Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo MP Cathy McLeod visited 100 Mile House recently and addressed a group of local businesspersons.
At a luncheon at El Caballo Restaurant, McLeod spoke to about 37 Rotary Club of 100 Mile House members and invitees heard about some differences between the 2012 and 2013 federal budgets.
McLeod said the Conservative government’s plan to get back to a balanced budget by 2015 will be accomplished through reductions in government, but there will be no cuts to federal Old Age Security or transfers to provinces for health and education.
She gave the examples of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), which due to today’s electronic filing of tax returns, has a reduced need for such a “very significant number of people” for data entry.
Reducing red tape while maintaining responsible resource development was another topic she touched upon.
“I think people have tried to portray it as we’re walking away from our environmental responsibilities, and I disagree wholeheartedly.”
It has more to do with reducing bureaucracy, McLeod explained.
Currently, there are both provincial and federal government processes for any mines going forward for approval, she noted.
“The timelines on that we improved a few years ago, when we said ‘OK they are harmonized’, but they never truly were harmonized. So, what we’ve said is ‘where it is appropriate, we need to have one environmental assessment process, with a specific timeframe.’
“So, if you are someone who has invested millions and millions of dollars and you are looking at a mine, that you know that … it’s not going to be one government making a decision and the other government not making a decision, and one asking for this, and the other asking for the same thing.”
McLeod noted it takes time to draft regulations to control this process, but said she believes government is “moving in the right direction,” as developing resources responsibly is “going to be absolutely critical” for the future of the local community and the country.
The MP added reducing red tape follows through in a “series of measures” to make things easier for small businesses, including modified processes at the CRA, Agriculture Canada, Health Canada and others.
“Every single department in government has recommendations [under a mandate] to start taking things forward.”
Skills training is addressed in the Canada Jobs Plan, which provides support in those areas where jobs are important, she explained, to be filled by the Canadians who need them.
“We have workers without jobs and jobs without workers; we have mismatched [skills] training.”
Funding for infrastructure across the country has flowed to municipalities from the federal-provincial Gas Tax agreements since 2005, but McLeod said more is still needed.
“I know for anyone who has travelled to Montreal lately, it is quite frightening to see the rebar on those bridges, the erosion of the roads, the very difficult situation on infrastructure; and it is across the country.”
This year, infrastructure money will be indexed, she explained, and gives municipalities more flexibility on how they use it.
McLeod added MPs no longer have “gold-plated pensions,” as they now contribute several thousand dollars more annually to the parliamentary pension plan, as well as waiting longer to collect the retirement benefits.
She noted the recent change was led by example by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who significantly cut his own pension plan (beyond what he gets as an MP), both for himself and for future leaders of Canada.
