MP Report: Federal budget misses local expectations
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on April 5, 2019.
With the SNC-Lavalin scandal still dragging Trudeau’s government down, details on the recent federal budget, have evaporated from the public domain. However, knowing it’s the pre-election financial map the Liberals will use to entice Canadians, I can confidently say it has missed the mark on expectations of those in the Medicine Hat-Cardston-Warner riding. Having consulted with constituents prior to the budget’s release, anticipated priorities were lower taxes, debt reduction, elimination of red tape and carbon tax, and a focus on the energy sector. On the municipal side, stable and predictable funding for public infrastructure was identified as critical. Instead, desperate to distract Canadians from their corruption woes, Budget 2019 introduced $41-billion in brand new Liberal spending with limited, if any, benefit for most Canadians. Although the budget does offer a $2.2-billion top up for municipalities from a one-time gas tax transfer, promises of national pharmacare – without an identifiable plan; a housing strategy that could only assist a miniscule number of first-time homebuyers; electric car rebates that will never be spent because the cap on vehicle cost is below actual pricing; and a skills-training initiative that is so financially limited in scope it wouldn’t cover the cost of a text book; make up most of the dangling carrots. Basically, this budget has huge amounts of money spread out so thin in an attempt to dazzle every demographic with a tidbit, that the overall benefit is limited for individuals, business and municipalities It will however, cost lots for every Canadian as this year’s debt is projected at $19.8 billion. That puts the country’s total debt at over $705 billion this year with an additional $74 billion debt projected over the next five years. Trudeau’s deficits today are his tax increases tomorrow, post-election and for years to come. Municipalities were hopeful the budget would assist them in addressing common issues that make their communities sustainable. Forty-three per cent identified water and wastewater enhancement as main priorities, while 29 per cent noted telecommunications related to high-speed internet as an area of concern. However, limited federal support for critical infrastructure prohibits the scope for these high priority, high cost projects. If federal funding were made available, 43 per cent of municipalities indicated they would create environments that encourage economic development through energy projects. Transportation, technology networks, health and green space development were also identified as areas of community interest. Municipal respondents were clear, when it comes to creating a business environment that encourages economic development elimination of the carbon tax, lower taxes, access to funding for small business, and the reduction of bureaucratic red tape is critical. None of these hoped-for priorities were addressed in the budget. Sadly for all Canadians, neither debt reduction nor the promised balanced budget was even on the radar. Glen Motz is Member of Parliament (CPC) for Medicine Hat-Cardston-Warner constituency. 10-9
