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Apr 17 2024

Budget 2024 Special: Details, brickbats and bouquets: The Roundup

Apr 17, 2024
David Akin's Roundup
Clippings of #cdnpoli, #media, and #tech content aimed at those with an interest in Canadian politics and policy. And sometimes Canadian postage stamps.
Canada
A focus on millennials and GenZ -- with plenty of spending
The federal government has released its 2024 budget, taking aim at improving affordability amid Canada's slowing economy, and an uphill road for the Liberals in the polls. The highlights from the new fiscal plan, including its focus on helping younger Canadians. Plus, Dawna Friesen speaks with Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland about the increase in the capital gains tax, the country's productivity problem, and the criticism to the Liberals' spending policies. [Global National]
The Liberal government’s 2024 federal budget includes tax changes and efforts to make life more affordable for millennial and gen Z Canadians. [Global]
If your boss calls, texts or emails after hours, a change being proposed in Budget 2024 could give some Canadian workers the right to ignore them. [Global]
From a boost to the disability benefit to measures tackling airline and concert fees, banking changes and making it easier to change phone plans, here’s what to know. [Global]
Teased in last year's fall economic statement, the Indigenous loan guarantee in the 2024 budget allows communities to decide which projects to invest in. [Global]
The increased cash flow coincides with the launch of a new $1.5-billion drug plan to offer universal coverage for contraceptive and diabetes medications. [Global]
Budget 2024
Download and review Ottawa's plan to spend nearly $500-billion this year. The 2024 Canadian federal budget. [Government of Canada]
 Un élu caquiste largue François Legault et choisit Pierre Poilievre. Le whip en chef du gouvernement et député d’Arthabaska, Éric Lefebvre, quitte le caucus de la Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) et annonce qu’il portera les couleurs du Parti conservateur du Canada. One assumes M. Lefebvre will be the CPC candidate in the riding of Richmond-Arthabaska, won in 2021 by Alain Rayes running as a Conservative.  But Rayes could not stand the prospect of Pierre Poilievre's leadership, is sitting now as an Independent, and has said he will not seek re-election. The CPC notched nearly 50% of the votes here last time and, as things stand now, would score an easy win with perhaps 57% of the vote. [La Presse]
Budget 2024 Reaction
Members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery -- that'd be me -- get a ton of press releases in the wake of the release of any budget. Here's a selection of what was in my inbox in the wake of Tuesday's Budget 2024 - DA
Lack of spending restraint offset by revenue surprise and tax hikes
We also think the likelihood of higher business costs being passed down to consumers further exacerbates Canada’s affordability challenge and high inflation. Disciplined spending is a preferred strategy to achieve Ottawa’s fiscal anchors—and is one that would shield households and businesses from rising federal debt funding costs. [RBC Capital Markets]
This budget is another swing of the tax-and-spend policy hammer, with billions of dollars worth of economic upside and tax increases fully churned over into more program spending. However, the bottom-line fiscal metrics have held their ground, debt services costs remain contained at just under 11% of revenues, and Canada might still look downright responsible compared to the U.S. [BMO Capital Markets]

Using tax increases may dampen the inflationary force of new spending, but deficits are on track to widen over the next five years. Moreover, provinces are ramping up spending and deficits in the near-term, so the overall government sector is still getting in the BoC’s way. [TD Economics]
Business groups react

The tax-and-spend fiscal plan will discourage the economic growth necessary to improve living standards; deter the business investment that helps boost wages; and place a greater debt burden on future generations. [Business Council of Canada]

What’s still missing is a clear plan to promote productivity and restore economic growth in Canada. Canada continues to slip further behind our competitors in both of these categories. [Canadian Chamber of Commerce]

Dan Kelly: “What worries me the most about the capital gains changes is the potential to demotivate Canadians from getting into business in the first place or working hard to grow a small business to a medium-sized business." [Cdn Federation of Independent Business]

... disappointment in several policy areas ... These include an extension to the extended rail interswitching pilot, investments in trade-enabling infrastructure, investments in grain-related research and development, initiating a review of the Canada Grains Act, and revamping the Accelerated Investment Incentive. [Grain Growers of Canada]

Mark Scholz: "The federal Liberal government has turned its back on thousands of energy workers by not extending the Clean Technology Manufacturing investment tax credit to include carbon technology innovations in the drilling and service rig sector, such as electrification, fuel switching, battery technology, and hydrogen blending." [Canadian Association of Energy Contractors]

We welcome the over $16 billion towards home construction, including a $50 million carveout to fund the uptake of innovative building techniques like prefabricated and modular housing and mass-timber construction. [Forest Products Association of Canada]

This year’s federal budget has important announcements regarding the Indigenous Loan Guarantee program, Investment Tax Credits and improving the process for getting approvals, but there is a lot of work that still has to happen for Canada to achieve its goals for a clean economy. [Electricity Canada]

Daniel Tisch: “We welcome historic commitments in housing and artificial intelligence, as well as the government’s support for advancing economic reconciliation and interprovincial trade. At the same time, Canada should take measures that make it easier—not harder—to attract private sector investments and drive productivity growth. By making big-ticket investments while raising capital gains taxes, the budget takes two big steps forward, but also one step back.” [Ontario Chamber of Commerce]

Green groups react
This budget fails to deal with a major source of anxiety for young people by offering little to address climate change. [Environmental Defence]
Équiterre believes that the federal budget is too timid on the climate front, missing another opportunity to fight the environmental and cost-of-living crises in an integrated way. [Équiterre]

