The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) is giving a good score on the economic points outlined in the Conservative Party's platform, which was released Tuesday.

Adam Taylor, the CTF's National Research Director and acting director, says Conservative Leader Stephen Harper's plan is "cautious, and appropriate for the times."

The CTF, which has launched a website during this campaign against the Liberal Party's carbon tax plan, is a group that generally argues for broad-based tax relief.

Harper's plan, outlined Tuesday, includes these measures:

• $400 million investment for aerospace and auto industries.
• $20 million a year for the forestry industry to help it market products abroad.
• The total cost of the four-year platform is projected at close to $8.7 billion.
• The final year would be the most costly, at $2.8 billion.
• It projects a cumulative surplus of $8 billion over the four years.

Harper said Tuesday that Canadian regulations are stronger than in other financial systems around the world, and there's no need for bail-outs or other emergency plans. Instead, his government will make investments to create long-term jobs.

Taylor agrees with the strategy. He said last year's federal budget predicted a downturn in growth and suggested that spending will need to be controlled, but the fundamentals of the economy are strong and job growth is on target.

"Panic is not appropriate right now," Taylor said. "I understand people are worried but we're not in crisis yet."

Other economists have argued that the Conservatives are offering a piece-meal approach to the economy. "I don't think there's anything here, nor would I expect anything here, in terms of something to prevent a downturn or to stabilize the economy," Christopher Ragan, who teaches economics at McGill University in Montreal, told The Canadian Press.

"We see a lot of piecemeal policies here. I think they're a very bad way to give back money. You want to lower taxes ... Just lower taxes across the board and nobody has to collect piano lessons receipts."

Taylor also said that Canada is paying $32 billion a year on interest towards the national debt, and no political party has offered a strategy on debt relief.

"As we progress and start to think of future generations, the debt needs to be considered," Taylor said.