Carmen Chai, Alberni Valley Times

The Liberals are “ready to fight” for struggling Canadian families, leader Michael Ignatieff said Tuesday, as he promised his party is focusing on targeting everyday troubles Canadians face, from affordable child care, access to post-secondary education and reliable health care.

Canadians are not better off than they were five years ago when Prime Minister Stephen Harper came to power and many need to have their faith in democracy restored, Ignatieff said as he a delivered a campaign-style speech to a room of cheering Liberal senators, MPs and candidates during the second day of a three-day winter caucus retreat.

“Don’t believe this happy talk from Stephen Harper,” he said. “Focus on these families, what they’re telling you is we need ground under our feet here. We don’t want an intrusive government, but we want ground under our feet, pensions we can count on, health care when we need it, early learning and child care, post-secondary education.

“I’ve seen the fear in the eyes of the Canadian family. If the Liberal party believes in anything, it’s to take that fear away.”…

He said the Liberals would reverse corporate tax cuts, a demand the Conservative government has so far suggested they would reject.