There are winners and losers in Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s debut budget.
First Nations get a total of 8 point 4 billion dollars.
The money is to be spent over 5 years and includes $2.6 billion for on-reserve education, money for water and waste water infrastructure, child and family services, and money to address housing needs.
The disability award for vets will rise, EI benefits changes make it easier to qualify, Canada student grants are going up, the CBC will get $675 million over five years, and the new $10-billion Canada Child Benefit will provide tax-free cheques of as much as $6,400, depending on the family situation.
The Kitsilano search and rescue lifeboat station, closed under the previous government, will reopen as a coast guard base with an expanded environmental response capability.
Losers in the budget include small business as the government will not proceed with reductions in the small business tax rate, billions of dollars in planned equipment spending for defence is pushed off past the next election and the budget undoes some of the former Conservative government’s targeted tax breaks, including income-splitting for families with children.
