Latest News

Oshawa MP unimpressed with federal budget

Latest spending plan comes with $33B in project spending, $28.5B deficit

By Graeme McNaughton/The Oshawa Express

Ask Colin Carrie about the latest federal budget, and he may say it’s like watching a rerun of Seinfeld.

“It’s a whole lot of nothing,” the Oshawa MP says.

The Liberal government under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has released its second federal budget since taking power in Ottawa following the 2015 election. This spending plan sees more than $330 billion in projected spending with a deficit of $28.5 billion.

Despite those big numbers, Carrie says the new budget does do much for Oshawa residents besides leave behind empty promises.

“It is pretty much a do nothing budget. We’re seeing Justin Trudeau continue on his roll to nickel and dime Canadians to death,” he says.

“Last year, we saw him hike taxes on ordinary hardworking Canadian families, and now it’s a confirmation that he broke his promise to keep deficits under $10 billion and he broke his promise to balance the budget by 2019.”

Carrie also says he was disappointed by what he sees as the Liberals not helping out the middle class, despite making them a focus in the budget’s messaging.

“We’re seeing increased taxes. For example, they’re getting rid of the public transit, (there’s new taxes) on Uber, ride sharing, beer, wine, donated medicines, increased taxes for small businesses. Farmers, fishermen, doctors, lawyers, accountants, they’re going to be taxing them more,” Carrie says.

“They say they want to work for the middle class and those who want to join it, but the top one per cent isn’t the one taking public transit and Uber.”

Carrie says the group being left out to dry under the Liberals’ spending plans is young people.

“I think that young people aren’t aware of what these huge debts are going to mean to them. I believe now, about a third – in Ontario anyways – goes towards paying the debt or the interest on the debt,” he says.

“If you’re looking federally, you have to understand that borrowed money eventually has to be paid back.”

Carrie says one big factor is missing from this budget: fiscal responsibility.

“It shows the Liberals have no credibility as far as budgeting, and no plan to return to balanced budget. Sadly, they’ve seen their first year where they said they were going to create all these jobs – it failed,” he says.

“We are seeing some job creation now, but it’s because of the pickup in the American economy, nothing with what this government is doing.”

Another politician left wanting by the latest federal budget was Mayor John Henry

“The challenge is for us, on the frontline of dealing with residents, municipal government delivers everything that affects all residents, everyday wherever they live in Canada,” he says.

“I don’t know what opportunities this budget is going to give us, but I would have expected more. I would have liked to have seen other things happen, but in the meantime, we here in the city of Oshawa will get on with doing the best job we can with everything that we have available to us.”

UA-138363625-1