Mulcair vows to reverse the course of history

Stop me if you've heard this one before: an opposition leader is promising to disavow himself/herself from the current administration's policies.

NDP leader Thomas Mulcair is doing just that.

Earlier this year, the Harper government increased the age of eligibility for Old Age Security (OAS) to 67 — starting in 2023 — as a means to "ensure the sustainability of the program."

But last week, the NDP released a notice stating that, if elected, they would restore the age of eligibility to 65.

[ Related: NDP government would restore OAS retirement age to 65 ]

"In a country as wealthy as Canada, there is simply no excuse for such a massive failure to take care of our own," Mulcair said.

"We must do better. Our seniors deserve better and our children deserve better."

But he's not stopping there.

On Tuesday, Mulcair told reporters that an NDP government would roll back the Canada-China Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Act also known as FIPA.

"You can sign into an agreement and then you can remove yourself from the agreement. That's what successive governments can do," he said according to the Toronto Star.

"And what we're signalling clearly is that we're not going to be bound for the next 30 years by an agreement that hasn't even been studied, that would make our court system take the interests of foreign investors and foreign companies pass above the interests of Canadians, the interests of our environment, the interests of our rights."

First of all, I don't think we know — or even Mulcair knows — if there's a legal way to change the agreement 3 years down the road.

Secondly, we've all heard these bold proclamations before.

Many in this country will recall Jean Chretien's pledge to ax the much maligned GST.

"I say we will replace the tax. This is a commitment," he said in February 1993, according to the Globe and Mail.

"You will judge me by that. If the GST is not gone, I will have a tough time the election after that."

And remember Stephen Harper telling Canadians that he wouldn't appoint any Senators?

In 2004 Harper's leadership website said this: "Stephen Harper will cease patronage appointments to the Senate. Only candidates elected by the people will be named to the Upper House."

Since coming into office, Harper has appointed 53 individuals to the senate.

[ Related: Closed-door Senate under siege: Four solutions to Canada's 145-year itch ]

In United States, President Obama promised to "revist" NAFTA, prior to getting elected, saying that the labor and environmental policies weren't beneficial to Americans.

Instead of revisiting NAFTA, Obama has actually pushed for and singed more bilateral and multi-lateral trade agreements.

Time will tell, if Mulcair is sincere.

The reality is that opposition parties can make all the grandiose promises about policy reversals they want. But once in office and faced with the realities of governing, politicians are forced to be a little more pragmatic.

Call me a skeptic, but I'll believe Mulcair's promises when I see the legislation passed through Canada's un-elected senate.