Epp weighs in on federal budget

REGIONAL — Chatham-Kent Leamington MP Dave Epp says the recently released federal budget “could have been worse”, but he points to lots of shortcomings when it comes to things like stimulating the economy.

“While the budget released last week has some measures that could improve the housing situation and bring our economy back on track as we recover from the unprecedented spending from COVID-19 assistance programs, it remains to be seen how much of this will come to fruition,” said Epp. “It would not be the first time that this Liberal government made a promise that it had no intention of keeping, and certain measures such as the Tax-Free First Home Savings Account will not even be available to Canadians until 2023 – plenty of time to see a change or removal of this program entirely.”

Epp said that his local constituents may see some things that will benefit them, but he just wants the government to follow through and implement them.

“There are certainly some announcements in this budget that would benefit residents and businesses in Chatham-KentLeamington, including $29.3 million over three years to introduce a Trusted Employer Model to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, which would reduce red tape for repeat employers who meet the highest standards for working and living conditions, protections, and wages in high-demand fields,” Epp said. “Likewise, the $150 million announced for the creation of a resilient agricultural program would benefit our area, if it is actually implemented.”

Epp told the Sun last week that Canadians were hoping for three major issues to be addressed with the budget — controlled spending, tax breaks for families and action on housing.

“They’ve made big promises, with very little detail,” he said.

He has said that he is seeing good cooperation across the aisle at the MP level and hopes for that to continue.