Budget

So there it is! The long awaited Flaherty budget has finally been unveiled.

It’s a decent budget. Far from excellent, but still much better than what we were used to seeing from Conservative governments. I mean, this one is actually balanced!

There aren’t any drastic changes. Apart from the solution to the so-called fiscal imbalance, there isn’t really anything new. I’m glad to see that SUV owners will face a $1000 “green levy”, less glad to hear that truck owners are excluded. What surprised me the most were the 30 million dollars set aside for a new program designed to provide "support for local arts and heritage festivals that engage Canadians in their communities." How un-conservative is that!

This being said, there are a few things that really disappoint me. I am appalled that the Natives didn’t even get a penny to fight poverty. Even though they most of them live on remote reserves, they are still Canadian and deserve to be aided when in need. If people in Calgary were facing the same living conditions as some natives living on reserves, I am sure the government would have declared a state of emergency.

I am also disappointed by the lack of green programs. The SUV tax is a step in the right direction, but in the larger scheme of things, it is totally insignificant. I’m sorry to say that a few small programs and tax incentives won’t suddenly make Canada green. What we need is an environmental revolution, and that will only happen with massive federal investment.