Mixed Reaction to Federal Budget
Prince George, B.C. – Mixed reaction today to the federal budget.
One person enthusiastically supportive of it, Prince George-Peace River Conservative MP Bob Zimmer, said it addressed the needs of Northeastern B.C.
“We have kept our promise to Canadians by balancing the budget in 2015, the first balanced budget since the Great Recession,” said Mr. Zimmer. “The $1.4 billion surplus on top of the balanced budget is just icing on the cake.”
“Under our leadership, Canada has created over 1.2 million new jobs since the recession, but we live in uncertain times and the global economy remains fragile. That is why Economic Action Plan 2015 will continue our Government’s focus on creating more jobs and growing the economy in Prince George-Peace River and across the country,” Mr. Zimmer continued.
He’s also pleased the government plans to lower the small business tax from 11% to 9% over the next four years and that they are committing $193 million to improving service for veterans.
“We’re going to increase the number of case managers to more than 100. How that affects Prince George I’m not quite sure yet, but we’re working on it.”
Prince George City Councillor Garth Frizzell, who’s also a Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) board member, was pleased with a mass transit fund, which won’t kick in until 2017-18, but will provide $750 million over two years and $1 billion in all subsequent years.
“That’s new money, that’s great news,” he said. “We’ve been doing advocacy for years to try and get some kind of transit funding and here they came along, and as a bit of a surprise, they’ve given us what we needed and what we asked for so it’s a big win for municipalities.”
Skeena-Bulkley Valley NDP MP Nathan Cullen wasn’t as impressed as Frizzell however.
“There’s infrastructure money but it’s back-loaded. It’s announced now but the money doesn’t roll out for a couple of years.”
He concedes on the job growth front, the Conservatives took a few different ideas from the NDP and introduced them into the budget including lowering the small business tax rate, and providing some funds for innovation ($1.3 billion, over six years beginning in 2017-18).
But Cullen was less kind with the Conservative’s decision to go ahead and adopt income splitting, which he said “will only help 15% of the wealthiest of families,” or to allow the the doubling of contributions to Tax Free Savings Accounts to $10,000 annually.
“So if you’re wealthy the budget is good for you, if you’re everybody else then there’s a few things but not much.”
And considering this month’s oil spill in English Bay, he added it’s notable there was no money for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
“No replenishment of the Coast Guard or marine protection, which after the spill in Vancouver and all the pipelines the Conservatives are promoting, I was surprised by.”
UNBC political science lecturer Jason Morris called balancing the budget “an accomplishment” but complained about the scope of the document.
“I think Conservative budgets are too complicated to even know what surprises are in there,” he said. “They announce dozens of little things, and maybe there’s lots of goodies in there that will be appreciated by Canadians but it’s making government really complicated.”
Comments
“There’s no doubt this year’s surplus of $1.4 billion was down to a degree of spending discipline — but it also took some Finance department pixie dust, use of two-thirds of the country’s rainy-day contingency, abuse of the Employment Insurance fund and an asset fire sale.”
http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-politics/john-ivison-conservatives-achieved-a-balanced-budget-with-disciplined-spending-and-dose-of-pixie-dust#__federated=1
“The $1.4 billion surplus on top of the balanced budget is just icing on the cake.”
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Total government revenues are $290.3 billion. The surplus is $1.4 billion, or 0.4822% of revenues.
To put that in perspective, for someone making $75,000 a year, it would equate to them planning to have $361.69 left over at the end of the year after spending $74,638.31. A couple of rock dings on the windshield, your kid breaks their glasses or you have to make an emergency trip to visit a sick relative and poof, there goes your surplus.
Maybe the “icing” being referred to by Mr. Zimmer is actually just a light dusting of powdered sugar, LOL ;)
Some that I have spoken with have already suggested that the order of the day should be deficit spending, albeit moderate deficit spending!
I would suggest that the use of any rainy day account is already deficit spending!
To say this budget is cynical would be a huge understatement. Last gasp of a dying regime. Balanced? Would that be a new euphemism for bovine excrement? Selling off public assets is not what I would call balancing the books and is certainly not sustainable. This government has no interest in sustainability though as evidenced by their continued oblivious march down the neo liberal policy path.
I wonder how much revenue they “realized” from the sale of GM shares in 2015. In the end, we subsidized the auto industry to the tune of $3.5 billion even after the redemptions. Auto manufacturing jobs continue to be bled out of this country though.
I hope the Conservatives get annihilated at the polls come fall. I can’t vote for these buffoons anymore. This budget is just a big lie, as the Con playbook has become.
Sine Nomine, you state that you can’t vote for these buffoons anymore? Are you suggesting that you have in the past voted for the Conservatives? I ask because I don’t recall you EVER posting a comment that might lead one to believe that you EVER voted for ANY right of centre party!
Keep your chin up! As I commented in another post, come this Fall, you’ll have another 4 years to complain!
I think Mr. Fizzell should take a closer look at the proposed spending for transit that is unless he is now on council in Vancouver or Toronto. That transit money he mentioned, which by the way won’t be coming for a couple of years is targeted for the big metro cities like Vancouver, Montreal, etc. I suspect as part of a strategy to win votes in the fall.
