Thirteen months before the next election the New Democrats are giving Ontarians a sweeping overview of what they could expect from an NDP government — new money for health care, education, public transit and social services.

Plus a $15 minimum wage, lower hydro bills, more affordable housing and a plan to ensure everyone has access to clean water and good food.

They’re promising an Ontario “where racism and homophobia have no place” and “Indigenous people are finally treated as respected partners,” says New Democrat Leader Andrea Horwath, in a new “vision” document that’s set to be officially unveiled at the party’s convention this weekend.

The 40-page document, which is big on promises and short on details, is not a complete platform. But it does outline the NDP’s “key priorities” and “a high-level vision for a better Ontario.”

It comes a week before the government will unveil its own priorities in a budget that is expected to invest more in health care, infrastructure and education, and a day before Premier Kathleen Wynne is set to unveil measures to address the province’s housing affordability crisis.

Despite those promises, Horwath and the NDP say it’s time for “change.”

“Costs are up, wages for too many are down and the services we count on, like health care, are squeezed. People across the province feel that even though they’re doing everything right, they still aren’t getting ahead,” says Horwath.

“A few have too much. And too many have too little. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

“We can have a government that puts people at the heart of every decision and gives everyone an equal chance to build a great life.”

Over six pages, the party makes numerous commitments to improve health care in Ontario: a moratorium on further cuts to nurses and other health care professionals until a full staffing framework is developed; ensuring professionals can work to the full scope of their training; and giving doctors access to binding arbitration — a key issue in the lengthy battle between doctors and the province over physician fees.

The party also commits to improving homecare, palliative care and long-term care, ensuring couples are never separated against their will. On mental health, the NDP says it would establish province-wide standards and increase access to counsellors, psychiatrists and street outreach workers.

Under NDP leadership, hospital funding would keep up with inflation at a minimum and wait times for surgery and emergency care would be reduced, the document says.

The party says it would tackle the unaffordability of hydro, child care and housing.

On housing, the NDP says it would address land speculation and property flipping and reform condo legislation to protect Ontarians from “shoddy workmanship.”

It will work with the feds on a National Housing Strategy and strengthen tenants’ rights to “safe, well-maintained rental units” and protect them from “overnight, unlimited rent increases.”

An NDP government, the document says, would restructure the social assistance system to ensure people have easy access to the supports they need and use an evidence-based approach to set assistance rates.

They also would do more to ensure new immigrants can “build a future” in Ontario, including by working with the federal government to get foreign credentials recognized, the document says.

On education, Horwath’s team is promising to cap kindergarten class sizes, provide additional supports for special needs students and shift focus away from standardized testing.

For slightly older Ontarians, the party promises a higher minimum wage and a commitment to ensure any workers hired through temp agencies receive the same wages and benefits as other employees working in the same companies.

The NDP also would make it easier for workers to form unions by only requiring 55 per cent of workers to sign a union card and eliminating the requirement for a secondary vote, the document says.

To increase worker safety, an NDP government would increase resources to ensure “proactive enforcement” of health and safety standards and ensure more workplaces are subject to those laws.

They would support small and medium sized businesses through government procurement and bring businesses of all sizes together to foster and grow innovation clusters.

To improve transit, an NDP government would match municipal transit investments – an $800 million a year commitment, the document says.

The party is also promising to support key industries, including auto, manufacturing, and agriculture.

It says it would to work with farmers to create an Ontario Food Strategy to ensure Ontarians have access to good food and to create jobs in farming, food processing, biofuels, transportation and retail.

That strategy also would provide support to young farm families, including loan guarantees for first-time farmers and measures to protect farmland from development.

The NDP document also outlines a commitment to update Ontario’s Environmental Bill of Rights and ensure proceeds from carbon pricing help those regions most affected by climate change.

Finally, the NDP committed to creating a more transparency and accountability in all levels of government and developing better relationship with municipalities and a government-to-government relationship with First Nations.