OTTAWA - Stephen Harper is facing criticism that he's ducking questions on how to help Canadians living in poverty, even as economic turmoil threatens to push more people over a fiscal cliff.
The prime minister is the only major party leader not appearing in a video prepared by a national anti-poverty coalition to be officially launched Monday on YouTube.
A sneak peak was to be posted Sunday at www.makepovertyhistory.ca/ontherecord.
It's part of a cross-country bid by the Assembly of First Nations and Make Poverty History -- a coalition that includes 1,000 development agencies, unions, student groups and churches -- to put poverty on the election radar.
Liberal Stephane Dion, New Democrat Jack Layton, Elizabeth May of the Green party, and Gilles Duceppe of the Bloc Quebecois all answer questions for the video "On the Record."
"In all cases they have something to say about what they'll do to deal with global, domestic and aboriginal poverty," said Dennis Howlett, co-ordinator of Make Poverty History.
"But so far we haven't heard anything from Stephen Harper.
"We went back and forth for quite some time with the Prime Minister's Office media people. The final thing we got back was our questions were too specific and that he would do it if we asked more general questions ... The whole point was to get specific commitments from party leaders.
Howlett said his coalition is Internet savvy, politically broad and potentially influential.
"In most key swing ridings we have anywhere from 1,000 to 4,000 supporters. So, we think if we can get them organized and engaged, we could make a difference in quite a few of those places."
The coalition is calling for a national end-poverty plan with measurable targets over the next five years. It's also pushing for implementation of the $5.1-billion Kelowna Accord to raise aboriginal living standards, a Liberal plan that was scrapped by the Conservatives.
And it's urging federal contenders to commit to raising international aid to 0.7 per cent of gross national income over 10 years.
Howlett said the group is not endorsing one party over another.
"We're trying to give (voters) the information for them to decide which party is best able to make poverty history."
According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Ottawa last year spent 0.28 per cent of gross national income, about $4.5 billion, on international aid. That's down from 0.34 per cent, a slide that picked up speed after the Conservatives took power in 2006.
Harper promised in the last campaign to increase Canada's contributions to the average of other donor countries -- about 0.5 per cent. Instead, Canada lost ground. It is now ranked 16th of the OECD's 22 contributing countries, having been passed by Spain and Australia.
At home, a recent C.D. Howe Institute study says about 11 per cent of Canadians -- roughly 3.4 million people -- fall below Statistics Canada's low-income cutoff. By that yardstick, a family of four in a small city earning less than $27,000 a year after taxes is considered relatively poor.
Anti-poverty group Campaign 2000 said in a report last September that 800,000 kids across Canada face the shame and exclusion of living in poverty.
And while most economists say more careful lending practices and a more stable housing market should insulate Canada from the fiscal chaos now gripping the U.S., a jarring report last week from Merrill Lynch economists warns otherwise.
The analysis says many Canadian households are carrying more debt than their counterparts in the U.S. or Britain. It's only a matter of time before the "tipping point" is reached and the housing and credit markets begin to crack here, it says.
Credit counsellors have long warned that too many Canadians are just a few paycheques away from big financial trouble.
As for campaign promises, the Liberals say they would resurrect a scaled-back Kelowna Accord offering $2.1 billion over four years for aboriginal health, housing and economic spending.
The Liberals have also pledged a number of tax benefits and other measures to help reduce the number of people living below the poverty line by at least 30 per cent and the number of children in poverty by at least half.
Conservatives have so far said they'll extend almost $2 billion for affordable housing originally committed by the previous Liberal government. Harper has also promised modest tax breaks for senior citizens and Canadians who stay home to care for a disabled family member.
NDP Leader Jack Layton has assailed what he calls Harper's "do-nothing attitude" when it comes to the economy, and blasted the Conservatives for giving $50 billion in tax breaks to corporations.
He has promised to crack down on automatic bank machine fees, while pushing for a $10-an-hour minimum wage and an ambitious child-care plan among other promises.
