Federal finance minister Jim Flaherty’s 2014 budget is a “stay the course budget that will eliminate the deficit in the next 12 months", Wellington-Halton Hills MP Michael Chong told the Advertiser Tuesday night in a telephone interview from Ottawa just after the budget was announced.
Perth-Wellington MP Gary Schellenberger, also a Conservative, feels the number one feature of this year’s document is the progress toward balancing the budget next year.
“This budget will balance in 2015,” Schellenberger told the Advertiser from his Ottawa office. Schellenberger noted the 2014 budget contains a $2.9 billion deficit, but there will be a $6.4 billion surplus next year.
However, the budget was not met with similar enthusiasm from all.
“Municipalities were looking to today’s (Feb. 11) budget to see real measures to address the growing housing crisis facing Canada’s families, communities, and economy,” Claude Dauphin, president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), said in a press release.
“Unfortunately, budget 2014 fell short of that goal, failing to include any targets, timelines or a commitment to a long-term housing plan.”
A lack of information on some of the initiatives announced in the budget was not lost on Chong, who admitted details have yet to be worked out on how some programs will function.
The Building Canada Fund, a $53-billion infrastructure program announced last year that will provide $47 billion in new funding over the next 10 years (with $14 billion for municipalities), has yet to be fully worked out.
“This is bridges and water and sewer and those types of things,” said Schellenberger, who noted the program will be delivered by the FCM.
Chong pointed out the federal government has also provided municipalities with indexed gas tax revenue for infrastructure work.
The government is also re-introducing its new Canada Job Grant program starting April 1. The program, announced last year, would have seen grants of $15,000 for skills training split between the federal and provincial governments and the employer. Provinces and territories never signed on to the program, but Schellenberger said the feds will go ahead without provincial support if necessary.
Chong said the budget also includes a program to provide students skills training with an interest-free portion to student loans. In 2009, according to the MP, the skilled trades shortfall to vacant jobs was 2.7 per cent, but has climbed to 5.8% in 2012.
“That’s why there’s a big push in the budget to fill these skilled positions,” Chong said. He added average Canadian families pay about $3,000 less in federal taxes since the Conservatives were elected. Seniors, he added, have also seen the “single biggest increase to the guaranteed income supplement brought in in 2011, which provides $600 more to single seniors and $840 to senior couples annually.”
According to Chong the Canadian labour market has outperformed all the G7 economies and created one million jobs in Canada, but still suffers from a lack of skilled workers. That growth is reflected in the low unemployment rate in Wellington County of 5.5%.
“The overall trend is the economy is still creating jobs,” Chong said.
“The federal tax burden is the lowest in 50 years, creating the economic climate to allow entrepreneurs and investors to invest and create jobs.”
Schellenberger also noted this year’s budget contains a $3-billion emergency fund. While conceding past budgets have also contained a contingency fund, Schellenberger stressed “there’s been $3 billion put back into it for those occasions.”
The budget also contains a measure Schellenberger feels will please the certified seed producers and plant breeders in the riding.
“We are modernizing the plant breeders rights act. This is something that I know my plant breeders have been talking about and feel it will help when they deal with other countries to expand their market. So I think that’s a good thing.”
The budget also contains $1.25 billion over five years for a renewed Building Canada Fund, which encourages innovative ways to fund infrastructure projects through private/public partnerships.
