Ontario party leaders again focused their campaign efforts Wednesday on the province's health care system, offering tax rebates and highlighting the divisions between the rich and the poor.
In his first campaign promise, NDP Leader Howard Hampton pledged to phase out the contested health-care tax and promised to provide low-and middle-income families a $450 tax rebate.
Hampton said the rebate would be phased in over four years for families who make less than $80,000, while families making more would continue to pay the full $900 annual levy.
"We're going to start by fixing what Mr. McGuinty got wrong when he broke his promise and dumped his unfair health tax on families who can afford it the least," Hampton told reporters on Wednesday.
The New Democrat also said, if elected, he would create a new tax bracket for Ontarians bringing home more than $150,000 annually.
Those earning higher wages would see their taxes increase by two per cent.
Hampton is also promising to increase corporate taxes for banks and insurance companies to 15 per cent from 14 per cent, and reverse the elimination of the corporate capital tax.
"Those that have the capacity to pay will pay to finance health care and that means ensuring that banks and insurance companies and some of the wealthiest people in our society will pay their fair share,'' Hampton said.
"Unlike the Conservatives' reckless scheme that would strip $2.7 billion out of public health care, the NDP fair tax plan is balanced and fair (and) puts money back in the pockets of low and moderate-income families.''
Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory has already vocalized his contempt for the Liberal health-care tax and promised to phase out the levy if elected by injecting $8.5 billion into the system.
Doctor shortage in Ontario
On Wednesday, Tory promised to tackle the province's shortage of doctors by deferring loan payments for medical students.
The PC leader promised to spend an additional $400 million to keep doctor's in the province, allotting some of the funds to increasing physician's salaries.
"Family practice isn't, it seems, as attractive an option as it used to be,'' Tory said during a visit to the University of Western Ontario's medical building in London, Ont.
"We've got to find ways to make it more attractive and that might include matters of compensation.''
Tory said since the Liberals took power in 2003, fewer doctors are accepting patients in the province.
Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty fired back at Tory, saying the Conservatives are more interested in helping the province's rich than investing in public services for all.
McGuinty met by protesters
McGuinty said Wednesday he wasn't running a negative campaign saying, "I'm not really comfortable with the negative stuff."
"Every once in a while there's a slip-up on my part, and I try to apologize for it and get myself away from that because that's not who I am. I want to stay focused on the issues,'' McGuinty said.
The Liberal leader was grilled by reporters Wednesday after he appeared to use local firefighters as a human shield when faced with protestors in Toronto.
The firefighers blocked media cameras from shooting McGuinty in close proximity to a disguised protestor.
The protester from the Canadian Taxpayers' Federation came dressed as Pinocchio to mock the McGuinty's 2003 broken promise not to raise taxes.
A disgruntled Brantford developer showed up in Hamilton to protest McGuinty's appearance because native demonstrators shut down his construction site.
Mike Quattrociocchi approached the Liberal leader wearing a microphone, prompting McGuitny to suggest the protest was staged.
The leaders are on day three of campaigning. Ontarians will take to the polls on Oct. 10.
With a report from CTV's Paul Bliss and files from the Canadian Press
