Conservative election promises from the campaign trail so far

As the Oct. 19 federal election approaches, here's a running list of promises made by Conservative Leader Stephen Harper since the campaign began Aug. 2.

Oct. 7: Extend parental leave benefits under employment insurance, including extending the length of time mothers and fathers would have their jobs protected to 18 months from the current one year. Give parents the option of stretching EI benefits over 18 months, starting next year. Open a two-year pilot project to allow parents to earn self-employment income while on EI.

Oct. 6: Provide a $1-billion package to help the auto industry cope with the repercussions of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Oct. 4: Renew funding for Brain Canada, a non-profit organization devoted to comprehensive neurological research.

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Oct. 1: Create a formal list of criminal gangs, similar to what is done with designated terrorist groups. Put $2.5 million more a year into efforts to steer teens away from gang activity. Enact a law imposing two-year, mandatory minimum sentence for financial fraud over $5,000 with multiple victims, unless the offender pays full restitution.

Sept. 29: Aim to create 700,000 new homeowners by 2020.

Sept. 28: Provide $700 million for light-rail transit in Surrey, B.C.

Sept. 27: Establish new RCMP human trafficking teams in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Winnipeg at an annual cost of $8 million for five years. Renew the national plan to combat human trafficking for five years at a cost of $20 million.

Sept. 26: By 2020, add 665 personnel to Canada's special operation forces, which consists of 1,900 members.

Sept. 25: Bring in a "tax lock" law barring increases to federal personal and business income taxes, sales taxes and "discretionary payroll taxes" such as CPP and EI.

Sept. 23: Re-establish College Militaire Royal as a full-fledged, degree-granting military university. Impose travel bans against people who've already been sanctioned by the Canadian government and expand the list of reasons for implementing sanctions.

Sept. 22: Aim to create 1.3 million net new jobs by 2020. Issue official veterans cards as formal proof of service to every member of the military who completes basic training and is honourably released.

Sept. 20: Create a $100-million manufacturing technology demonstration fund available to large, pre-commercial projects in the advanced manufacturing sector.

Sept. 18: Bring in legislation to ensure that criminals sentenced to life are not eligible for parole. Toughen penalties for
drunk drivers. Provide new money for child advocacy centres. 

Sept. 15: Bring in a $2,000 tax credit for single seniors to help nearly 1.6 million seniors with pension income.

Sept. 11: Commit an additional $10 million over five years to the Kanishka Project, which was established in 2011 to fund research into preventing and countering violent extremism.

Sept. 10: Invest $20 million in the lobster industry over three years, including a $15-million partnership with the Lobster Council of Canada to market and promote lobster abroad, plus $5 million for research.

Sept. 8: Raise government contribution when low- and middle-income families invest in education savings plans. A family earning up to $44,000 would get $200 for the first $500 put away for a child's higher education plan each year, while a family earning up to $88,000 would receive $100 on the first $500 each year.

Sept. 7: Increase the maximum annual Canada Disability Savings Grant for low- and middle-class families to $4,000 from $3,500.

Sept. 6: Create an endowment fund for museums that would match the money the institutions raise privately, with a cap of about $15 million a year.

Sept. 4: Allot $5 million annually for programs to sustain habitats that support bird, moose and turkey populations, starting in 2017. Create a family bird-hunting permit and allow the use of crossbows for hunting birds. Earmark $9 million over three years starting in 2016 for a tourism program to attract recreational anglers, hunters and snowmobiles from the U.S. Establish a Canadian Forces reserve unit in the Yukon, the first such unit in the territory since the Yukon Regiment was disbanded in 1968.

Sept. 2: Extend the existing 15 per cent mineral exploration tax credit first implemented in 2006, and create a new 25 per cent credit for hard-to-reach mines.

Sept. 1: Establish a not-for-profit agency in Burlington, Ont., to help develop new products and technology for manufacturing, with a budget of $30 million a year for five years. Set up a new trade-promotion office to help attract new business for exporters, paid for by reallocating other government resources.

Aug. 27: Add $40 million over five years for an existing federal loans program that offers financial support to new Canadians while they complete the foreign credential recognition process. The money comes on top of $35 million committed to the program in the last budget.

Aug. 26: Spend $200 million to expand high-speed broadband Internet network across remote and rural areas.

Aug. 25: Support for a new marine terminal in Montreal and an expanded cruise ship terminal in Quebec City.

Aug. 23: Provide a tax break on membership fees to organizations such as the Kiwanis, Lions and Royal Canadian Legion.

Aug. 21: An extended partnership with the Pacific Salmon Foundation and $15 million to restore British Columbia estuaries.

Aug. 20: Increase the value of the 15 per cent non-refundable adoption expense tax credit to $20,000 from $15,000 and make it fully refundable.

Aug. 19: Cut "red tape" for businesses stemming from legislation and policy rules in addition to regulations. Better
harmonize child car seat regulations with those of the United States to provide more choice and better prices. Simplify the calculation of home-office expense deductions.

Aug. 18: Resurrect the "life means life" legislation that died in the Commons when the election was called. The bill would mean that those who commit the most heinous murders or high treason would spend the rest of their lives behind bars.

Aug. 17: Add 6,000 people to the ranks of the Canadian Forces reserves at a cost of $163 million over three years and $63.4 million going forward once the target of 30,000 personnel is reached.

Aug. 15: Improve the earnings loss benefit for veterans with service-related disabilities or injuries by letting them earn up to $10,000 in outside work, without losing any government funding.

Aug. 14: Spend $14 million to pave a stretch of a scenic highway between Fort Smith and Hay River in the Northwest
Territories. 

Aug. 12: Raise to $35,000 the amount that first-time home buyers can withdraw tax free from RRSPs to finance a home purchase. Track the impact of home purchases by foreign, non-residents to ensure this doesn't skew the market against Canadian buyers.

Aug. 11: Another $4.5 million a year, on top of the $22 million currently budgeted, for an RCMP team designed to crack down on illegal drug labs and marijuana grow-ops. Allot $500,000 a year over four years on a national toll-free hotline for parents to call to get information about drug use among youth.

Aug. 10: Bring 10,000 additional refugees from Syria and Iraq. Spend $9 million over three years to help the Office of Religious Freedom protect places of worship and religious artifacts targeted by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Aug. 9: Expand federal laws that make it a crime for Canadians to head overseas to fight alongside groups officially identified by the federal government as a terrorist organization. Essentially it would declare certain areas no-travel zones for most Canadians, with exceptions for journalists and humanitarian workers.

Aug. 4: A permanent home-renovation tax credit — an update to the temporary credit introduced in 2009 — costing $1.5 billion a year, but contingent on a stronger economy. Applies to $5,000 worth of renovation costs, down from $10,000 in 2009.

Aug. 3: Increase the apprenticeship job creation tax credit, first introduced in 2006 to create incentives to foster skilled trades, to a maximum of $2,500, up from $2,000, and extend it to include the third and fourth years of eligible training.