First came the campaign promises. Then the victory speeches. But nothing cuts to the chase in assessing the direction of a new government like its first budget.
Government at its core is about what we value and prioritize. Nothing says that quite like cash.
On Tuesday, Liberal Finance Minister Bill Morneau delivered his first “sunny ways” budget. There were words that harkened back to country building from other eras. “Growing” and ‘“investment” were key words Tuesday rather than “spending.” Although spending is clearly what’s on the agenda, to the surprise of no one.
The Liberals broadcast their intentions to spend their way into citizens’ good graces both during and since the election.
Trudeau made many promises and the budget was time to pony up.
By most assessments he did that, sprinkling money across a wide-range of programs meant to boost the ‘middle class’ – a catch-all that now includes the vast majority of us.
There’s new cash for large municipal projects, new benefits for most children, seniors, veterans, youth.
Now, some of that cash seems to be backloaded - so to speak – for the last year or two. A not uncommon plan designed to offer plenty of photo ops for the months leading up to an election call. But for some Canadians, the wait for the big final instalments is just too long.
First Nations groups are planning to launch legal action saying the budget does not address a ruling by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal that said the federal government had to treat children on reserves the same as other Canadian children. Currently they don’t receive the same level of welfare services as off- reserve children do, even though the need is greater.
For a new federal government that has prided itself on its awareness and support of First Nations issues, this must sting. And, we suspect, will be adjusted.
The struggle for the Liberals – as it is for most Canadians – is how to pay for it all without nearly enough cash.
Turns out our government does the same thing we do when we can’t pay expenses – go into debt. A promised $10-billion deficit came in Tuesday closer to $30 billion.
The Liberals are betting Canadians will be OK with taking a lot longer to pay that down than originally stated.
And that we’re less concerned with the size of the deficit than how we use it.
– Guest editorial from the North Shore News
