Tom Mulcair pledges to boost funding for the arts, CBC/Radio-Canada

NDP Leader Tom Mulcair ispledging to ramp up support for film productionand artists if elected on Oct. 19.

Mulcairsaidan NDPgovernment wouldprovide $60 million over four years to Canada Council for the Arts,Telefilm Canada, theCrown corporation that finances and promotes Canadian films,andtheNational Film Board.

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"I believe in a Canada that can hear artists' voices," Mulcair said,surrounded by artists includingSarahHarmer, Whitehorseand actorGordon Pinsentindowntown Toronto.

"As your prime minister, you know I'll be sincerely committed to supporting our artists, creative workers and cultural innovators."

The NDP saidit would alsomake tax filing fairer and morepredictable for artists.

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NDP Leader Tom Mulcair reacts to the TPP deal agreed upon today, and says that he will not be bound by the deal if elected as Prime Minister.

Artists would also be able to promote their work internationallythrough the appointment of cultural attaches at Canadian embassies.

And the NDP would create a new $10-million digital content fundto support celebrations of Canada's 150th anniversary in 2017.

The Liberals, by comparison, havepromisedto double the government's current level of fundingto the Council for the Arts bringing the total to $180 million a year.They've also booked an additional $25 million a year for Telefilm and the NFB.

Reversing cuts toCBC

Mulcair also reconfirmed his party's promise from earlier thisyear to reverse $115 million in cuts made by theConservativegovernment to the CBC.

"It's more important than ever to share the stories of Canadians from coast to coast to coast. We need a strong public broadcaster to carry the voices of Canadians across this vast country," Mulcair said.

"Under a succession of Liberal and Conservative governments, those governments have eroded our public broadcaster.

"I am resolutely determined to repair the damage done by Stephen Harper."

Mulcair also said he'd intervene to stop the CBC from selling off any of its properties. "I got news for them. Anybody thinking of buying them between now and the election don't even bother. We won't let it happen."

But Hubert Lacroix, the president and CEO of CBC, has denied the company is planning a "fire sale" of its buildings.Rather, Lacroix has said that the CBC will consolidate some its operations but onlywhere it makes sense.

"Moving from outdated owned properties into new, modern leased facilities allows us to continue to create quality content, while better managing our expenditures," Lacroix said in a note to employees last month.

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau has also pledged to restore the funding cut to the CBC. But Mulcair said today that Trudeau can't be trusted to get the job done.

"Actions speak louder than words and in the case of the Liberals, their entire past record shows we cannot trust them on that," Mulcair said.

The NDP campaign was in Toronto on Monday following a whirlwindtour of six Conservative ridings in Southwestern Ontario the daybefore.