Peggy Revell
Canada edged closer towards a federal election yesterday as all three opposition parties voiced their rejection of the Conservatives’ budget.
“This budget has nothing in it for Northern Ontario. It’s a very, very disappointing budget,” said Thunder Bay-Rainy River MP John Rafferty, stating that if the budget remains as is, he will be voting against it.
But whether or not there will be an election remains up in the air, added Rafferty, noting the government can set when the budget vote will occur in the upcoming months.
“We can have a fairly long time of discussions and debates, and there’s no reason why amendments can’t be put forward to this budget to make it better,” he explained, saying this is what he will put his energy into right now.
“I’m going to do my best to improve this budget as long as the government is open to changes,” Rafferty pledged.
But after tabling the budget yesterday afternoon in the House of Commons, Finance minister Jim Flaherty reiterated no alterations will be made.
If the budget stays as is, all three opposition party leaders have said they will not support it—meaning Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s minority conservative government will fall—if it hasn’t already done so due to other non-confidence votes that have been slated.
The budget sees no new tax hikes or cuts, nor any new spending programs or program cuts. It also predicts a balanced budget within six years.
What does remain, however, is the previous plan to cut corporate taxes by 15 percent by 2012—although the budget also pledges to close $1-billion worth of tax loopholes for corporations and individuals.
Sprinkled throughout the budget are various tax credits and
measures, including:
•up to $300 from a “Family caregiver” tax credit for those caring for infirm spouses, common-law partners, and children;
•a $75 tax credit on $500 spent by families on children’s art programs;
•a $450 per year tax credit for volunteer firefighters in rural areas;
•a one-year renewal of the ecoEnergy Home Retrofit program;
•a $300-million boost for low-income seniors receiving the Guaranteed Income Supplement;
•a hiring credit for small businesses which gives a one-year EI break up to $1,000;
•new doctors and nurses in remote areas being forgiven up to $40,000 and $20,000, respectively, in student loans;
•$4 million for a cyclotron, which would create medical isotopes, to be built at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre;
•a program to help ex-military personnel find employment in the construction industry; and
•eliminating the mandatory retirement age for federally-regulated employees.
As part of the budget, legislation also has been put forward which “enshrines” the annual $2-billion gas tax transfer for municipal infrastructure.
Maureen Comuzzi-Stehmann, the Conservative candidate for Thunder Bay-Rainy River, already has called upon Rafferty and fellow NDP MP Bruce Hyer to support the budget.
But the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada came out swinging against the budget yesterday.
CEP president Dave Coles stated in a press release that the budget “does nothing to repair Canada’s shattered economy or to help its victims rebuild their lives.”
“Hundreds of thousands of workers in forestry and other industries have lost their jobs and seen their pensions crumble, and this was an opportunity for the government to repair some of that damage,” argued Coles, calling the GIS “top-up” akin to throwing crumbs to the poorest of the poor.
The NDP had put forward what would be required for its support of the budget, including $700 million more for low-income seniors through the GIS, increasing the Canada Pension Plan, axing the HST on electricity and home-energy costs, and extending the ecoEnergy home retrofit program.
The party also demanded a pledge and plan to solve doctor and nursing shortages in rural areas.
“I think we proposed reasonable budget measures to help middle-class families and people living in Northern Ontario, but it looks as if Stephen Harper is looking to provoke an election,” said Rafferty, referring to the budget not meeting many of these proposals.
People need to “read between the lines” when it comes to various tax credits and points within the budget, Rafferty argued.
For example, the $300 million more in funding earmarked to go towards GIS for seniors breaks down to only another $50 a month, he noted.
But once clawbacks are factored in, the remaining amount would be barely enough to cover HST payments on electricity and heating a home.
“Any sort of money is welcome, but not when it’s given with one hand and taken away with the other,” Rafferty stressed.
Another point Rafferty had “high hopes” for came from the introduction of a tax credit for volunteer firefighters.
But when calculated, this amounts to roughly 48 cents per day, Rafferty noted, which would mean the volunteer firefighters no longer would be able to collect an honorarium for their service.
