If one didn’t know Canada was heading to the polls this fall, Tuesday’s federal budget seemingly pulled back the curtain.
“This is a pre-election budget,” Simcoe North MP Bruce Stanton said shortly after Finance Minister Bill Morneau tabled the federal budget that spells out the governing Liberals’ plans going forward.
“The government has identified some measures that will certainly be welcome by specific groups. They’ve really touched on a lot of key areas.”
And, unlike some politicians who will automatically dismiss an opponent’s policies based solely along party lines, Stanton said there are some positives in the budget.
As an example, he cited as interesting planned measures to make housing more affordable, especially for first-time buyers, by letting them borrow $35,000 from RRSPs (up from $25,000) and having the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation contribute a small share of equity for down payments.
He also noted the plan to allow low-income seniors receiving the Guaranteed Income Supplement to earn up to $5,000 tax free (from $3,500 now) is a positive step.
Stanton also likes the planned cash infusion of $30.5 billion over five years to help fight the country’s opioid crisis.
“We’ve been very hard hit in Simcoe County,” he said, referring to the crisis that has led to thousands of overdose deaths across the country in recent years.
“It’s a tragic situation and a terrible curse that sees our most vulnerable people fall between the cracks.”
For remote and rural communities, Stanton said the government’s plan to spend billions on broadband support over the next 10 years through not only cable and fibre-optic networks, but also through satellite feeds, should provide better networking for all Canadians.
But with a budget proposing to deliver billions of dollars to a number of specific programs and demographic groups, Stanton said the plan spends lots of dollars for a sunny today without acknowledging potential dark skies on the horizon.
“The thing that really jumped off the page at me is the increase in spending by $50 billion over the next five years,” he said. “They’re continuing to add to the debt. It’s an optimistic budget from the government (but) it doesn’t leave the finance minister with a lot of wiggle room. At some point in time, those bills are going to have to be paid.”
The budget also brings with it a federal deficit of $19.8 billion, including a $3-billion "risk adjustment," an increase of $200 million from last year's forecast. The Liberals' forecast again includes a gradual reduction in the deficit, but not quite as quickly as anticipated last year. By 2023-24, the projected federal deficit is $11.4 billion.
While Stanton noted Canada’s economy is currently doing relatively well, changing times could bring changing fortunes and the budget doesn’t provide much leeway should that occur.
“We still have issues out there like the trade irritations,” he said, referring to steel and aluminum export tariffs as well as uncertainty regarding bilateral trade agreements with powerhouse nations like China and the United States.
“There are all kinds of things that are kind of hovering out there. We in eastern Canada don’t quite appreciate some of the economic devastation occurring in western Canada (with the energy sector).”
Stanton said while tax credits such as the Canada Training Benefit to help workers upgrade skills and acquire new ones while keeping their jobs are good, they’re rather “paltry” and likely won’t help those in their 40s or 50s who suddenly find themselves out of work.
As well, Stanton noted the budget could result in higher taxes for the middle class since there are no new tax cuts planned and someone will eventually have to foot the bill.
As an aside, Stanton said Parliament Hill has grown into a tense place as the Liberals continue to feel the heat from the SNC-Lavalin affair that this week saw Clerk of the Privy Council Michael Wernick leave his post.
“The climate here is really tense,” Stanton said, adding the impending federal election is unlikely to alleviate that tension any time soon. “There are a lot of issues around the SNC-Lavalin story.”
