Mark Strahl, Member of Parliament for Chilliwack—Hope says Canada needed more from the federal budget, released Monday.
“Canada’s Conservatives wanted to see a plan to safely reopen our economy, get Canadians back to work again, and provide future generations with the hope and confidence that will be better off than the generation that came before,” he said in a press release Tuesday. “We want to see a plan to get our nation’s finances under control. We didn’t get that with this budget.”
One of the items noted in the Liberal budget tabled by Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland does address COVID-19 recovery directly.
A new Canada Recovery Hiring Program is being created to provide eligible employers with a subsidy of up to 50 per cent on the incremental remuneration paid to eligible employees between June 6 and November 20. The program will provide $595 million to make it easier for businesses to hire back laid-off workers or to bring in new ones.
But the budget will do little for Canada’s growing deficit, which Strahl noted is projected to be $354.2 billion and includes more than $135 billion in new government spending.
It also makes too many promises, he added.
“This is the longest budget document in Canadian history at a staggering 739 pages,” he said. “It contains an overabundance of new financial commitments from the Trudeau Liberals with no explanation of how Canadians will pay for them. This is clearly a budget designed to boost Liberal electoral prospects, with no regard for the financial well being of the country.”
The national debt will grow to more than a trillion dollars over the next five years, Strahl says.
“It’s abundantly clear that the Trudeau Liberals still lack a plan at the most critical time in recent Canadian history. Under Justin Trudeau, Canada spent more per capita during this pandemic and yet achieved the worst outcomes in the G7 when it comes to employment, vaccine rollout, and business confidence. That means Canada spent the most to achieve the least.”
-with files from Canadian Press
READ MORE: Federal Budget 2021: Liberals highlight plans for COVID supports, long-term care, child care
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