Hastings-Lennox and Addington MP Derek Sloan sent out a letter this afternoon with his reaction to the federal budget announced today, Monday, April 19.
“Today marked the delivery of the long-anticipated federal budget. With soaring debt & deficits a hallmark of this Trudeau government, there was not much hope to see their legacy of out of control spending reigned in. In fact, based on the fiscal outlook provided by the Department of Finance today, we can expect to largescale deficit spending well into the next 5 years and beyond in Canada.
“There are several programs announced in the budget that I can support in principle, such as the investments in Long-Term Care and the planned increase for OAS payments to Seniors 75 years and older. I also welcome supports for seasonal workers, gig workers and contract workers in the Air Transportation sector. There were a multitude of other issues presented in the budget that I will review and analyse for their impact on Canada moving forward, and I will reserve judgement on these areas until a later date.
“However, there were areas that needed much more than what was delivered in this budget, including our agriculture and aerospace sectors. We also should have seen much higher investments to benefit our tourism sector across the Nation. My most urgent concern is based on two key areas: The continuing obsession with deficit financing and rose-colored glasses views on the fiscal outlook of our nation; and the Net Zero strategy laid out in the Budget that will destroy Canada’s Energy and Resource sectors – both of which we as a nation directly owe our previous prosperity. We simply can’t rely on economic growth to dig out of the massive hole dug by the Prime Minister, as his Finance Minister suggests. Overall, we don’t see the realistic return on investment promised by this government coming to fruition in the long-term fiscal future of Canada.”
myFM spoke with Sloan about the budget and how it will effect Hastings-Lennox and Addington.
The federal government is diving into the deep end of child care, promising billions in new spending for provinces to create spaces and drive down fees. The Liberals’ 2021 budget doesn’t commit or estimate how many new spaces could be created by the spending, focusing instead on the cost to parents. The plan would aim to see an average drop in fees next year by 50 per cent for preschooler daycare spaces. Eventually, the Liberals aim to have an average fee of $10 a day across the country outside of Quebec, which has its own system.
Sloan went on to say he doesn’t think there is anything that will dramatically change our area, but that he feels there should be more help for some of the industries in our own backyard that need help, such as agriculture and tourism.
More information on the newly announced budget can be found here.