Howard Hampton says an NDP government would create an online database to inform Ontario residents of pollutants in their community.

The NDP leader also pledged to force manufacturers to list known or suspected toxins on labels for products such as toys, food and make-up.

The "Right to Know'' legislation would tell residents what toxins and other hazards are in the province's food, ground, air and water, Hampton said during a campaign stop in Toronto on Friday.

He said the information would be made available through an online database.

"The reality for working families is that there are toxic powder kegs in neighbourhoods and communities across the province, but people are in the dark about the risks," Hampton said.

"If people don't know what's being stored or what's being used in their neighbourhood, they don't have that critical piece of information that allows them to take action.''

In Toronto, 40,000 facilities don't have to report annual pollution releases to the public, Hampton said.

A similar bill was introduced by the NDP in November 2006, but died when the legislature was adjourned.

Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory said his party has a similar policy.

Tory said the Progressive Conservatives' platform would require companies to submit lists of toxins and carcinogens to government, along with a plan detailing how those toxins could be reduced or eliminated.

A report issued in August by a coalition of health groups said tens of thousands of people in Ontario will fall victim to cancers caused by environmental toxins if the government fails to act soon.

An estimated 159,900 new cancer cases will be diagnosed in Canada this year, of which 59,500 will be in Ontario, the report said.

Tory talks transit in Toronto

Meanwhile, Tory was also in Toronto on Friday, sorting food at a Salvation Army. He pledged "hundreds of millions'' in public transit spending if the Progressive Conservatives win the Oct. 10 election.

He also vowed to revitalize the economy by helping skilled immigrants and those with mental health problems land jobs.

Tory also said he will "personally lead the effort'' to revitalize disadvantaged neighbourhoods in Ontario, particularly in Toronto.

After the announcement, the Liberals criticized Tory's transit plan for not going far enough, claiming it means a $100 million cut with no accounting for a $17.5 billion program to invest in new rapid transit lines in the Greater Toronto Area and Hamilton.

McGuinty narrows in on north

Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty took another stab at Tory's pledge to give funds to religious-based schools while speaking to Rotary Club members in Sudbury.

McGuinty, who has previously come under fire for job losses in the northern part of the province, said Tory's plan would take $500 million out of the public education system.

The relocation would lead to cuts in supplementary funding for rural and northern Ontario school boards, McGuinty said.

"Ontarians now have to make a choice as to which approach they think is the right one," he said.

"I firmly believe that the right approach ... is to continue to support public education."

Pressed about foreign ownership of Ontario's mines and job losses in the forestry sector, McGuinty said the province would boost the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund to $100 million from $60 million.

The program supports communities and creates sustainable jobs in the northern part of the province.

With a report from CTV's Paul Bliss and files from The Canadian Press