Issues

Issue - Defence
	Allow more free votes by MPs Parliamentarians now have the authority to review most senior government appointments, including those of heads of Crown corporations Parliament will play a role in reviewing Supreme Court appointments The Liberal government has created an independent Ethics Commissioner who reports to Parliament The Liberals terminated the sponsorship program, ordered a judicial review and appointed a Special Counsel to recover misappropriated funds Also had the program investigated by the Commons Public Accounts Committee Introduced legislation to protect "whistle blowers" who come forward to report wrongdoing in government and Crown Corporations Establishing a new Comptroller General of Canada Created a new agency to accelerate the process of continuous improvement in the nonpartisan public service

	Allow free votes by MPs on moral issues Hold elections to fill vacancies in the Senate Set fixed election dates for every four years End corporate and union political donations, and forced taxpayer subsidies of political parties Allow Parliament, not the courts, to make a final decision on issues like same-sex marriage

	The NDP proposes a referendum on whether to change the voting system to one based on proportional representation, which would give parties seats based on based on the percentage of votes they receive Abolish the Senate Create aboriginal seats in Parliament Lower the voting age to 16 Create an independent ethics counsellor, toughen up conflict-of-interest guidelines and crack down on expense accounts Implement a Parliamentary review of senior appointments to bodies such as Crown corporations, agencies and boards Have "third parties" report publicly on the funds they received for election campaigns and advertising Crack down on unaccountable election slush funds Enact whistleblower laws to protect civil servants Improve federal-provincial-territorial relationships through the Council of the Federation Ensure Parliament votes before committing troops overseas

	Promote sovereignty and create a country called Quebec Government institutions should be of non religious nature with no religious affiliation The state has to have a substantial presence in society and be a partner with all citizens

	The Green Party will hold a national referendum on the future of the Senate The party believes in proportional representation, where the percentage of party seats won equal the party's percentage of the popular vote The Green Party will implement "fixed election dates" and "mid-term" referendums to be held after two years

Issue - Defence