Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo MP Cathy McLeod calls yesterday’s 700-page federal budget a significant spending document and says she has a lot of questions.
It’s the first budget tabled in more than two years by the federal government, and the deficit this year is forecast to be $154.7 billion. McLeod says that’s more debt than the amount of debt accumulated by all previous governments of Canada combined over 150 years.
“It’s a spending budget that some of which, I should say, was not going to be necessary. Absolutely we have to continue to support people through the pandemic because of our failure to get vaccines and to get our immunity up in this country.”
McLeod did say she was happy to see the extension of some COVID-19 relief programs, such as the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy for businesses which is now open until Sept. 25, after it was set to expire in June. The Canada Response Benefit will also stay in place until Sept. 25, and both programs will see gradual reductions of subsidies through the summer.
“The extension of the programs while we’re in the midst of a third wave was an absolute necessity. So we do need to continue to support small business, we do need to continue to support individuals, as we struggle through this third wave. So I don’t question the need for that support that’s in the budget.”
One item included in the budget is the introduction of a national tax on vacant property owned by non-residents. McLeod is worried about what that might mean for Sun Peaks, and plans to get in touch with mayor Al Raine to talk about it.
“Of course, having people from other countries who own property in places like Sun Peaks is very important for those resort communities. And so I do want to find out if he’s got any concerns, because we certainly don’t want to turn away willing investors in our resort communities.”
The government’s budget estimates all the spending should create, or maintain, some 330,000 jobs next year. It’s also widely seen as a pre-election platform, with more than $100 million in new spending over the next three years.
McLeod was asked if there were any red herrings for spending that is unnecessary. She was asked on Monday afternoon by NL News less than an hour after the budget had been released, and says she was going to need to sift through items. But she says one did stand out.
“There’s probably a lot that might not be necessary at this time. But, $17 billion in terms of a green recovery. What’s that’s going to mean? Why that much money? How effective is that going to be? We certainly know that Ontario put significant dollars into green energy, and of course they didn’t have the effectiveness. So that’s a big number… Certainly we need to look at how they’re going to spend that money, what’s it going to do, and is it actually going to make any difference at all.”
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says last year’s deficit was $354.2 billion. That means more than half a trillion dollars in debt will have been accumulated in just two years, brought on almost entirely by the COVID-19 pandemic.
– with a file from The Canadian Press
