A business tax credit proposed by the Ontario Liberals will put many job-seeking Northerners at a disadvantage, says Alan Spacek, the Progressive Conservative candidate for Timmins-James Bay.

The Liberals say they will spend up to $12 million a year to give employers a business tax credit to hire recent immigrants.

It was part of the Liberal platform unveiled by Premier Dalton McGuinty Monday.

"What that means is if you're unemployed in Northern Ontario, a foreign worker has a $10,000 head start on getting a job," said Spacek, pointing out the jobless rate is as high as 40% in some communities within this riding.

He said communities like Hearst which are dependent on the forest industry have been hardest hit.

"We've lost over 20,000 jobs — over 4,000 in Timmins alone," said Spacek. "The Liberals' lack of response to job losses in the forest industry is most disappointing when you consider how they were falling over themselves with a chequebook to help the auto industry.

"What about the guy who is unemployed in Timmins and Kapuskasing right now?"

The Liberals say the proposed tax credit is aimed at "highly skilled" newcomers like lawyers and accountants who need Canadian work experience to land their first job here in the profession. However, the Liberals haven't decided yet which fields will qualify.

In the meantime, the Liberals plan to unveil its Northern Ontario platform this Friday in Sudbury.

Leonard Rickard, the Ontario Liberal candidate for Timmins-James Bay, said his party is committed to providing permanent funding for the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund and ensuring Northern communities are in a "position to take full advantage of the opportunities" created by the Ring of Fire mineral deposits in the James Bay lowlands.

Provisions in the Liberal platform geared towards assisting seniors touched a chord with Rickard.

"Both of my grandmothers were sick in the last years of their life, and being part of a family that took care of our grandmothers one thing that hit home for me" was the focus within the platform on "seniors and aging with dignity."

The Liberals are promising house calls for the frail and elderly and seniors' home renovation tax credits for installing ramps and accessible bathrooms.

Other election promises included a tuition grant for full-time undergraduate students lower- and middle-income families.

New Democrat candidate Gilles Bisson said the McGuinty government clearly has its sights on factions of the population where the Liberals are perceived to have lost support.

"They're trying to do a Hail Mary pass, making promises to certain demographics," said Bisson. "They're trying to get support from the immigrant community and going after students and seniors. They're reaching out to people who aren't happy with them — the students especially because of rising tuition fees and the overall costs of attending post-secondary education.

"This is a bid on the part of the Liberals to attract votes their way. And this is a case of 'buyer beware' because they've made promises before and they have not delivered on a bunch of them."

The Liberals also promised:

• seniors would be allowed to defer property tax increases until their homes are sold;

• doubling children's activity tax credit to $100 per child;

• GO Transit would run all day, both ways, on all corridors; and

• three new undergraduate satellite campuses and 60,000 new post-secondary spaces.