VANCOUVER -- The New Democrats are expected to release their full platform today after a rolling out several key planks in the first week of British Columbia's election campaign.
NDP Leader Adrian Dix will be travelling to the provincial capital in Victoria for an announcement.
While Liberal Leader Christy Clark unveiled her party's platform before the election campaign began, Dix has made daily announcements on the hustings.
On Tuesday, he laid out new health-care spending that will focus on improvements to residential and home care for seniors and boost funding for mental-health care for children and teens.
Dix says the campaign so far reflects his party's priorities, and he's announced money for more teachers and to bolster the agriculture and forest industries.
Clark has a full day of campaign stops throughout the Okanagan today, including stops in Salmon Arm, Sicamous, Vernon and Kelowna.
The Liberals released a 72-page platform the day before the election campaign began, promising a balanced budget and debt reduction.
Clark has called on Dix every day since then to release his full platform and allow voters to make a comparison.
"I hope that every B.C. Liberal and every New Democrat, every Green voter, every British Columbian who hasn't made a decision yet will decide to compare our platforms, our visions, our plans and our teams," she said Tuesday.
"Now, there's a problem with that because we still don't know what the NDP's platform is."
Clark also repeated her challenge to Dix for a one-on-one debate.
The Liberals, who are branding this election as a choice between their prudent fiscal plans and a spendthrift NDP, say the New Democrat's promises so far add up to $2.8 billion.
The New Democrats say all of their spending will be covered by new revenues or reallocation of existing Liberal government funding.
"I think this campaign reflects very much the differences between the two parties," Dix said on Tuesday, after announcing his health-care plans.
On Tuesday -- Earth Day -- he announced that the proposed expansion of Kinder Morgan's existing Trans Mountain pipeline doesn't fit with a New Democrat vision and reiterated his opposition to the proposed Northern Gateway project.
The party's green agenda also includes dissolving the controversial Pacific Carbon Trust and using carbon-tax revenue instead to invest in public transit and green projects.
In his visit to the Okanagan on the weekend, Dix promised an annual investment of $8 million to develop local agricultural markets with three programs. He also announced measures to grow B.C.'s award-winning craft distillery industry.
Last week, the NDP committed $100 million to hire new teachers, teaching assistants, librarians and counsellors, as well as $60 million to improve access to infant and toddler care.
Dix announced a $210-million annual B.C. family bonus for low-income families, providing up to $829 for each child under 18.
The party has committed $40 million to skills training and $100 million for a student-grants program. And Dix kicked off his campaign by announcing a five-year, $310-million plan to grow the forest industry.
