Social Policy in Ontario

Mulcair, Trudeau agendas offer relief, not risk

Posted on July 11, 2015 in Governance Debates

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TheStar.com – Opinion/Editorials – Stephen Harper’s claim to represent security for Canadians is shaky as the economy lags.
Jul 10 2015.   Editorial

Prime Minister Stephen Harper was in fine political fettle at the Calgary Stampede this past week, sporting his Stetson and gunning for his rivals in the upcoming federal election.

In a rousing speech to his Conservative Party faithful at a barbecue he blasted New Democrat Leader Tom Mulcair and Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau — “the other guys” — for being, among other things, a threat to the nation’s pocketbooks.

“Friends, here is the bottom line,” Harper said. “The Liberals and the NDP voted against every single tax break and every single family benefit we brought in. They will tax away, in whole or large part, the universal child care benefit, income-splitting, and tax-free savings accounts.” He also raised the spectre of a carbon tax and claimed his rivals will raise payroll taxes.

“Friends, we’ve come too far to take risks with reckless policies. That’s why I’m confident that this October Canadians will choose security over risk.”

It was red-meat stuff. Except that Harper’s claim to be Mr. Security is shaky. He is presiding over a struggling economy. The International Monetary Fund has just slashed its growth forecast for this country. Exports are slumping. Statistics Canada reports we lost 6,400 jobs last month, sustaining the view the economy is losing steam. And the Bank of Canada may be forced to cut interest rates yet again amid fears of recession. Moreover after 10 years in power Harper’s Conservative brand has lost its lustre. The party is heading into the campaign at a near-historic low in the polls.

The majority of Canadians — those who favour change — seem more than prepared to “risk” an NDP or Liberal government over the “security” that the Tories say they offer.

Both Mulcair and Trudeau would upend Harper’s $26 billion pre-election “cash for everyone” budget that disproportionately favours higher-income earners. They would cancel the Conservative Family Tax Cut, an income-splitting measure that benefits the affluent. Both would also cancel the Tory increase in the TFSA, which also largely benefits higher earners. And Trudeau would roll Harper’s universal child care benefit into a new family support program; Mulcair wouldn’t touch it.

The biggest “risk” these changes pose is to the wealthy.

Campaigning on “fairness,” Trudeau promises to shift wealth from the richest to the middle class by raising income taxes on those making over $200,000 a year and by reducing rates for middle earners. His Canada Child Benefit family support program is also constructed to increase benefits to most families.

Mulcair proposes a signature affordable national child care program, which would do far more for working families than Harper’s child care benefit. He’d also nudge corporate tax rates up a few percentage points, closer to the level that prevailed when the Tories came to power. And he’d boost infrastructure spending and health transfers.

Both opposition parties would lower the tax burden for small businesses that generate jobs. They’d increase Canada Pension Plan payments and benefits. They’d cancel the Tory plan to raise the eligibility age for Old Age Security to 67 from 65.

Mulcair would fight climate change with a cap-and-trade program while Trudeau would work with the provinces to set a price on carbon emissions.

While Harper may deride the opposition as “reckless,” these alternative policies reflect a sense that Canada is due for a fairer distribution of the tax burden, and for heavier investment in infrastructure, affordable housing, higher education, child care, poverty reduction and health care.

As the Star has written before, all three parties are in a bidding war for the middle class. But Mulcair and Trudeau both aim to generate growth, to spread the tax burden more fairly and to redress some of the corrosive social inequities that the nation faces.

To Canadians who are worried about recession, a growing income gap, youth unemployment and unmet social needs, what the opposition is proposing may sound more like much-needed relief, than a leap in the dark.

< http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2015/07/10/mulcair-trudeau-agendas-offer-relief-not-risk-editorial.html >

Tags: budget, child care, economy, ideology, standard of living, tax

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