House to House E-Newsletter
The Liberal government has finally tabled a budget. Normally, this is an annual affair but Canadians waited 762 days to see how PM Trudeau has been spending our tax dollars.
We all know that we needed the government to step in to help those who were forced out of work or to shut down their businesses by the COVID pandemic. However, Justin Trudeau has a habit of spending large amounts of money with no oversight, no transparency and little value and it is clear that nothing has changed.
I’ll break down some key elements of the budget below but my initial thought is that this budget does very little for Alberta. Instead, what Justin Trudeau has proposed is a “reimagined” Canadian economy that dabbles in risky economic ideas, like abandoning Canada’s world leading and sustainable natural resource industries, leaving our economy in a precarious position. They have also completely abandoned our tourism sector.
I’m most disappointed that the government is leaving small business behind. At a time when lockdowns have drastically affected restaurants and other smaller stores but allowed big box locations to flourish, there was nothing in the budget for smaller entrepreneurs. Calgary Forest Lawn is made up of a significant number of small and medium sized businesses and I do my best to support them in my role. What will International Avenue look like if we don’t offer support to the entrepreneurs in our area?
Unfortunately, the Trudeau government also continues to discourage resource development, particularly pipelines. Finance Minister Freeland’s statement that this is a “growth budget” is the opposite. There is definitely a growth in spending but there is little hope for economic growth.
When Canadians need a government that is focused on governing our country back to economic prosperity, what we got was a government only focused on an election. It becomes obvious that Justin Trudeau wants his majority government back and he does not seem to care about anything else.
This year’s deficit will be $354 billion, a number so big that most of us can’t even comprehend how big that number is. On an individual scale, that is $10,000 per Canadian. The overall debt is now $1.1 Trillion, or $30,000 per Canadian. That is all money being stolen from future generations, my grandkids and even their grandkids are going to be paying this back for a very long time.
Canadians can be confident that with Erin O’Toole’s Recovery Plan, Conservatives will secure their future by recovering millions of jobs and introducing policies that result in better wages, and help struggling small businesses get back on their feet. Canada’s Conservatives got us out of the last recession. Canadians who are worried about their future know we will do it again.
Leadership is about making hard choices, not just saying yes to everything.
In your service,
Jasraj Singh Hallan
Member of Parliament
Calgary Forest Lawn
—
National Child Care Program
The Liberals have once again promised a national child care plan, something they have been promising for decades.
There are many difficulties with this proposal but the government has not put forward a plan to pay for a new permanent program. This new plan, which is estimated to cost $30 Billion, should not be confused with the existing plan which currently costs $25 Billion.
The Finance Minister also offered no insight into how this intrusion into provincial jurisdiction would succeed when it has always failed before.
Having the government take care of our kids just doesn’t make sense, that is a choice for families.
—
Stimulus Spending?
Not really. The government would like you to believe that they are spending your tax dollars to stimulate the economy. However, there is no plan for Albertans that acknowledges that Canadian energy can be part of any environmental plan. There was no plan to get the economy moving before the pandemic and that remains true today.
The Liberals are really just targeting their own pet projects – $17.6 Billion for ‘green’ projects, an $8 Billion giveaway for home retrofits, a tax credit if you want to add solar heating to your pool.
—
—
Good News/Bad News
The good news from Budget 2021 is that the government is extending many of the COVID relief programs – the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy, and the Canada Emergency Business Account. The government has also added a new Canada Recovery Hiring Program. There are also extensions to the Canada Recovery Benefit and Employment Insurance.
Unfortunately, if the government had negotiated vaccine access earlier in the pandemic rather than trying to secure a deal with the Chinese government, we likely wouldn’t need a lot of these rescue programs.
—
Canada’s Debt
The debt situation is very worrisome. Canada simply cannot continue to keep adding to our children and grandchildren’s debt obligations. We can spend more money on our hospitals and schools if we’re not just sending money to bankers to pay debt.
From the University of Calgary’s Jack Mintz in the National Post “When interest rates rise, debt issued by the federal government becomes more expensive. In 2021–22, for example, the federal deficit and the rollover of federal debt will require the Canadian government to seek over a half-trillion dollars in new financing. Just a one-point increase in interest rates would then increase the annual deficit by close to $5 billion.”
Over the last few months, the cost of borrowing has increased, but the Liberals continue to insist that it is still cheap. It’s not and we would be wiser to have a real plan for spending and borrowing.
—
Provincial & Municipal Contacts
If you require assistance from your MLA, you can look up who represents you and their contact information here. For questions about provincial government programs and services, click here.
For assistance from your City Councillor, you can find your representative here. For general inquiries about City of Calgary services and requests for assistance, please call 311. If you’re not sure about who to talk to, don’t hesitate to give us a call.
—
Canada Job Bank
If you need help getting back to work, try accessing the jobs being listed on the government website, visit www.jobbank.gc.ca to see the latest opportunities. Hundreds of jobs are listed that are in our community and they offer Canadians with a wide variety of work experiences. The Canada Summer Job Bank listings will be out soon and will also be added in this listing. Click here for more information.
—
Stay Connected
I regularly provide timely updates and critical information via my social media accounts. I strongly encourage all residents to follow these accounts to receive the latest information. Just click one of the following links to subscribe.
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
If you think your neighbours or friends would like to receive this newsletter, please
direct them to www.jasrajMP.ca where they can sign up to our mailing list.