The penny dropped on March 29 when federal finance minister Jim Flaherty announced the Royal Canadian Mint will end its production this fall as part of his austerity budget.
Saskatoon-Humboldt MP Brad Trost said in a telephone interview he thought it would probably be the number one thing people will be talking about and remembering about this budget.
"I'm going to predict that on coffee row tomorrow, they're going to be examining their pennies and discussing that as the number one issue of the budget," Trost told the Journal shortly after the meeting in Ottawa. "The Canadian penny is going to slowly ride off into the sunset."
This year the last pennies are going to be produced and then slowly withdrawn from circulation. Canada follows in the steps of New Zealand, Australia, the Netherlands, France and Sweden, other countries that successfully dropped their smallest coin denomination in recent years.
The second thing Trost says he thinks people will be talking about is the proposed change for retirees to become eligible for Canada's Old Age Security (OAS) benefits. Trost says this change - from 65 to 67 years of age - will concern those who are 54 years of age and under, as it is not scheduled to come into effect until 2023.
"Of course there is going to be discussion about the changes that are going to happen in the next 11-19 years on changing the retirement date for OAS," said Trost, "but I think more importantly and more immediately, it's going to be the possibility for people to defer their pension payments and get higher pension payments in ongoing years."
People who need a little more income security are going to want to work a couple more years and thereby boost their old age security, Trost said. The pinch will be felt most directly by low-income seniors.
"It's going to be one substantive change that's going to help boost the economy - again I think you're going to see it particularly amongst seniors that are a little bit on the edge financially," he added.
The third important item the MP seemed happy to report concerned the changes that will affect Parliament Hill directly.
"Ottawa is starting the cutting at home," said Trost. "We're not going after programs that affect Canadians, we're not going out into the fields and taking money directly from people who are getting it on the front line. We're cutting things like travel, we're making sure that our people tele-conference instead of flying across the country."
He mentioned using Air Canada's Tango flights, the second lowest flight craft category for that airline, as the norm for most travel. He also spoke about the change in pensions for MPs, who will now be expected to contribute 50 per cent.
"No more extra pensions in the government line for MPs and other senior civil servants," confirmed Trost. "Everyone is going to be on something that is much closer to what you see amongst the public."
He wasn't sure exactly when those changes would take effect, however. He estimated that it would probably be in the next two to three years.
"We're going to be upping our contributions and going 50/50 long before the OAS changes come in," said Trost, "because the OAS changes are only going to start in 2023."
When asked if there were issues that directly concern Saskatchewan, the MP replied that there would be some streamlining in various "Tory" aspects of legislation that should help the economy of a resource-based province such as ours. He said in particular, the local RM administrators won't have to go through so many layers of bureaucracy when they need to get a project done.
"We're going to make sure when you do something you only have to do it once, and it's going to be much more practical, and it's my bet the RM guys are going to be some of the biggest fans of this," concluded Trost.
Overall, the MP says he feels the new federal budget to be a very business-like, workman-like budget, similar to what MLA Donna Harpauer said recently about the 2012-2013 provincial budget released March 21.
