Gordon Earle, NDP candidate for South Shore-St. Margaret’s

“Someone has to say no to Harper,” said Earle. “With Stéphane Dion’s Liberals siding with Harper’s Conservatives, the NDP is the only national party in the House of Commons that is standing up to Harper and making fairness a priority.”

Earle is disappointed that Harper didn’t accept Jack Layton’s challenge to make average Canadians his priority in the budget. Instead, the budget continues to place corporate tax giveaways ahead of investing in hard-working families.

It offers nothing to make life more affordable for local families. Revenues from personal income taxes will grow by 12 per cent, while income from corporate profits will decline by 14 per cent due to the massive corporate tax cuts.

“The Harper budget fails to address many concerns of average Canadians,” said Earle. “No money for child care, no new money for housing, no new financing instruments for combating climate change, and nothing on skills development.”

Earle said that overall this budget offers the same insensitivity as the last budget which effectively robbed Atlantic Canadians of the benefits of the Atlantic Accord.