Article content continued

It is indicative of this campaign that none of the parties has anything substantive to say to voters, so they are all offering variations of the same policies

The NDP has committed to a similar increase to the amortization period, which was lowered by former Conservative finance minister Jim Flaherty over concerns of an over-heating housing market.

The Liberals have chimed in with a sweetening of the First-Time Home Buyers Incentive that was unveiled in the last budget. That proposal offered a “shared equity mortgage”, where the government gives first-time home buyers 5-10 per cent towards the value of their home, with no interest required. The catch is that when the house is sold, the government takes back the same percentage, which doesn’t sound a great deal for anyone planning on renovations (the government gets a cut of the upside for no investment).

The new, improved version increases the value of the mortgage covered to $789,000 in value in markets with sky-high prices like the GTA, Vancouver and Victoria. But the terms and conditions mean applicants in higher income brackets are not eligible.

It is indicative of this campaign that none of the parties has anything substantive to say to voters, so they are all offering variations of the same policies – witness the Liberal tax package released Sunday, which increases the basic personal allowance that workers can earn before paying tax by nearly $2,000 to match the Conservative universal tax cut that would cut the lowest tax bracket from 15 per cent to 13.75 per cent.

Photo by REUTERS/Christinne Muschi

Who can keep track on this constant dribble of deficit-funded largesse? Not voters, one suspects.