Federal government releases 2023 budget, Conservatives will not support

By Ron Giofu

The federal government released its 2023 budget last week and the Member of Parliament for Essex says his party can’t get behind it.

“Conservatives cannot support Budget 2023,” said Essex MP Chris Lewis. “This budget will add an additional $4,600 in taxes for Canadian families. Instead of listening to Canadians, Liberals are continuing with their war on work and increasing taxes which means workers are punished for working and take home even less of their pay cheques. I want to see less taxes and more in Canadian’s pockets.”

In a statement issued by Lewis through his constituency office, the local MP stated: “Justin Trudeau’s inflationary spending has caused the cost of food and groceries to skyrocket.”

Lewis further stated “Justin Trudeau’s ‘grocery rebate’ will give $234 for a single adult to cover the rising cost of food that his inflationary deficits helped cause.”

According to Lewis, the grocery rebate is less than half of what the average family will pay in Carbon Tax this year.

“The Parliamentary Budget Officer shows the carbon tax will cost the average family between $402 and $847 in 2023, even after the rebates. Justin Trudeau’s carbon tax will increase to 14 cents per litre on April 1st, making it more expensive for Canadians to heat their homes and get to work,” Lewis stated.

Lewis further contended that “Canada has the lowest number of housing units per 1,000 residents of any G7 country. The number of housing units per 1,000 Canadians has been falling since 2016, owing to the sharp rise in population growth. An extra 100 thousand dwellings would have been required to keep the ratio of housing units to population stable since 2016—leaving us still well below the G7 average.”

According to the Essex Member of Parliament: “Justin Trudeau has no plan to get gatekeepers out of the way and get more houses built. Canada must bring homes people can afford by removing gatekeepers, freeing up land and speeding up building permits and withholding federal funding from cities that refuse to remove gatekeepers. Justin Trudeau will not do that and will not make housing affordable, and he has not included provision for this in the budget.”

Lewis said the federal budget boasts of helping workers mobility with a deduction in taxes but, “it does very little to provide for what a tradesperson’s travel expenses would be over a year.”

A labour mobility deduction has a limit of $4,000 per year, he stated.

“This would cover possibly one or two work trips for the average worker. Whereas the Private Member’s Bill I put forth, Bill C-241, that has just passed third reading in the House of Commons and now goes to the Senate for debate, provides a tax deduction for tradesperson’s travel with no upper limit. This will allow those who need work to find it across the country and make as many travel-claims as are needed to provide for their families,” he said.

According to a press release from the Government of Canada, it states “Canada has made a remarkable recovery from the COVID recession” and the governing Liberals state the country’s economic growth was strongest in G7 over the last year with 830,000 more Canadians employed today than before the pandemic.

“Inflation in Canada has fallen for eight months in a row, our unemployment rate is near its record low, and, supported by a Canada-wide system of affordable early learning and child care, the labour force participation rate for women aged 25 to 54 reached a record high of 85.7 per cent in February,” the government’s press release states..

Through the grocery rebate, the budget “delivers targeted inflation relief for 11 million Canadians and families who need it most, with up to an extra $467 for eligible couples with children; an extra $234 for single Canadians without children; and an extra $225 for seniors, on average. The government also takes action to crack down on hidden junk fees and predatory lending, lower credit card transaction fees for small businesses, and help Canadians keep more money in their pockets.”

The Liberals also state the budget delivers $198.3 billion to reduce backlogs, expand access to family health services, and ensure provinces and territories can provide the high quality and timely health care Canadians expect and deserve.

“In Budget 2023, the government also introduces a new Canadian Dental Care Plan, to benefit up to nine million Canadians and ensure that no Canadian has to choose between taking care of their health and paying the bills at the end of the month,” the government states. “Budget 2023 makes transformative investments to build Canada’s clean economy, fight climate change, and create new opportunities for Canadian businesses and Canadian workers. This includes significant measures that will deliver cleaner and more affordable energy, support investment in our communities and the creation of good-paying jobs, and ensure that Canadian workers are able to produce and provide the goods and resources that Canadians and our allies need.”

“I have never been more optimistic about the future of our country than I am today. Budget 2023 will deliver new, targeted inflation relief for the Canadians who need it most; stronger public health care, including dental care for millions of Canadians; and significant investments to build Canada’s clean economy. At a challenging time in a challenging world, there is no better place to be than Canada,” added Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland.

The New Democratic Party (NDP) believe the budget shows how their party “have used their power to deliver results for Canadians,” touting a doubling of the GST rebate and dental care for children under 18, seniors and people living with a disability.

“(The recent federal) budget shows that when New Democrats use our power, we get real things done for people,” said Singh. “This is a difficult time for Canadians. The cost of everything is up. That’s why we fought for a budget that saves you money and creates good jobs with better wages. Justin Trudeau voted against dental care twice and he didn’t want to double the GST rebate, but we didn’t take no for an answer. We fought and we got those things for working people. And if Pierre Poilievre had his way in this budget, there would be no dental care. Your pension, and the services that your family relies on would be cut to benefit the big bosses.”

The NDP says they got investments in a clean energy economy “to create good-paying union jobs while tackling the climate crisis,” $4 billion for a co-developed Urban, Rural, and Northern Indigenous Strategy that will help Indigenous people living out of their communities find a safe and affordable place to call home, and support for students by increasing student grants by 40 per cent

“We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished, but we’re not satisfied — because we see that there is so much more Ottawa can do to make people’s lives easier,” said Singh in a press release. “Last election, we promised to fight for Canadians, and that’s exactly what we will continue to do. We will keep fighting for working people to get the respect they deserve by ensuring that everyone has a safe and affordable place to call home, bigger paychecks and better working conditions. We’ll make sure rich CEOs and the ultrawealthy pay what they owe, and we’ll bring the cost of groceries and telecom services down by stopping the free ride for big companies who are exploiting you.”

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