EDMONTON - NDP Leader Jack Layton jabbed at the prime minister from the heart of Conservative territory Wednesday, lambasting Stephen Harper's platform as an empty document.
Stepping up his attacks on Harper over the faltering economy, Layton warned that Canadians' pensions and homes are at risk and Harper is doing nothing about it.
Instead of protecting their jobs and savings, the Conservative leader is advising ordinary families to spend their money on plummeting stocks, Layton said.
"Most Canadians are extremely concerned, and yet he's trying to suggest that going out and gambling some of your money is the right strategy," he said after a breakfast rally in Edmonton.
"I think Canadians are looking for a government that's going to take this issue more seriously than that, and not be so cavalier or so casual."
Recent polls suggest the NDP could be the wild card in the lead-up to Tuesday's election. Layton could lead a breakthrough for the party or see its fortunes fall as voters scurry to the Liberals to thwart Conservative ambitions of forming the next government.
The party says Layton is honing his message to zero in on the leadership issue, and whether Canadians should trust their hard-earned savings to Harper.
Layton hopes to convince Liberal and Green voters that the NDP is the strongest alternative in tough economic times.
Speaking to dozens of supporters in the Conservative riding of Edmonton-Centre, Layton shot down the Tory platform as doing little to help families in the face of a global credit crisis.
"When economic uncertainty lies before us, it's a golden opportunity for leadership and it's a golden opportunity for us to pull together," he said.
The NDP would draft new regulations for banks to "make sure that no one is gambling with your savings," he said.
"Mr. Harper hasn't done anything for ordinary families for two years," Layton said.
"And his so-called platform gives us, literally, no hope for the future."
Harper's platform, released Tuesday, has lots of tax incentives for banks and oil companies and little for families, Layton said, noting that during his news conference unveiling the Tory plan, Harper encouraged people to invest in the plummeting stock market.
"It just shows how out of touch this Conservative government is with the hardworking families ... with the pensioners of this country who are worried about their future," he said.
"And it shows that he doesn't care."
Layton saved some of his criticism for Stephane Dion, saying the Liberal leader's carbon-tax plan is unfair and ineffective.
He's expected to take more shots at Dion as he continues on his whistlestop tour Wednesday of Western Canada, with three stops in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
In Saskatoon, Layton will be rallying NDP supporters hoping to topple Tory incumbent Brad Tost. Then he'll visit a hotly contested Liberal riding in Thompson, Man., and end his day with prominent members of his caucus in Winnipeg.
