Red Deer-Mountain View MP Earl Dreeshen has given Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government an F for its first federal budget.
The Trudeau government handed it down on March 22, forecasting a $29.4-billion deficit for this year, and another $29 billion for 2017. During last fall's election campaign he pledged to hold the deficit to $10 billion.
“If everybody felt he meant $10 billion when he meant $10 billion then it has got to be an F,” said Dreeshen of the grade he's given to the first Liberal budget. “Canadians gave them (Liberals) a $10-billion credit card and with all the other promises associated with it. That has to be all paid back. Not only did they go beyond that but there is an extra $10 billion for our children and an extra $10 billion for our grandchildren.
“That is where the frustration comes in. It makes people say, ‘when is the next shoe going to drop?'” he added. “Is it going to be increasing the GST? Is it going to be trying to look at something as far as general tax rates? Because it all has to be paid back.”
While Dreeshen jumped all over the budget's deficit forecast, the reaction was more sunny in Edmonton where Premier Rachel Notley said the budget's employment insurance initiative to offer extended financial help to the unemployed was a "good start". Notley, whose government is releasing its own budget on April 14, said she was also "cautiously optimistic" on the Liberals' infrastructure spending intentions -- $120 billion over 10 years on public transit, water, waste management and housing infrastructure. Notley told the media on budget day her department still has to pour over the numbers to determine its true value for the province.
However, Dreeshen said the federal government has no plan on how the infrastructure money is going to be handed out to the provinces.
“They haven't said how any of this is going to come through, so it is very difficult for municipalities to say how much of this is going to go for wastewater, how much is going to be for new projects that (they) might be able to deal with,” said Dreeshen, who passionately defended the efficiency of his former Conservative government's Building Canada Fund for infrastructure that was first launched in 2008. “A lot of the dollars that they are talking about for infrastructure is backend loaded. It is not going to show up until 2019, about the time for the next election.”
Meanwhile, Innisfail mayor Brian Spiller said it was too early to say whether the new federal infrastructure monies will benefit the town.
“If we have new money coming into the province, that is great. We haven't seen any indication of how this money is going to be accessed. We don't have the details yet,” said Spiller, who is also concerned over reports that extended periods for federal employment insurance may not be offered to certain regions in Alberta. The budget called for employment insurance benefits to be extended by five to 20 weeks for a dozen regions across the country impacted by slumping commodity prices, including most of Alberta. But Edmonton and the surrounding area, which have also been hit hard by slumping oil prices, were not part of the plan, and the provincial government is seeking an explanation.
“They have been left out, which does not please me. Until we get the details of where it is actually happening I can't really comment, but I hope it doesn't happen in Innisfail,” said Spiller.
The mayor said he will get more details on the federal budget and how it might impact Innisfail and the region after it's thoroughly reviewed by the town's senior staff and officials with the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA).
“AUMA will be going over the budget and producing us a bullet sheet of the main things that are going to impact our towns,” said Spiller. “They will syphon through it. They have the experts to do that.”
Earl Dreeshen
"They haven't said how any of this is going to come through, so it is very difficult for municipalities to say how much of this is going to go for wastewater, how much is going to be for new projects that (they) might be able to deal with."
