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OTTAWA -- The Liberals are proposing a series of fixes to Ottawa's troubled temporary foreign worker program as fresh allegations of abuse emerge almost daily.

MP John McCallum, the party's immigration critic, proposes five reforms to the program that focus partly on better monitoring of employers who apply to bring in foreigners.

He adds that the government should scale the program back and focus on its original purpose -- to fill labour shortages when there is a legitimate need.

In recent weeks, a spate of allegations suggests some companies are turning to the program in sectors and regions of the country where there are no labour shortages.

Helicopter pilots, waitresses and mall workers are among those who have stepped forward to complain.

Employment Minister Jason Kenney has pledged to lower the boom on those abusing the program and has already banned restaurants from applying for temporary foreign workers.

New rule changes are expected soon, including beefing up the auditing powers of federal inspectors.

McCallum points out that between 2005 and 2012, the number of temporary foreign workers in Canada more than doubled.

He wants the government to tighten the so-called labour market opinion process. Employers must apply for a positive labour market opinion if they want to hire a foreigner on a temporary basis.

McCallum also repeated his demand for a review by the auditor general.

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Liberals propose five-point plan to fix temporary foreign worker program

TORONTO - The campaign buses have barely rolled out for the June 12 election and already there's a flurry of open letters, accusations and even legal claims in a $2-million libel suit.

The Progressive Conservatives are denying they did anything wrong when they suggested that Premier Kathleen Wynne "oversaw and possibly ordered the criminal destruction of documents" related to the $1.1-billion cancellation of two gas plants.

In a statement of defence in response to a lawsuit launched by Liberals last month, the Tories say they had a "legal, social and/or moral duty" to make the statements the Liberals claim were defamatory.

The Tories are claiming qualified privilege, saying the public had "a corresponding interest" in hearing that information.

They say in the statement dated May 2 that they were diligent in trying to verify the allegation and that it was an urgent matter of public importance.

Asked whether it was a mistake to file the libel suit against the Opposition party, Wynne responded Monday that she felt it was important to challenge the Tories' allegation.

"I am willing to debate facts anywhere, anytime. I'm always willing to talk about facts and I have answered questions about the decisons around relocating the gas plants," she said at a high school in Richmond Hill, north of Toronto.

"But when there are false allegations made, it's very important that I stand up to those and that I make it clear that that's unacceptable. So the legal process will carry on."

Meanwhile, NDP Leader Andrea Horwath has sent an open letter to her rivals challenging them to participate in five debates, with one focused on jobs and the economy.

Speaking to host Matt Galloway on CBC's "Metro Morning" on Monday, Horwath said she was not concerned that big union leaders like Unifor head Jerry Dias had questioned her decision not to support the budget, which was seen as labour friendly.

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Liberal, PC campaign buses roll Monday

Liberals Leave Obama Alone you PUNKS

By: Allan Lane

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Liberals Leave Obama Alone you PUNKS - Video

B.C.s governing Liberals have welcomed John Horgan to his new role as NDP Leader by dismissing him as a relic of the oppositions past years in government.

With the selection of John Horgan as leader, a colourful personality I admit, the NDP remains firmly stuck in the 1990s, Energy Minister Bill, Bennett said in a letter to B.C. Liberal Party members that was released to the media on Sunday as Mr. Horgan gave an inaugural speech.

No one else wanted the job so Mr. Horgan, a former adviser to two NDP premiers from the Dismal Decade, will try to captain the NDP ship.

The Liberals employed a similar line of attack against Mr. Horgans predecessor, Adrian Dix, whose resignation launched the leadership race that crowned Mr. Horgan. Mr. Dix, who was a chief of staff to 1990s-era premier Glen Clark, led the NDP to defeat in the 2013 election that saw the Liberals win a fourth straight majority.

In an interview, Mr. Bennett was asked how long the Liberals believe that linking the NDP to the 1990s will work as a political tactic. As long as they keep picking leaders that are rooted in the 1990s and cut their teeth at a time when they clearly lost the confidence of British Columbians to the point that British Columbians still, today, remember that, said Mr. Bennett. Until the NDP cut themselves loose from that legacy, theyre going to be judged on that record.

As Mr. Horgan, the partys former house leader and energy critic, prepared to deliver his first speech as leader to a gathering of about 150 supporters at a downtown Vancouver hotel, Liberal activists mingled and hammered home their point in a wry way. They handed out mock CDs titled John Horgans 90s Greatest Hits Feat. The Same Old NDP, Bills Bills Bills and Runaway Train.

Mr. Horgan did not directly address the Liberal attacks on Sunday because his aides rushed him away without a scrum with waiting reporters.

Late last week, Mr. Horgan was acclaimed at the new party leader after his only other rival, MLA Mike Farnworth, dropped out of the race, and no other rivals stepped forward to run for the job. Now the 54-year-old Vancouver Island MLA, first elected to the legislature in 2005 after a career as a political aide and adviser, will lead the NDP into the 2017 provincial election.

Mr. Bennett also suggested that Mr. Horgans policies on Liquified Natural Gas, the Site C development and an expanded Kinder-Morgan pipeline between Alberta and the Lower Mainland have been inconsistent.

Mr. Farnworth was indignant at the Liberal jabs. Thats pathetic, said the former NDP cabinet minister in the partys governments of the 1990s. Its 2014. The next election will be 2017 and British Columbians want to know what a leader is going to be doing, not what the Liberals want to talk about, which is in the past.

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B.C. Liberals cast Horgan as relic of 1990s

The New Democrats decision to topple the Liberals and force a June 12 election appears to be backfiring, the first poll of the campaign suggests.

While the Progressive Conservatives lead in the Forum Research survey, the Liberals are poised to form another minority government due to the efficiency of their vote.

The poll showed Tim Hudaks Tories at 38 per cent, Kathleen Wynnes Liberals at 33 per cent and Andrea Horwaths New Democrats at 22 per cent. Mike Schreiners Greens came in at 6 per cent.

Its the first poll conducted since Horwath announced Friday that her party could no longer prop up the Liberals and would join the Conservatives in defeating Finance Minister Charles Sousas left-leaning budget tabled the day before.

That forced Wynne to ask Lieutenant-Governor David Onley to dissolve the minority legislature, launching the 41-day election campaign.

I think the Liberals set a trap and the NDP fell into it, Forum president Lorne Bozinoff told the Star on Saturday.

She turned down her dream budget. It doesnt get better than that for New Democrats, said Bozinoff.

Using interactive voice-response phone calls, Forum surveyed 1,845 people across Ontario on Friday and Saturday. The results are considered accurate to within two percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Horwath triggered the election just one day after Sousa introduced a budget crafted to appeal to New Democrats and avert a campaign but could also serve as a Liberal platform if need be.

The $130.4-billion fiscal blueprint which was endorsed by many private- and public-sector union leaders included a new Ontario Retirement Pension Plan, modelled on the Canada Pension Plan, to force people to save more.

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Ontario poll: Tories lead but Liberals poised to form government