February 04, 2009
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Cullen blasts federal budget
Houston Today
Nathan Cullen harshly criticized the new federal budget on Jan. 27, describing it as “pretty cynical stuff” and its plan to address unemployment in key B.C. resource sectors a “work of fiction.”
Cullen made the remarks in a conference call after the budget was unveiled. He said he was disappointed in numerous aspects of the new plan, especially its proposed tax cuts and requirements for municipalities to match federal spending,
“In a general sense, I would call it a missed opportunity and almost a cynical budget.
“There’s not really help for the unemployed. There’s no real vision for where the country needs to go.”
He said he was troubled by the government’s decision to demand parity in spending from municipalities in its infrastructure spending. “In terms of infrastructure, all the money is tied to municipalities matching the funds.”
“That is not an option for most of our towns and communities that simply don’t have any fiscal room.”
“The government expects not to spend a lot of this money, because people just won’t qualifiy for it.”
“When your economy is hurting, by definition there is less tax base in your community. This budget does not help.”
He also said it failed to offer a meaningful solution to unemployment in the mining, forestry, and fishery sectors in the province.
“On the forestry side,” Cullen said, there were “not a lot of new announcements.” The budget was “unfocused and not really answering the questions that we heard from the forest community.”
On the mining front, he reported “nothing in particular that will allow any clear sense of hope.”
Cullen attacked the government for what he called a lack of credibility. “[The government] only delivered 20 per cent of what they promised to give [in the past 2 budgets].”
Ottawa had its priorities wrong, he said, chiding them for the “$60 billion going into tax cuts for corporations and individuals,” which included some especially frivolous benefits, he said.
“Money to help renovate your cottage? I just don’t know what planet these guys are living on.”
“Oh, and decks: if you want to get a tax break you can build a deck.”
On job creation, Cullen’s criticism was pointed as well. On his riding tour of the economy in B.C.‘s northwest in January, he said he heard that “folks very much wanted the social safety net protected.”
“I can’t find any commitment to actual job creation numbers. The Department of Finance does create the numbers. They know these numbers. When we go through the actual budget itself and go line by line…I can’t find it.”
“It’s a piece of fiction as far as I’m concerned.”
Cullen even scolded the Tories for a lack of discretion. “I’ve never seen a budget so leaked in my life. People used to go to jail for leaking budgets.”
In the two of B.C. largest industries, however, the budget got somewhat of a better reception.
Pierre Gratton, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Mining Association of British Columbia, said he welcomed the new plan.
“This was one of the most difficult budgets, I think, that the government has had to table in our lifetime.”
“Generally, we think it’s a good budget. It’s a reasoned budget for challenging times.”
“They’ve also committed in this budget to take what sounds like some very serious steps to improve the project approval process. It’s time we had real action to streamline the federal process delegated to the province, which runs it far more efficiently and effectively.”
“One project, one process. In this budget they appear to be moving in that direction.”
Roy Nagel, Executive Director of the Central Interior Logging Association, said at first glance, the budget seemed reasonable.
“What I see coming out of the federal budget, certainly, is government looking to address issues in forestry,” he said.
However, he added, “they haven’t put details to the announcement.”
“It’s all in the details. What’s really going to matter is how those things roll out on the ground.”
Nagel said his organization wants to see changes to Employment Insurance that would accommodate the special needs of people working in the bush.
He also said he’d welcome “more spending on infrastructure,” and hoped government would address the “backlog of silviculture requirements across the province,” especially where the pine beetle has hit.
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