TORONTO — Leaders from the other federal parties are responding to the Liberal government’s newly proposed budget ahead of the first day of debate, with reactions ranging from support to skepticism. Three opposition leaders appeared on CTV’s Your Morning on Tuesday to discuss the budget. Conservative leader Erin O’Toole would not say whether his party will support the budget or not, but NDP leader Jagmeet Singh has said his party will support it in order to avoid an election during the pandemic.
The budget is expected to pass with the support of the NDP. O’Toole said the budget, in his party’s view, both spends too much and does not address enough problems, saying it suffers from a “lack of focus.”
He said the budget supplies only “Band-Aid” support for businesses, and that they will require “some specific supports” beyond what the budget promises.
“We knew there was going to be a deficit in the pandemic, of course,” he said, but added that the deficit of $354 billion is too much, in his view.“Mr. Trudeau has no plan to ever get close back to some sort of fiscal balance.”
He believes there should be more of a focus on how to get people working again during the pandemic.“Get the economy moving and then lower the emergency spending,” he said.
The Conservatives will table amendments to the 700 page budget today. The Bloc Quebecois, as the third-largest party, will also add a sub-amendment. The Bloc has stated that they want more support given to provinces for health-care transfers.
While the NDP expressed early on that they would support the budget, Singh’s concerns are that the budget leaves off many items his party has fought for, such as pharmacare and a universal basic income.
Source: ctvnews.ca
