OTTAWA - The NDP's official platform and spending proposals are usually overtly idealistic, utopian, and unworkable. Crowd-pleasing epithets usually play a big role in their messaging - a country that is one big family, with no unemployment poverty or corruption. Of course, as the perpetual asterisk in our 'two party-plus' political system, the NDP have never really needed to demonstrate the viability or practicality of their proposals. Accordingly, the NDP have a penchant for spending allocations that scoff at sustainability and balanced budgets.

This year, however, with a possible liberal coalition always looming the NDP's platform needs to face some real scrutiny.  The actual spending details are freshly available now - until this, observers were forced to make do with simple 'intentions' announced by the NDP. It appears, though, that despite the NDP's newfound significance their ambition has once again outstripped their fiscal abilities. Their latest platform would surely spell disaster for Canada.

Small c-conservatives across the country have been pressing the Conservative party to rein in spending to pre-recession levels. This is a sentiment that has grown significantly, even in traditional bastions of Liberal support. For the NDP to completely ignore this trend suggests a disconnection with the priorities of the country.

In the first year, the NDP plan calls for close to $10 billion in new spending - rising to nearly $15 billion in the third/fourth year. All told, taxpayers would be forking over $60 billion in new spending under the NDP plan. Much of this spending is curiously accounted for, as well, which suggests much higher actual costs than these speculative costs.

For example, the NDP platform calls for a cap-and-trade system to recoup some revenue into government coffers. This system does not exist - and the implementation of such a system would not be a smooth ride. As with the Liberal platform, the NDP also rely upon questionable math regarding the funds provided by reversing course on corporate tax cuts. As the Liberals ahve now been forced to accept, rolling back corporate tax cuts will not provide the expected revenue boost. Higher corporate tax rates encourage companies to base their wealth somewhere else - meaning Canadian taxpayers and NDP ambition are shut out. It is only through lower corporate tax rates that this money is attracted to stay in Canada in the first place.

As the federal leaders' debates approach this week, taxpayers are hoping that some of these loose ends will be tied up. Or, at least, that any remaining holes will be exposed.