Prince George and any similar sized city is out of luck. Yes the whiners from the big cities continue to get a bigger slice of the tax pie even though the wealth is created in resource based communities like PG.
A lot can happen before this fall. A very good chance we will be embroiled in Mid-East war, right where Harper wants us. Harper has no contingency in his budget for a war he has all but guaranteed Canada will participate in.
Canada’s F-18’s are not in Kuwait to strike isis. Consider that isis is a puppet organization of the Saudi’s, Israel, and Turkey intelligence organizations, and has been all along… consider that if Iranian oil ever goes on market, then they will be in a pricing war with the Saudi’s and Albertan oil fields will be miles from economical at world market prices… consider that Iran and the Saudi’s are in a proxy war in Yeman, Syria, and Iraq… and consider that Harper has picked the Saudi (isis) side with the Shia as the enemy… consider that Israel considers Iran and the Shia as their mortal enemy in the region and Harper has given Israel a war guarantee… consider that Israel is planning to strike the Iranian nuclear facilities with US Congressional approval, and likely Iranian oil facilities (Harpers goal) while they are at it if the P5 lifts sanctions… and consider that Canada has a half dozen of the worlds foremost fighter aircraft sitting right on the Iranian Boarder in Kuwait primed to either join Israel, or defend Israeli planes after the fact of an attack, once Iran responds to the attack… and then consider that this is the situation on the ground, and it effectively through Harpers war guarantee to Israel, ensures Canada is a key player in the escalation plans to take down Iran before they can sell oil to the world markets (or develop a bomb).
Iran is ready to move on isis in Iraq, and I don’t think Israel will wait for that to happen… Israel could strike at any time in the coming months. Canadian strikes on isis are very limited, as the zionists in no way want to tip the balance of power to Iran and the Iranian backed Iraqi government… this makes things tense for the Canadians in the North ‘training’ the Kurds… as the Kurds are fighting an isis that is backed by Turkey and the western allies, as well fending off the Iraqi government… so the few targets that are hit are more of a holding pattern than anything, waiting for Israel to decide when the mid-East wide war begins.
With Harper everything is game theory. He is a master of game theory in our time… his budget timing is a game theory master piece for electioneering… his pre positioning of Canadian military assets and his rhetoric around Canadian involvement is a master piece of game theory towards war that makes G. W. Bush blush, and even hitler would be proud. With Harper nothing is how it appears, the hidden agenda is personified in how Harper operates.
BTW I don’t mind the income splitting. It will benefit me greatly as my wife is a homemaker. I think this is just a matter of fairness and not a matter of pandering for votes.
If two families have the same income then they should have the same family tax rate whether one person is working or both. This should be a principle of taxation for low and middle income families.
I think the cap should be lower… maybe a $100,000 at most, but other than that I think there is great value in one parent staying home to raise well adjusted children with a strong family bond, and not be penalized for this by Revenue Canada.
That’s the budget, now lets get to the election and get it settled, then perhaps we can have a few years of relative calm.
The constant complaining from the Harper haters, and the lefties is giving me a headache.
While I understand that it is depressing for the NDP to always be on the outside looking in, and also for the Liberals to not be in Government, the constant complaining is somewhat tiring.
I would still rather see an empty box sent to Ottawa to represent me than sending a Todd Doherty.
Palopu… are you saying that if (by chance) any other Party won the election, you’d shut down your ultra-conservative rhetoric and NOT complain, to save us all from headaches? How generous of you. Much appreciated.
BTW… the incessant Conservative complaining about Lefties complaining is giving me a headache. :D
How does this budget address the needs of northern bc , Bob ? It helps me in that I shouldn’t ever have to pay cap gains tax ever again . So how does that help the north of bc ? Do you really think I’m going to spend it all up here ? Or some place nice and warm ? This budget is a 604/416 budget , home of the vast percentage of one percenters . Unbelievable that they can get so many other than their base to vote for them . They must thank their lucky stars that the right are such sheeple .
The conservative voter is the one who will decide who governs. We have no reason to complain about anything. We can, and do effect change. Next.
Eagle one the income splitting has already been avalible for years for you and your wife . If you haven’t been doing it already then I’d hire a good tax accountant . If you have one and they have not split you and your wife’s income , you should fire your accountant and get a good one to fix it . Accountant fee is deductible .
@Digitus Impudicus…rather see…..
Whoa there!! The Conservative nomination is over and your guy lost…
If you REALLY ARE a Conservative maybe you should be rowing in the same direction as Todd Doherty, unless all your supportive comments of Nick during the nomination were BS ????
Ataloss gives tax advise and incorrect advise to boot. Is there any topic you can competently discuss?
I guess you don’t know what the TFSA change actually was . FYI the change to the TFSA amount per year is now 10k . You and I can this year dump another 4500$ Of your high octane stocks into your account , today . The difference to the income splitting is from spousal to family income . Meaning now you can include any kidiots you have dwelling in your basement .
Dow which part do you deem incorrect ? On my planet we (wife and I ) have been income splitting for years . Finacial advisors and accounting services are deductible expenditures .
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