The Conservative government presented their 2013 federal budget on March 21, promising help for manufacturers, the closing of tax loopholes, infrastructure dollars and job training.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty also promised the budget would be balanced in 2015 and said this budget included the smallest increase in discretional spending in 20 years.
The Ontario manufacturing sector will be getting some help, and there are new skills training programs and some measures aimed at helping small business.
Some of the funds the Conservatives are counting on moving forward will be gained by closing tax loopholes for those keeping money offshore.
The budget does still call for a budgetary deficit of $18.7 billion for this year.
Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen, however, said the budget was lacklustre and called it “pretty thin gruel.”
While the Conservatives say there is money for job training, Cullen is calling this a “shell game” with the money being the same money which was previously allocated to provinces to help with job training. Instead, the money will now remain in federal hands, and be administered from Ottawa.
With the current and expected skills shortage in the northwest, Cullen said he is worried the government will carry on with their temporary foreign worker program.
“And have 200 miners come in from China rather than training Canadians for the position,” he said. “That’s not what Canada needs.”
He also criticized the further cuts to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, which he sees as jeopardizing the environment.
“Cutting environmental regulations lowers public confidence, creates more uncertainty, and does nothing to protect the environment,” said Cullen. “any good company doesn’t want to do any of those things.”
The cuts hurt resource development because it builds resistance against it.
Cullen also said the job fair program targeted at those living on First Nations reserves on social assistance will not do what a good apprenticeship program could and unfairly characterizes First Nations people living on reserves and young people as lazy.
“This government has proven itself to be completely out to lunch when it comes to First Nations issues and continually disrespects them,” he said.
Cullen also called into question the infrastructure dollars the Conservatives are promising.
“They’re pretending that there’s going to be no inflation for the next decade, none,” he said. “Just be honest, tell Canadians what to expect so that municipalities aren’t out there looking for money that doesn’t exist. If a $5 billion cut is coming, it’s coming, that’s the hard number and that’s the reality.”
“You can see why they didn’t reappoint Kevin Page as the budget officer because his office is charged with actually finding out where the numbers do meet reality.”
Cullen did point out a couple of factors he saw as positives in the budget, such as continuation of the accelerated capital costs exemption, a job creation tax credit, help for small business and some money to go towards communities to protect fisheries “but this is a drop in the bucket considering they just completely dismantled those same protections for fisheries in the last year’s budget.”
“This doesn’t feel like a budget they were excited about,” said Cullen. “You can tell why the Prime Minister is considering proroguing Parliament, trying to get reset before the next election.”