Federal Budget

By 250 News

The Minister of Finance has delivered his second budget as Minister of Finance  for Canada.    

Jim Flaherty  says  this budget will "restore fiscal balance" in the country.  He says taxes are lower,  the budget is balanced and  the government is paying down the $22 billion dollars in national debt which amounts to $700 dollars for every man woman and child in the nation.

Experts say if ever there was an election budget, this is it.  Although  the Minister of Finance said the Opposition  would be hard pressed to find something wrong with it, NDP Leader Jack Layton says  the  plan does nothing to  reduce the disparity gap between Canadians and contains too much in the way of breaks for major corporations. Layton says  his party cannot support the budget the way  it is.

Highlights:  just some of the details

Families:

• A $2,000 child tax credit will provide up to $310 per child in tax relief
• Increase in the spousal and other amounts will provide up to $209 in tax relief, ending the marriage penalty.
• Increase in the age limit to 71 from 69 for registered retirement savings plans and registered pensions.
• Eliminate the $4,000 limit on annual contributions to registered education savings plans (RESPs), increase the lifetime contribution limit to $50,000 from $42,000, and extend RESP eligibility to more part-time studies.
• Increase the maximum annual Canada Education Savings Grant to $500 from $400.
• A Working Income Tax Benefit of up to $1,000 per year for families or $500 for individuals will help people over the "welfare wall"
• A new Registered Disability Savings Plan to help parents and others save money to care for children with severe disabilities.
• $6 million a year to combat the sexual exploitation and trafficking of children.
• $10 million a year to expand the New Horizons for Seniors program, which will help prevent abuse and telemarketing fraud.
• $10 million a year to achieve meaningful results in key areas such as the economic status of women and combatting violence against women and girls.

Health

• $400 million for Canada Health Infoway to support the development of electronic health records.
• Up to $612 million for a Patient Wait Times Guarantee Trust.
• $30 million over three years for patient wait times guarantee pilot projects.
• $300 million so provinces and territories can offer a vaccine to protect women against cancer of the cervix.
• $10 million over two years and $15 million a year thereafter to establish the Canadian Mental Health Commission.
• $22-million-per-year increase to the Canadian Institute for Health Information.

Culture

• $30 million a year to support local arts and heritage festivals.

Environment:

• A rebate of up to $2,000 per vehicle to buyers of fuel-efficient vehicles and a Green Levy on new fuel-inefficient vehicles.
• $36 million over the next two years for "scrappage" programs to get older vehicles off the road.
• $110 million over two years for better implementation of the Species at Risk Act.
• $22 million over two years to improve enforcement of environmental laws, including increasing the number of enforcement officers by 50 per cent.
• $10 million over two years to create and expand protected areas in the Northwest Territories, which includes part of the important boreal forest that stretches across Canada.
• The National Water Strategy will provide $93 million over two years to improve the quality of water in Canada’s rivers, lakes and oceans.
• $324 million over 10 years to the Canadian Coast Guard for six new large vessels to patrol our waters.

Infrastructure:

• $17.6 billion in gas tax and other base funding for municipalities.
• $8.8 billion to the Building Canada Fund to support such investments as the core national highway system, urban transit and water treatment facilities.
• $2.1-billion fund for gateways and border crossings,
• Increasing support for the Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative to $1 billion.
• $2.3 billion for provinces and territories to fund such national priorities as trade-related infrastructure. 

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