‘This budget costs $4,200 per family in government spending, resulting in more taxes, more inflation, and more cost for everyday people.’
Peterborough—Kawartha MP Michelle Ferreri denounced the federal Liberal government’s new budget on Tuesday, calling it “another attack on everyday Canadians and their hard-earned pay cheques.”
“In a cost-of-living crisis when seniors on fixed incomes can’t pay their heat or rent and families are skipping meals because food costs have skyrocketed, this NDP-Liberal government has hit Canadians yet again,” Ferreri stated in a press release
“With an additional $42 billion added to the already enormous deficit, today’s announced budget is full of buzzwords around road maps and repeated announcements instead of addressing the genuine issues facing Canadians across the country.”
Ferreri, who is the critic for issues related to families and children for the opposition Conservatives, said the budget will be hard on parents and kids.
“This budget costs $4,200 per family in government spending, resulting in more taxes, more inflation, and more cost for everyday people,” she stated.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland cast her $497-billion budget as a “fiscally responsible” plan that increases taxes on the wealthiest while aiding lower-and-middle income Canadians with the persistently high costs of food and other necessities.
It rolls out the extra $22.2 billion over five years promised for higher health transfers to provinces while adding new funding— $7.3 billion over five years — for a broader dental care plan than was expected, that will cover all uninsured Canadians, beginning by the end of this year.
But Ferreri doesn’t mention that, instead saying in her statement that the budget does not meet her party’s demands for lower prices, lower taxes and homes people can afford.
“None of these demands were met, so Conservatives will not support this inflationary budget,” Ferreri is quoted as saying.
“Never before have we seen a government spend so much to achieve so little. This cost-of-living crisis is destroying families across the country with increased financial anxiety. The budget’s lack of support for mental health speaks volumes about this government’s priorities.”
“Conservatives will continue to fight for families to get the cost of living under control.”
Meanwhile Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy is quoted as saying in a statement Tuesday that Ontario “appreciates the federal government working with us in a number of areas to help Ontario families, workers, and businesses” — for example, helping Queen’s Park to attract a planned new Volkswagen battery plant for St. Thomas, Ontario.
But Bethlenfalvy further states that Ontario expects the federal government to help with the “ongoing housing affordability crisis.”
“We continue to call on the federal government to defer the harmonized sales tax on all new large-scale purpose-built rental housing projects to help spur construction of more rental housing units.”
joelle.kovach@peterboroughdaily.com