Today, the federal Liberal government presented its first budget since being elected in 2015. While there weren’t any Brampton-specific promises, the budget has unveiled a set of new taxes, cuts, and other programs that affect the city, Brampton residents, and Brampton business owners. Bramptonist has highlighted interesting budget items, but this is in no way an exhaustive list.
There will be a $29 billion deficit this year. There is no timeline for getting back to a balanced budget.
Mayor Jeffrey sent out a press release today. She writes:
The new funding methods will allow Brampton to better direct funding to projects we believe need immediate attention. We will now be able to address our aging infrastructure and this federal government clearly respects the choices and priorities highlighted by local city councils.
The federal budget can be read online here. The numbers in bracket indicate actual (not PDF) page number.
Education
- Canada Student Grants will be increased for students of all incomes starting this academic year (65)
- Students won’t have to repay their student loans until they start earning $25,000; the government will cover the interest payments until that time (67)
- Flat-rate student contribution to PSE, so students taking part-time work or co-op jobs will no longer have financial assistance reduced (70)
Employment
- New partnerships to promote co-op placements for youth in STEM + Business fields (72)
- New framework support for union-based apprenticeship training over five years (81)
Innovation and Growth
- $2 billion to post-secondary institutions to modernize their research facilities, including adding incubators and accelerators (114)
- $379 million to boost Canada’s activities in space; MDA, a Brampton company, is featured with the contribution of Canadarm2 and Dextre (116)
- $800 million to support innovation superclusters; Brampton is part of the KW-Toronto innovation supercluster (120)
Environment
- $3.4 billion to fight climate change, air pollution, and protect environmentally sensitive areas (155)
- Free admission to National Parks, Historic Sites, Marine Conservation Areas in 2017 to celebrate Canada 150; children under 18 will have free access in 2018 onwards (161)
Health Care
- $5 million to women’s heart health research via the Heart and Stroke Foundation (180)
- $4 million to Canadian Men’s Health Foundation to help improve awareness of lifestyle choices on health (180)
- $25 million to update national immunization coverage goals (181)
Arts and Culture
- $168.2 million for construction and renovation of arts and heritage facilities (102)
- $675 million in new funding over five years to the CBC (185)
- $13.5 million to the National Film Board of Canada to create social issue films, animation, and digital content (186)
Crime and Safety
- $35 million for a new Office of the Community Outreach and Counter-Radicalization Coordinator (188)
- $143 million for improved rail safety, in particular surrounding dangerous goods movement (191)
- $7.3 million to help develop a framework around autonomous vehicles (192)
Open Government
- A new central website where Canadians can access information from government institutions and receive a response within 30 days (208)
- $11.5 million for Open Data initiatives (209)
- $10.7 million for an all-party committee and outreach campaign for electoral reform (209)
