Liberals came into power. Pledges to ban the cosmetic use of pesticides, plant 50 million trees across southern Ontario by 2020, and offer rebates of up to $150 for homeowners to help pay for home energy audits.

Tory: Says he will cut Ontario's greenhouse gas emissions to 10 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020. Says he will invest up to $1.3 billion to install scrubbers in coal-fired plants. He will also try to close the plants by 2014, and vows to build more nuclear power and increase wind and solar power sources.

Hampton: Is against nuclear power, and promises more cash for wind, solar and water technologies. Says he will cut Ontario's greenhouse gas emissions to six per cent below 1990 levels within four years. He vows to close coal plants by 2014, retrofit for energy efficiency more than 600,000 homes and 400,000 apartment buildings. He also promises to create an online database to inform residents of pollutants in their community and force manufacturers to list known or suspected toxins on product labels.

PUBLIC TRANSIT & GRIDLOCK

McGuinty: This summer he announced a $17.5 billion transit plan -- the largest ever rapid transit announcement initiative in Canadian history -- that will be invested in the Toronto region over 12 years starting in 2008. The plan includes 52 rapid transit projects and is expected to create 175,000 jobs. Work has begun on a $30-million project for a flagship transit hub at Kipling Station, which he says will be complete in 2010. Promises to invest $6 billion for infrastructure and $1.7 billion to improve highways.

Tory: Vows to put 100 per cent of provincial gas tax revenues towards roads and transit, and promises "hundreds of millions" in public transit spending. Pledges to spend $1 billion on rural roads and urban transit to address gridlock.

Hampton: Pledges to upload 50 per cent of operating costs and cap transit fares.

BUDGET

McGuinty: During their first term, the Liberals boosted provincial spending by more than $20 billion a year, increasing the budget to more than $80 billion while vowing to restore previous Conservative cuts. The Liberals ran a deficit on the hidden $5.6 billion deficit left behind by the Tories, but balanced the final budget this year as had promised. This year's budget focused on helping the poor through the Ontario Child Benefit payment and raising the minimum wage, and also increased health and education spending.

Tory: Slammed this year's budget, calling it a "political spending buffet'' aimed at buying votes. He said the Liberals are doing nothing for farmers, the manufacturing sector or over-taxed voters suffering with the $2.5-billion health tax. He vows to increase spending by $13 billion over the next five years and cut taxes and spending, which he says will create jobs and stimulate the economy. Says he will find $1.5 billion in spending "efficiencies."

Hampton: He called the 2007/08 budget "a lot of hype and no action," saying it failed hard-working families and low-income earners. He promises to properly address the needs of the province's poor and give Ontarians "a fair deal."

SALARIES

McGuinty: Approved a 25 per cent pay raise for Ontario politicians at the end of last year, saying MPPs only earn 75 per cent of what MPs in Ottawa get. The pay increase was proposed by Ontario's Integrity Commissioner. McGuinty first rejected the idea, but changed his mind a few days later. The $22,000 pay hike raised the minimum salary for all provincial politicians to about $110,000 a year. McGuinty got a boost of about $39,000, putting his annual salary at $198,620.

Tory: Conservatives voted in favour of the pay hike.

Hampton: NDP members opposed the salary increase. Hampton, who donated his $12,330 pay raise to charity, promises to slash salaries of Ontario politicians immediately.

SOCIAL SERVICE COSTS

All three leaders say money collected by municipalities through property taxes should not be used to pay for various social services programs. McGuinty, Tory and Hampton each vow to relieve that burden by uploading some of the costs, reversing the downloading trend by previous provincial governments.

CRIME AND SAFETY

McGuinty: Pledged $26 million to put 200 more police officers on the streets and expand the guns and gangs forces. Promises to invest $21.5 million over five years to deal with high-risk offenders. Earlier this year he called a gun violence review after a surge in firearms offences in Toronto. He wants a federal handgun ban. Implemented new street racing legislation last summer, which labels motorists travelling more than 50 kilometres above the limit as street racers under the law -- giving police the power to impound vehicles for seven days, suspend licences for seven days and issue higher fines. McGuinty is against photo radar. To ease tensions with native groups, the Liberals in June created a stand-alone Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs.

Tory: Pledges to get tough on crime by hiring an additional 200 provincial police officers, pushing for mandatory minimum sentences for marijuana grow-ops, pushing for a stronger Youth Criminal Justice Act, creating a zero-tolerance approach to aboriginal land-claim disputes (which includes lawsuits for illegal blockades), and giving an annual tally of violent offences, bail violations and plea bargains. He vows to crack down on the number of plea bargains, provide thousands of dollars in cash rewards for tips about unsolved cases, expand the use of ankle monitoring bracelets on violent criminals, and grant automatic inquests when someone who has been released from custody causes a death. He supports tougher penalties for street racers, and is against photo radar.

Hampton: Vows to give municipalities funding to hire 3,000 new police officers and upload court security costs, which he estimates would free up about $250 million a year for local forces. Hampton supports bringing back photo radar.

MINIMUM WAGE

McGuinty: Pledges to raise the minimum wage to $10.25 by 2010, increasing the current $8 wage 75 cents each March 31 over the next three years. Since taking office, the Liberals have increased the wage four times -- it was $6.85 in 2003 and hadn't been raised in nine years.

Tory: Promises to increase the minimum wage on a schedule that would give employers time to adjust and avoid job losses.

Hampton: Vows to increase the minimum wage $2 to $10 an hour.

OTHER KEY PROMISES

McGuinty: Proposes a new statutory holiday in February called "Family Day," tax credits for bicycle purchases and kids in extra-curricular programs, a tax rebate for those who care for an aging parent in the parent's home, fertility monitoring for women over the age of 28 as part of their annual physical exam, and extending government office hours on weekends and evenings.

Tory: Pledges to give $5 million in the first year and $2.5 million annually to fund the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund to promote cultural events.

Hampton: Says he will allow northern Ontario to keep proceeds from levies on mining profits, Crown timber and hydroelectric power. Pledges to eliminate public-private partnerships.

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