The federal government released their first budget on March 22, laying out spending of some $290 billion, with a range of reactions from municipalities pleased with infrastructure funding to disappointment that the small business tax was not reduced as promised.
Souris-Moose Mountain MP Robert Kitchen was not pleased with aspects of the budget as it seemed there really was nothing in it for southeast Saskatchewan.
The biggest shortfall of the budget is that the extension of EI benefits for those employed in the oil industry does not apply to the many oil workers in southeast Saskatchewan.
The proposal was to provide five extra weeks of benefits to those thrown out of work due to the depressed commodity prices, but as Kitchen found out, this is not available to everyone but is only for 12 designated areas, only two of which are in Saskatchewan. Those two areas encompass Saskatoon and Northern Saskatchewan, and not the oil-rich area of the southeast where many in the oil industry are out of work.
“I initially thought there was going to be some help for oil workers,” he said, adding that even if it was available here, “It’s paying people now and it’s not creating jobs. When I talk to people in the industry, they want a hand up to work, not a hand-out.”
Overall, he said of the budget, “I’m extremely disappointed. It seems that Saskatchewan is being forgotten,” and on top of that there will be a projected deficit of $29.4 billion, triple what was promised in the election campaign.
He noted that the projected deficit will accumulate to some $113.2 billion in four years time.
“We’re borrowing money from our children and grandchildren. You keep borrowing, eventually you have to pay it back,” said Kitchen.
“Also, as the official Opposition Critic for Sport, I was disappointed to see the elimination of the Children’s Fitness Tax Credit, an important tax credit that allowed for greater participation in sport for Canadian youth,” added the MP.
For the Weyburn Chamber of Commerce, manager Rochelle Wendt said the biggest disappointment is breaking the campaign promise of a reduction in the small business tax down to nine per cent, which will instead remain at 10.5 per cent.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) estimates this measure will cost small businesses in Canada over $900 million per year as of 2019. In addition to this broken promise, said Wendt, the chamber is very concerned about the size of the deficit, and that the money being spent will not be creating any jobs.
“Some technology and innovation investment is a good thing, and investment in aboriginal education are good things that will pay off in the long term,” said Wendt.
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce issued a report card on the federal budget, giving the government a C for fiscal discipline for the $29-billion deficit, a B for infrastructure promises, an A for the environment, and D- for taxes, particularly for the broken promise to small businesses.
In a comment from CFIB president Dan Kelly, he said, “Small business owners across the country are deeply troubled by the ballooning deficit. What was proposed to Canadians as a short-term $10 billion deficit plan to invest in critical infrastructure is now $29 billion with no plan to get back to balance.”
For municipalities, they are generally pleased there will be $9 billion available through the provincial infrastructure component of the New Building Canada Fund, and an additional $11.9 billion over the next five years. This latter amount will be split up roughly with $3.4 billion for transit, $3.4 billion for social infrastructure such as affordable housing, and $5 billion will go to water, wastewater and green infrastructure.
The president of the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association, Weyburn Mayor Debra Button, applauded the announcement of funds, but noted there needs to be more details about what this will actually mean for municipalities, including the City of Weyburn, which has a shovel-ready infrastructure project awaiting word of federal funds before it can proceed.
