Budget 2023: Liberals follow through on big promises in deal with NDP
Budget 2023: Liberals follow through on big promises in deal with NDP
OTTAWA -
The Liberal government has continued to fulfil its promises to the NDP within its second federal budget since the parties struck a confidence-and-supply agreement in March 2022.
New Democrats have agreed to prop up the minority government on key votes, including budgets, until June 2025 in exchange for movement on shared priorities.
Here are the key NDP-approved initiatives that were penned into the agreement and made it into this year's budget:
Dental care: More than $13 billion, including an initial $107 million in 2023-24, is earmarked over the next five years to create a new Canadian dental care plan. The measure aims to provide dental coverage for uninsured Canadians who have an annual family income of less than $90,000, with no co-pays for those with family incomes under $70,000. The new coverage is projected to begin by the end of the year and be administered by Health Canada.
GST rebate: The federal government expects to spend nearly $2.5 billion this year on an affordability measure dubbed the "grocery store rebate." The one-time payment will double the GST rebate for eligible Canadians. It's a repeat of the same measure the Liberals introduced last fall with NDP support, and it will again provide up to an extra $467 for eligible couples with two; $234 for single Canadians without children; and $225 for seniors.
Missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls: The Liberals expect to spend $2.5 million over the next five years, starting in 2023-24, to establish a federal-provincial-territorial table on "Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQI+ People." The budget describes it as providing a forum to discuss and act on initiatives such as a "Red Dress Alert" to notify the public when and Indigenous woman or two-spirit person goes missing. The measure is part of a $125 envelope of funding for other measures related to missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.
Anti-scab legislation: The budget says the government plans to propose changes to the Canada Labour Code this year that would prohibit replacement workers during a strike or lockout in federally regulated sectors.
Green economy: The federal government is promising to offer nearly $83 billion in tax credits until 2034-35 to expand green industrialism in an effort to create Canadian jobs, address global supply-chain issues, and further reduce emissions.
Good-paying (union) jobs: The government is attaching new labour conditions to federal funding, in part so "the unions that built the middle class can thrive," as the budget document puts it. For companies to receive maximum energy and electricity tax credits, they will need to ensure that wages are paid at the prevailing level and apprenticeship training opportunities are being created.
Indigenous housing: The federal government expects to spend $1.9 billion over the next five years to implement an urban, rural and northern Indigenous housing strategy, to be co-developed with Indigenous Peoples. The money won't start flowing until 2024-25, starting with a $300-million investment for that fiscal year.
Beneficial ownership registry: A proposed bill recently tabled in the House of Commons would prevent Canadian shell companies from concealing their ownership of property, businesses and other assets. The registry would allow people to publicly search Canadian corporations and their ownership. It aims to deter money laundering and prevent companies from evading sanctions or avoiding paying taxes. The budget document commits the government to implementing it by the end of 2023.
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Air Canada has rejected compensation claims from some travellers who were among the thousands affected by flight delays caused by computer problems in recent weeks -- a response it now calls 'erroneous,' with cash offers en route.
The father of Tori Stafford, an Ontario girl who was murdered in 2009, says the latest decision to transfer convicted killer Paul Bernardo to a medium-security prison is a 'slap in the face' to all murder victims' families.
Canada's unemployment rate ticked up in May for the first time in nine months, but forecasters say the Bank of Canada will have to see more softening in the economy before it takes it takes a step back from raising interest rates.
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France is calling him "the backpack hero," a young Catholic pilgrim on a walking tour of cathedrals who came face to face with the man who stabbed several children in a park in Annecy.
Philippine troops, police and rescue workers began forcibly evacuating residents near Mayon Volcano on Friday as its increasing unrest indicated a violent eruption of one of the country's most active volcanoes is possible within weeks or days.
Ukraine's domestic security service said on Friday it had intercepted a telephone call proving a Russian 'sabotage group' blew up the Kakhovka hydroelectric station and dam in southern Ukraine.
France's president travelled Friday to the side of families traumatized by the savage stabbings of four very young children, all said to be in stable condition after emergency surgery, while investigators worked to unravel the motives of a Syrian man taken into custody.
Pope Francis was "progressively improving" and sitting in an armchair working Friday, following surgery to remove intestinal scar tissue and repair a hernia in his abdominal wall, the Vatican said.
Canada requested use of the European Union's compound in Kabul to help with tasks such as fingerprinting for those fleeing Afghanistan, according to documents obtained by The Canadian Press.
The Supreme Court of Canada will not hear the appeal of an Alberta woman who was unwilling to be vaccinated in order to get a life-saving organ transplant.
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Daily U.S. sign-ups for Netflix have jumped in the first few days after the streaming giant's password-sharing crackdown came into effect on May 23, data from research firm Antenna showed.
A Tennessee man pleaded guilty Friday to helping two other men charged with fatally shooting rapper Young Dolph in a daytime ambush at a Memphis bakery.
Air Canada has rejected compensation claims from some travellers who were among the thousands affected by flight delays caused by computer problems in recent weeks -- a response it now calls 'erroneous,' with cash offers en route.
Canada's unemployment rate ticked up in May for the first time in nine months, but forecasters say the Bank of Canada will have to see more softening in the economy before it takes it takes a step back from raising interest rates.
Rescuers in Washington state are praising the resourcefulness of a 10-year-old girl who survived on her own for more than 24 hours in the rugged terrain of the Cascade mountains after getting lost while out with her family.
The April Facebook post hardly seemed like national news at the time for Deptford Little League president Don Bozzuffi. He'd lost patience when two umpires resigned in the wake of persistent spectator abuse. So he wrote an updated code of conduct.
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A group of climate activists claimed responsibility on Wednesday for deflating the tires of sport utility vehicles in Denmark's capital. More than 100 vehicles were vandalized, police said.
