Skip to main content

“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

DAN ALBAS: The 2019 budget reveals Trudeau not only broke his “very cast in stone” promise to return to a balanced budget but he also made no effort to do so


The Liberal 2015 campaign promise was to deliver three years of “modest” $10 billion-dollar deficits with a return to a balanced budget in 2019.  This week the Liberals presented the 2019 budget that clearly reveals Justin Trudeau not only broke his “very cast in stone” promise to return to a balanced budget but also that he made no effort to do so.

The 2019/20 deficit forecast is set at close to $19.8 billion; this is on top of the $60 billion in deficits added in the first three Liberal budgets.

The current budget indicates there is no path to balance until at least the year 2040, by that point racking up an additional $271 Billion in new debt.  So where is all of the money going?

Program spending is a significant part with an increase of $22.8 billion in spending over the next five years.  Here’s a brief summary of some of that from the 2019 Budget:


  • A new job retraining program for eligible workers aged between 25-64 that will provide up to $250 per year to a career maximum of $5000.


  • An increase to the maximum a first-time home owner can borrow from their RRSP from 25,000 that will now be increased to a limit of $35,000.


  • A new shared equity home ownership plan where CHMC will provide a shared matching contribution between 5-10% towards the down payment on a new or existing home. Citizens with a household income under $120,000 can qualify on homes up to a maximum value of $400,000.
  • Those who can afford to purchase a new electrical vehicle may now be eligible for up to a $5,000 federal credit on the purchase.


There is also a commitment to spend $35 million over 4 years to create a new federal Canadian drug agency, assumedly in Ottawa, that can work towards bulk buying drugs on a national scale.  Additionally, aboriginal communities will also receive $1.4 billion over 7 years to forgive outstanding legal fees resulting from treaty and land negotiations. Indigenous groups that have already paid these fees can be eligible to have them repaid under this program.

Interest rates on Canada Student Loans will be lowered to prime and will be interest-free for 6 months after graduation ... $553 million has been budgeted over the next 3 years to attempt to fix the failed Phoenix pay system ... and there will also be changes to the GIS income earning threshold so that a working senior may claim more income without affecting the GIS support levels.


This is only a brief summary of some of the measures contained in the 2019 federal budget.

Many critics have largely labelled it a “political goodies budget” specially targeting certain voting demographics that the Liberals hope will translate to votes in the October election. I will reserve my own thoughts in an upcoming MP report.


My question this week:  Do you like what you see in the 2019 Budget so far?”

I can be reached at Dan.Albas@parl.gc.ca or call toll free 1-800-665-8711.



Dan Albas, Conservative Member of Parliament for the riding of Central Okanagan – Similkameen – Nicola.

He is currently the Shadow Minister of Innovation, Science, Economic Development and Internal Trade and sits on the Standing Committee on Industry, Science, and Technology.

MP Dan welcomes comments, questions and concerns from citizens and is often available to speak to groups and organizations on matters of federal concern.

Comments

  1. Half a billion to "attempt" to fix Phoenix! They should just contract payroll out to Telus like the BC provincial govt does. That would probably save them millions right there, and Telus would actually get the paycheques right! IBM must really have somebody over a barrel in Ottawa. I have two kids on Phoenix and it is every bit the nightmare the news says it is. Put it out of it's misery.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

GORDON F. D. WILSON: When The Trick Masquerades as The Treat

Thirty-seven years ago, Halloween 1987, I became the leader of the BC Liberal Party.   British Columbia was badly polarized. Social Credit held one side and the NDP the other. It had been twelve years, 1975, since Liberal MLAs Garde Gardom, Pat McGeer, and Alan Williams had walked away from their party to join Social Credit, one year after the lone Progressive Conservative MLA Hugh Curtis had abandoned his party to sit with Bill Bennett, the son and heir apparent to long-serving BC Premier, WAC Bennett.   An unwritten agreement by the biggest Canadian political shareholders, the federal Liberals and Conservatives, decided that if British Columbia was to remain a lucrative franchise from a revenue perspective, they couldn’t risk splitting the electoral vote and electing the real enemy, the NDP, so no resources would be used to finance either a Liberal or Conservative party provincially.   “There are two sides to every street,” I was told by a very prominent Canadian businessman who cont

FORSETH: As a BC Conservative member, and campaign worker, I will again state that the fact these errors were found -- AND brought to light BY Elections BC -- shows the system IS working

Sadly, two and a half weeks after the BC provincial election campaign, those who want to undermine our political process are still at.  PLUS, we also have one who doesn’t even live in our country, never mind our province. I speak of the buffoon running for President of the United States, who has poisoned the well when it comes to faith in the electoral process. Just today alone, comments such as the following, were being made of posts that I shared online: ... all the votes they keep finding has just favoured NDP on in all critical ridings and soon they will flip another riding in favour of NDP, Come on. ... Elections BC has ridiculed British Columbians, and I no longer have confidence or trust in their process and competence regarding the results Then there are others online, with comments like these – who are claiming fraud in the October 19th election: ... Who is the oversight for Elections BC? They should be investigated for election fraud! ... Fraudulent election ... should be red

“With the talent and dedication of this caucus we will hold David Eby to account for his government’s out of control spending and ongoing failures in healthcare, public safety and addictions" — John Rustad

Today, John Rustad, Leader of the Conservative Party of British Columbia, proudly unveiled his shadow cabinet, a dynamic team of talented individuals ready to hold David Eby’s disastrous government accountable and present a strong alternative vision for British Columbia. “ Our shadow cabinet is a diverse and experienced group, committed to restoring prosperity, public safety, and affordability for every British Columbian ,” said Rustad. “ With experts in every field, we are focused on delivering real solutions for the challenges our province faces .” Rustad emphasized the historic appointment of Aaliya Warbus as House Leader. The shadow cabinet reflects the Conservative Party’s vision to build a brighter future for British Columbia. The appointments are as follows: Leadership Positions : Aaliya Warbus – House Leader Bruce Banman – Whip Sheldon Claire – Deputy Whip Portfolios : Tony Luck – Municipal Affairs and Local Government Sharon Hartwell – Rural Communities and Rural Development I

Labels

Show more