The Government of Canada announced the 2013 budget last week, and Westlock-St. Paul MP Brian Storseth says “there’s a lot of good news stories in the budget.”
One of the highlights that could impact the area is the Building Canada Plan, which will see $53 billion in “predictable funding” being put toward public infrastructure over the next 10 years.
The budget calls for an increase of Gas Tax Fund payments, and along with the incremental GST Rebate, according to a press release from Storseth’s office, the federal government will provide $32.2 billion over 10 years, to help provide “stable and predictable funding to support community infrastructure projects.”
Town of St. Paul Mayor Glenn Andersen is in support of the Gas Tax Fund, but says it’s a program that works on a per capita basis.
“I believe it will help somewhat to have the eligible projects categories to include most municipal infrastructure including sport and recreation,” says the mayor. But, he adds, the greatest increase will take place over 10 years from now, “and a lot can happen in that time.”
The New Building Canada Fund will support municipalities to the tune of $14 billion, which goes to support “major economic infrastructure,” according to the press release.
“The Build Canada Fund is a good program and it is nice to see the term extended from a seven-year program to a ten-year program,” says Andersen. “The Town of St. Paul used this program to construct the east end of Lakeshore Drive; however, to access this program all three levels of government must allocate one third of the cost of the chosen project.”
Andersen says it is nice to see the federal-municipal partnership get stronger. The mayor says that after looking over the budget, he believes the federal government’s focus is “on the economic times the country is in at the current time, and their target to balance the books in 2015-16.”
Other highlights of the 2013 budget include more money being put toward research and development, along with investments into skills training and job training.
Storseth says the budget is also good for the agriculture industry. He says that through hosting round table discussions pre-budget in the Westlock-St. Paul riding, he heard that farmers were happy to see the Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption had been raised, and this year’s budget pushes the exemption even further to $800,000. That number will also be indexed to inflations.
“You can be sure that you’ll be able to pass on the hard work of your family farm to the next generation,” says Storseth.
The increase in the Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption is meant to encourage investment in small businesses, and makes the transfer of family businesses between generations easier, along with helping farmers “keep more of their hard earned money in their pockets,” says the release.
According to a press release from the Grain Growers of Canada, the organization has decided to remain “neutral” on this year’s budget. But the release does point to the increase in Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption as being positive.
Another highlight of this year’s budget is the decision to make baby clothes and sports equipment tariff-free. This means lower prices for consumers, says Storseth, adding, as of April 1 the price baby clothing and items such as ice skates and exercise equipment should be reduced.
“I think it’ll be something that Canadians are certainly going to remember,” says Storseth.
The MP is also very happy with investments into palliative and end-of-life care. Three million dollars is being directed to support training for frontline health care providers to improve end-of-life care, which shows the governments commitment to seniors, says Storseth.
An enhanced burial program for veterans will also come out of this year’s budget. While Storseth says the program was good before, he’s pleased to see the funding increase, which will double the benefits available through the program.
Storseth says there’s also good news for the environment in the budget. The MP feels that the federal government is taking “very solid steps” toward real change with important environmental issues.
The Liberal Party of Canada voiced its opposition to the budget in a press release, with Liberal leader Bob Rae stating, “This budget should be renamed the Economic ‘Inaction’ Plan for all the good it will do Canadians . . . Not only have the Conservatives offered no new money for skills training, infrastructure and First Nations’ education, but it is clear that they don’t intend to take any tangible action on the key challenges facing Canadian families, like youth unemployment, and growing levels of income inequality and household debt.”
While in the press release from Storseth’s office, the MP said, “The main priority areas presented in pre-budget consultations throughout the riding earlier this spring were: addressing the debt; healthcare, services and housing for seniors; and supporting our veterans.”
