NEWS RELEASE
CAROL HUGHES, MP ALGOMA-MANITOULIN-KAPUSKASING
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OTTAWA — Canada’s NDP once again used their power in Parliament to push the government to deliver a budget that secures measures on affordability, housing, and drug coverage. However, the budget does not do enough to tackle the corporate greed that allowed the affordability crisis to take hold, according to MP Carol Hughes (Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing).
“New Democrats pushed this government to commit to tangible measures that will help people deal with the cost of living and make a real difference in the lives of Canadians,” said Hughes. “Through our work, we now have the first phase of a national, universal pharmacare framework that will provide free birth control for 9 million women and diabetes medication for 3.7 million Canadians. We’ve secured a national school food program that will help feed children which will help them focus on learning. We’ve forced the government to get more homes built, make it easier for first-time home buyers to get into the market, and give better protection to renters. But the budget is far from perfect.”
While there are many elements of Budget 2024 that address Canadians’ concerns, this is clearly not an NDP budget. The amount of money squared away for the Canada Disability Benefit is too low, with a maximum benefit of just $2,400 per year for low-income persons with disabilities. This budget fails to address the corporate greed that has pushed budgets to the brink. The Finance Minister could have implemented an excess profit tax on companies that are gouging Canadians like grocery giants and the oil and gas industry, but chose not to. And they still refuse to reverse the previous Conservative government’s $60 billion tax handout to corporations.
“Let’s be clear, some of the best elements of this budget, like the doubling of the Volunteer Firefighters Tax Credit and the Search and Rescue Volunteers Tax Credit, are New Democrat ideas,” said Hughes. “Our approach is always centred around putting Canadians first, and this budget is a small step in the right direction, but it fails to do what’s necessary to make corporations pay their fair share.”
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