On February 23rd, the government released its proposed budget for fiscal year 2005-06.

I’m glad to see that the government is following the Conservative Party’s lead in many areas, such as our proposal to rebuild national defence. The budget included plans to boost troop levels by 5,000 full time members and by 3,000 reservists. This news will be of special interest to the Lorne Scots Regiment, located in Georgetown. While the government is moving in the right direction on defence policy, much remains to be done.

The government has also followed our recommendation to reduce the tax burden by lowering the corporate surtax tax by almost 10%, from a rate of 21% to 19%. This is good for job creation and for economic growth. However, no real tax relief has been provided for the working person, even though the surplus allows them to do that. The government cut taxes substantially for corporations by 10% but haven’t done anything significant for working families.

The budget also raises the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) for low-income seniors by $36 a month for singles, and by $58 for couples, by Jan 2007. That works out to more than $400 per year for a single senior, and almost $700 per year for a couple. This is good news for enhancing the quality of life for our seniors, especially those with the most limited means.

I’m disappointed that we didn’t see any more support for farmers, especially those in cash crops and livestock.

Finally, I have to point out the irony this budget presents. In the last election, the Liberals ridiculed us and said the Conservatives were grossly overestimating the surplus. We campaigned on $58 billion in new spending and tax reductions over five years; this budget commits to $55 billion in new spending and tax reductions in the same period. They’re now acknowledging that we were right.