OTTAWA—The Conservative’s stimulus budget got final approval in Parliament Wednesday but with no word as to whether it will be adjusted to accommodate an opposition motion that calls for half the infrastructure spending to be routed through the gas tax fund.
Gerard Kennedy, the opposition Liberal legislator for Parkdale-Highpark, tabled the motion last Thursday. It was supported by both the Bloc Quebecois and the NDP in a vote yesterday.
The budget contains $18 billion in stimulus spending. The Liberal motion calls for half of all infrastructure stimulus spending to be delivered through the gas tax fund.
The gas tax fund takes money from gasoline taxes and returns it to municipalities for infrastructure spending on a per capita basis. Municipalities have to invest the money according to federally-approved eligibility criteria.
This mechanism has proven highly successful at delivering infrastructure money to municipalities. As part of their stimulus package, the Conservatives have doubled the gas tax fund.
Early critics of the budget, including the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, were quick to slam it for not using the gas tax mechanism to make sure stimulus spending made it to communities quickly.
Mr. Kennedy said there had been no acknowledgement from the government that they would adjust their budget guidelines to align with the motion, but that it is “bound to take this into account in some fashion.”
“It really has to justify why it wouldn’t use this method. There’s no application process that can get dollars out there adequately in time to projects. They don’t have the staffing, they don’t have the preparation in place. Any government would face a certain amount of challenge,” he said.
In tabling his motion, Kennedy criticized the Conservatives for failing to get previously announced spending out the door, citing a performance review that found the Tories had delivered only four per cent of spending announced.
He noted that that number stood in sharp contrast to 95 per cent of gas tax monies that were successfully delivered.
The Conservative infrastructure money is linked to conditions and requires municipalities to match the funds. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), an organization representing municipalities across the country, has indicated money should be distributed via the gas tax mechanism, although a spokesperson for the group said in a recent interview that the organization was still finalizing its position.
Mr. Kennedy said the Conservatives had little choice but to use the gas tax mechanism to get spending out if it is to meet Liberal demands to get money out the door.
“They need to do something like this, and we expect them to do it if they expect to stay as the government over a longer period of time.”
“This is the way to get the most money out in the quickest period of time to the greatest effect.”
The NDP criticized the Liberals for not introducing the idea as an amendment to the budget, but Kennedy said in a previous interview that such a move would have been inconsistent with the Liberals’ efforts to get the budget passed quickly.
“The whole idea is to get money out the door and into line at the right places,” he said, adding that it was better to get the budget passed and then get it fixed than to hold it up and potentially topple the government.
However, in another budget twist on Wednesday, the Liberals and Conservatives hit an impasse over a $3 billion fund meant to rapidly inject money into the economy.
Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff has said the Liberals won’t release the funds without prior itemization. The Conservatives have said they won’t provide that information as it will slow down dispersal.
It now remains to be seen whether the government and the opposition can work out their differences to get stimulus monies into the economy.
Gerard Kennedy, the opposition Liberal legislator for Parkdale-Highpark, tabled the motion last Thursday. It was supported by both the Bloc Quebecois and the NDP in a vote yesterday.
The budget contains $18 billion in stimulus spending. The Liberal motion calls for half of all infrastructure stimulus spending to be delivered through the gas tax fund.
The gas tax fund takes money from gasoline taxes and returns it to municipalities for infrastructure spending on a per capita basis. Municipalities have to invest the money according to federally-approved eligibility criteria.
This mechanism has proven highly successful at delivering infrastructure money to municipalities. As part of their stimulus package, the Conservatives have doubled the gas tax fund.
Early critics of the budget, including the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, were quick to slam it for not using the gas tax mechanism to make sure stimulus spending made it to communities quickly.
Mr. Kennedy said there had been no acknowledgement from the government that they would adjust their budget guidelines to align with the motion, but that it is “bound to take this into account in some fashion.”
“It really has to justify why it wouldn’t use this method. There’s no application process that can get dollars out there adequately in time to projects. They don’t have the staffing, they don’t have the preparation in place. Any government would face a certain amount of challenge,” he said.
In tabling his motion, Kennedy criticized the Conservatives for failing to get previously announced spending out the door, citing a performance review that found the Tories had delivered only four per cent of spending announced.
He noted that that number stood in sharp contrast to 95 per cent of gas tax monies that were successfully delivered.
The Conservative infrastructure money is linked to conditions and requires municipalities to match the funds. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), an organization representing municipalities across the country, has indicated money should be distributed via the gas tax mechanism, although a spokesperson for the group said in a recent interview that the organization was still finalizing its position.
Mr. Kennedy said the Conservatives had little choice but to use the gas tax mechanism to get spending out if it is to meet Liberal demands to get money out the door.
“They need to do something like this, and we expect them to do it if they expect to stay as the government over a longer period of time.”
“This is the way to get the most money out in the quickest period of time to the greatest effect.”
The NDP criticized the Liberals for not introducing the idea as an amendment to the budget, but Kennedy said in a previous interview that such a move would have been inconsistent with the Liberals’ efforts to get the budget passed quickly.
“The whole idea is to get money out the door and into line at the right places,” he said, adding that it was better to get the budget passed and then get it fixed than to hold it up and potentially topple the government.
However, in another budget twist on Wednesday, the Liberals and Conservatives hit an impasse over a $3 billion fund meant to rapidly inject money into the economy.
Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff has said the Liberals won’t release the funds without prior itemization. The Conservatives have said they won’t provide that information as it will slow down dispersal.
It now remains to be seen whether the government and the opposition can work out their differences to get stimulus monies into the economy.
Friends Read Free