Flaherty smart to propose TFSA

Agar Adamson

Well, now that you have had a few days of reflection, what do you think of the ‘Harperites’ budget? Does it strengthen our economy in uncertain economic times? Does it treat all the provinces equally? What about health care, will it shorten the waiting lists? The environment received some mention, but was it enough? When Harper first came to office he made some rather right-wing decisions on childcare. Does the budget address some of those errors? Was the section on the environment structured to assist the Alberta Tory’s in their re-election campaign, or was it sound policy? Judging from what we have seen in this budget, was Harper’s decision to cut the GST by two per cent a wise move or a rather shortsighted one?

There are a number of positive actions in the document. The decision to entrench as standard policy the Martin government’s decision to grant to municipalities a percentage of the gasoline tax is certainly a good move, as is the fund for rapid transit. The municipalities are winners this time around. One wonders if any of the local municipalities will take advantage of these policies. Will Kings Transit be eligible for any of the transit funds?

The new Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) may well become a real boon for grandparents helping their grandchildren. It may be the real ‘sleeper’ in this budget as the RRSP was in the budget of 1957 presented by Walter Harris, a budget that was savagely attacked by John Diefenbaker in the election of that year. Minister Flaherty has written himself into Canadian history with this new tax savings proposal.

The auto industry has been given a lollypop rather than substantial assistance. True, why should taxpayers bail out the auto industry? It is not our fault that the industry, and in particular the Detroit Big Three have turned out gas-guzzling, environmentally-inappropriate products. Why should we assist those who own the auto companies? The answer is jobs and the Ontario economy. As Ontario goes so goes the nation. High unemployment in Ontario can impact negatively on all the provinces that receive equalization.

Ontario is fast becoming Canada’s ‘rust-belt’. The only reason the Ontario economy has not become a national issue is because our attention has been focused on Alberta and, to a lesser degree, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland. The aid to the forestry industry may just prolong the agony of an industry that finds it difficult to compete in the global economy of today.

The assistance to universities and colleges is a move in the right direction, particularly at the graduate student level. However, the fact that these new funds will be handled directly by the government rather than by an arms-length organization may not be a good decision. The $100 per month proposed for some students sounds all well and good except that many textbooks cost over $100 per book and computer software is not cheap.

The additional money for the advanced CANDU reactor may benefit NB Power and their decision to build a second reactor. Ottawa’s partnering with Saskatchewan and its investment of $240 million toward a ‘clean coal’ electricity plant that includes a full-scale carbon capture and storage capability is a very interesting move by the Conservatives. One wonders where the government of Nova Scotia was on this issue? Certainly, if the pilot project is a success, there is a future for Cape Breton coal in Cape Breton!

Building a budget is never an easy task for any Minister of Finance, particularly one who serves in a minority government. One is always reminded of the circus juggler trying to keep all those balls in the air when it comes to preparing the budget. Unless the minister can give goodies in the form of tax relief to every Canadian, there will always be voices of dissatisfaction throughout the land and this budget is no exception, particularly when one looks south and sees the current downturn in the American economy.

According to President Bush, the U.S. is not in a recession! Really? Perhaps the president has been out of his White House office too long to notice what is going on. Mr. Flaherty may disagree, but he certainly does not want to be responsible for a Canadian recession nor a budgetary deficit.

Was this an election budget? No, I think not, and if it was, there must be a lot of Conservative MPs who are relieved that the Liberals will not vote against it. True, we cannot rule out an accident and, as a result, find ourselves in an unnecessary campaign.

One of the perceived results of this budget is that many Members of Parliament are learning to live with a minority government. There are individuals on both sides of the aisle who have grasped the fact that an election now would solve nothing. The result would be another minority government.

Mr. Dion may have grasped this fact as have a number of senior Conservatives, though apparently not the Prime Minister. Both the NDP and the Bloc leadership have yet to understand the current political realities. Jack Layton caused the last election and what good did it do him or his party? Both the Bloc and the NDP were calling for an election even before the budget was delivered. With the introduction of the TFSA, the majority of Canadians will want to see this budget adopted.

The Conservatives have rattled their chain over Afghanistan, the Crime Bill

(i.e.theSenate), and the Budget. On all three of these issues, cooler heads have prevailed

and the House of Commons continues to be the fulcrum of our democracy. The Budget,

weak as it may be and lacking in some depth, is a start to turning the House back into a

body which both legislates and acts as a check (on our behalf) of the government. Now if

only one could persuade Mr. Harper of these facts we might all be able to enjoy the

American election campaign. Prime Minister, it was you who wanted fixed election

dates, so please learn to live with your own policy decisions.