Aglimpseofthe2023FederalBudget

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Withinflationdisproportionatelyaffecting thosewhoareleastabletoaffordit,oneofthebest ways to help those individuals is to increase the GSTrebate.WhenNewDemocratsfirstproposed doublingtheGSTrebate,theLiberalsvotedagainst it. They eventually conceded that doubling of the GST credit could help a significant number of Canadians, particularly as inflation increased the revenue generated through the GST. This budget onceagaindoublesthe GSTtaxcreditforeligible recipients, putting up to $467 back in 11 million Canadian's pockets. It's a measure that will not solveinflationarywoesbutwillensurethatpeople arebetterabletokeepup.

The budget also features significant investments for a co-developed Urban, Rural, and Northern Indigenous Strategy. This is designed to help Indigenous people living out of their communitiesfindasafeandaffordableplacetocall home.

There'salsoalargerpushtowardsbuilding agreenenergyeconomyandensuringthatworkers areattheforefrontofthateconomy.We'vepushed the government towards attaching strings to their proposed clean economy tax credits that are designedtoaccelerategreenenergyinvestmentsto ensurethatthejobscreatedinthisindustryarehigh wage, union jobs. Clearly, we need to change our energy economy towards more renewable sources and ensuring that people working in these industries are paid well will go a long way in buildingaresilientgreeneconomy.

On a similar token, this budget finally includes something that labour organizations and workers have been requesting for decades: an end to scab labour. The Canadian Labour Code will finally be amended to prevent the use of replacement workers in federally regulated workplaces.

The budget certainly isn't perfect by any stretch. One issue Parliamentarians have recently heard a lot about has been April 1st excise tax increase (6.3%) on alcohol. Last week, a motion waspassedintheHouseofCommonstocancelthe tax hike. Budget 2023 addresses this issue somewhat,butlimitstheexcisetaxincreasetotwo percent, rather than cancel it entirely. The budget does commits to prioritizing a “red dress alert” system to notify the public when an Indigenous womanortwo-spiritpersongoesmissing,whichis another item that the NDP had pushed for but commitszeromoneytoit.The2.5millionoverfive years committed to establishing a FederalProvincial-Territorial-IndigenoustableonMissing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQI+Peopleisonlyadropinthebucketof what is needed. There's nothing to bring down excessiveinternetorcellservicecosts,stillamong the highest in the world. There's also nothing to ensuretherichestCanadianscan'thidetheirmoney in offshore tax accounts. The word “pharmacare” literallydoesnotappearinthebudget,eventhough whentablingit,theMinisterofFinancementioned they still plan to deliver a National Universal PharmacareProgramaspromisedbytheLiberals. Itisimpossibletogothroughalltheinsand outs of the budget within this column, but what is clear is that without the NDP pushing the government every step of the way, the majority of measures that will prove beneficial in helping Canadians would not have materialized.