Not ‘our budget’

Local MPs and a union representative agree, the federal budget is bad for Canadians.

Judith Monteith-Farrell, the region’s Public Service of Canada representative, said protestors in the House of Commons’ gallery said it best what she thinks of the federal budget announced Thursday afternoon budget.

“What we’ve seen so far is that great protest by people saying ‘this isn’t our budget’ and I think for working people this isn’t their budget,” she said.

The government is projecting a $21.2 billion deficit for 2012-2013. The budget has $5.2 billion in savings by 2015. Monteith-Farrell said she doesn’t know how the government’s plan to cut 19,200 public sector jobs in the next three years will impact Northwestern Ontario but the 1,100 members she represents are worried. Temporary workers have already been laid-off or told not to expect jobs they’re filling in for.

Public sector employees will also have to pay 50 per cent of their pension, up from 40.

“Which is really a wage cut for them because most of them didn’t receive a wage increase,” Monteith-Farrell said.

Retirement for federal employees will also go up from 60 to 65 for those who start in 2013. That will not only hurt a younger generation going into those positions but later generations waiting to fill them Monteith said.

“I think 35 years in public services is more than sufficient.”

MP John Rafferty (NDP, Thunder Bay-Rainy River) said raising Old Age Security eligibility to 67, something Prime Minister Stephen Harper confirmed months ago but officially made it’s way to the budget Thursday, is making anyone under the age of 54 pay more for their retirement.

“I think there’s a moral and ethical issue here as well as an economic issue,” Rafferty said. “What they essentially have done is that people up to the age of 54 have just been handed a $22,000 bill that they didn’t think they had to pay when they retired.”

MP Bruce Hyer (NDP, Thunder Bay-Superior North) said the increase is punishing not helping future seniors.

“That’s a real shame given that we’re spending tens and tens of billions of dollars on F-35s and mega prisons to put people in prisons who have six pot plants on their windowsill,” he said. 

Hyer said while he thinks the budget wasn’t as bad as it could have been, it’s not good for people by a long shot.

Stopping the $1 billion pulp and paper green transformation program is going to hurt mills in Northwestern Ontario and across the country that are in the process of becoming more competitive with U.S mills Hyer said.

And an announcement to streamline reviews for major development projects while cutting environmental agencies that oversee those reviews will hurt the environment even though a balance can be found Hyer said.

“This is clearly not a Prime Minister or a party that believes in environmental assessment. They don’t believe it makes project better. They think it retards economic development,” he said.

Rafferty agreed saying that good environmental policy and good jobs aren’t mutually exclusive.

“Really what you’re doing is sidestepping environmental controls. You’re going to have disasters, you’re going to have people who are unscrupulous and unthinking and won’t look at the science,” Rafferty said.