OTTAWA – The minority Conservative government has let Canadians down with a budget short on the vision and leadership needed to address the most pressing issues of our time, says the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).
The federal budget does little to address poverty, climate change and provide long-term help for Canada’s struggling communities – despite urgent need.
“Big problems require big solutions, and they’re nowhere to be found in this budget,” says CCPA Senior Economist Marc Lee. “The funding announced today may fulfill its role as a PR strategy but it doesn’t come close to the kind of investment that our cities need to stay vibrant and competitive.”
Armine Yalnizyan, CCPA senior economist, says the Conservatives are hiding behind economic uncertainty to justify their inaction on the major issues facing the nation.
“The Conservatives have the audacity to claim they are prudent fiscal managers but for the first time in more than a decade, this country is facing a potential deficit because of their $190 billion tax cut bonanza,” says Yalnizyan.
“This budget does nothing substantive on poverty reduction or measures for First Nations, nor does it minimize the economic insecurity facing Canadian families,” Yalnizyan says. “This is a budget for the rich – not the rest of us.”
“This government has cut and run on ordinary working families. The Conservatives are claiming poverty yet somehow they’ve found money to hand out to Canada’s most affluent in the form of Tax Free Savings Accounts,” says Lee. “They’ve blown an opportunity to make real investments that position Canada for the future.”
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