Joe Clark promises to reduce the debt and cut taxes even more aggressively than the Liberals.

Tory Leader Joe Clark is hoping he can save his party from being swept aside by the Canadian Alliance with a campaign platform that mixes conservative economic policies with moderate social values.

In unveiling his party's platform, Clark echoed Alliance Leader Stockwell Day in attacking the Liberals for "wasting billions of taxpayers' dollars through financial mismanagement" and for doing nothing to stem the alleged "brain drain" of highly skilled Canadians to the United States.

If elected, Clark said, his party would reduce the debt and cut taxes even more aggressively than the Liberals, completely eliminating the capital gains tax and raising the amount of income Canadians can earn tax free by $1,000 a year over the next five years.

However, Clark was careful to portray his party as one that is more tolerant on social issues.

"As Progressive Conservatives, we believe in the Canadian values that founded and built this country -- family, community, diversity, individual initiative and generosity of spirit," Clark said.

On new spending initiatives, Clark promised his party would fully restore the cash portion of the Canada Health and Social Transfer (CHST) to at least 1993-1994 levels, but offered no plans to ensure that provincial governments would be required to pass on federal funds to hospitals and post-secondary institutions.

CAUT president Tom Booth said that without such a guarantee, an increase in the CHST would be "like pouring money down a dark well."

"The CHST is like jelly," he added. "Where federal dollars are spent, even if they are spent, is almost impossible to know."

Like the Alliance, the Tories are proposing replacing the Canada Student Loans Program with an income contingent loan repayment plan, a scheme that has been sharply criticized by students as unfair for lower income Canadians.

The Conservatives say they would also provide help to students by eliminating the taxable status of scholarships and introducing a tax credit on the repayment of Canada student loan principal.

Additionally, Clark said a Tory government would establish a Canadian Institute for Learning and Technology to promote the use of on-line learning and the development of "learning products."