Clean Prosperity welcomes new details about an expanded carbon contracts for difference program in the 2024 Federal Budget. [Clean Prosperity]

Mark Zacharais: "Amid the government’s headline-grabbing commitments in Budget 2024 to help build more homes and support first-time buyers are a suite of measures that will help build something else critically important: a cleaner economy with affordable clean energy." [Clean Energy Canada]

Freeland tabled a federal budget promising “fairness for every generation,” yet missed a chance to make polluters pay by taxing the oil and gas industry’s excessive profits. [David Suzuki Foundation]
Other stakeholders react
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities welcomes the focus on solving the housing and homelessness crises, including through investments in housing enabling infrastructure. [Federation of Canadian Municipalities]
Today’s Budget includes some important investments including $30 million over five years for the Métis Capital Corporations and $60 million for Métis communities to accelerate work to narrow housing and infrastructure gaps. But there remain critical gaps in essential services such as health care, justice services and emergency management. [Métis Nation of Ontario]
Significant new investments announced today in research, scholarships and mental health will benefit students and Canada’s economy. [Universities Canada]

Brian Sauvé: "While there are some new public safety initiatives, we are disappointed to see the lack of investments to ensure our Members have what they need to keep pace with Canadians of every generation's policing needs, including human resources." [National Police Federation]

The maximum benefit is significantly lower than many were expecting, including what the PBO estimated would be enough to close the gap between provincial benefits and the poverty threshold. It is unclear whether the benefit amount will vary based on the severity of a person’s disability. [Cardus]
From the Provinces
“We are prepared to accept all of the money that is refused by other provinces, that refuse to take basic steps to ensure the availability of housing,” Eby told reporters. “We have already implemented all the pieces the federal government wants other provinces to do.” [CTV]

The Nova Scotia government is pleased Ottawa is putting more money on the table for infrastructure projects and is beefing up housing programs, but Finance Minister Allan MacMaster says he's anxious to hear more about the federal government's plans for a national school food program. [CBC]
Moe said the province asked the federal government to deliver two things in the budget: more funding towards municipal infrastructure and for the carbon price to be removed. [Global]
New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs attacked federal spending plans on Tuesday, alleging they were out out of control and unlikely to get results."This government is obsessed with spending taxpayer dollars in the name of improving the working conditions and the affordability for all Canadians. It absolutely has not worked. It will not work and every Canadian is seen failing it." [Yahoo]
Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy: “Today’s budget was a missed opportunity to scrap the costly federal carbon tax, which is making everything from gasoline to groceries more expensive. Our government continues to urge the federal government to put more money back into peoples’ pockets by eliminating the carbon tax once and for all, particularly at a time when it is contributing to high inflation." [Government of Ontario]
Documents released via freedom of information laws show Alberta bureaucrats were working as early as October 2019 on ways to remedy what they called 'underinvestment' in the area. [Global]
Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey said a number of factors could have played into the seat going from red to blue in the Fogo Island-Cape Freels byelection — including views on the federal carbon tax. [CBC]
Elsewhere
The names Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Indira Gandhi are synonymous with Indian independence and the country’s early development. But with India starting to head to the polls on April 19, we ask what happened to their once-dominant Indian National Congress Party. [GZERO]

China shuts down 63,000 illegal accounts in crackdown on social media posts with false information about hot-button issues such as pandemic and disasters. [South China Morning Post]
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Media
Thoughtful grappling with the complexity of global challenges is part of the process of progressive world-making. Instead of adhering to any one prescriptive doctrine, every writer published in these pages commits to take seriously the notion that different actions can lead to better futures. [Center for International Policy]
Science and Tech

Using a Nvidia module widely available online, Chinese researchers overcome significant obstacles to boost the performance of a hypersonic vehicle. [South China Morning Post]
Issued this day ...
… in 1985: Scott 1048a se-tenant pair: Canadian Feminists. Design: Ralph Tibbles. Illustration: Muriel Wood.
Thérèse Casgrain, CC, OBE (1896-1981). (left, Sc 1047) “Born in Montreal, Thérèse Casgrain founded the Ligue des droits de la femme [League for Women's Rights] in 1920. The League tackled problems affecting women, including their right to vote in Quebec, which had been recognized at the federal level since 1918. The Quebec National Assembly had voted against twelve motions for this right. In 1938,  Casgrain succeeded in having the women's right to vote included in the platform of the Liberal Party. The party won the 1939 provincial election and honoured its commitment in 1940, in spite of opposition from some members of the clergy. Casgrain subsequently worked for many other social and political causes and represented Canada outside the country on many occasions. She was appointed to the Senate in 1970 (by PM Pierre Trudeau).”  

Emily Murphy (1868-1933): (Sc 1048) “Emily Murphy was born in Cooksville, ON. Already well-known for her novels written under the pseudonym Janey Canuck, she was appointed judge of the Edmonton Women's Court in 1916. She thus became the first woman magistrate in the British Empire. However, a British common law ruling stated that women were persons in matters of pains and penalties, not in matters of rights and privileges. Some argued that this prevented her from becoming a magistrate. The Alberta Supreme Court nevertheless upheld her judicial authority. Later, Murphy and four other feminists requested a clarification of the law that excluded women from the Canadian Senate on the same grounds. They won their court action, better known as the "Persons Case", in 1929.”

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