The Gleaner

Anne Quach talks about a "timid" Liberal budget which will increase inequality

le mardi 06 mars 2018
Modifié à 9 h 56 min le 06 mars 2018
Par Eric Tremblay

etremblay@gravitemedia.com

(Written by Mario Pitre - Translated by Cathleen Johnston) The budget presented on Tuesday, February 27 by the Trudeau government neglects to deal with tax havens for the ultra rich and multinationals and fails to offer any real progress in valuable programs for her constituents, according to Anne Quach, MP for Salaberry-Suroît. For Quach, this budget, in effect, offers nothing in terms of affordable housing, promoting agriculture or easing student debt. "Given all the talk from the Liberals about helping the middle class, here is a pretty timid budget that will effectively increase the divide between the super-rich and the rest of us," stated Quach through a press release. "Quebecers are quite right to be asking themselves, "if the economy is so good, how come I'm not feeling the benefits?" While recognizing that measures for pay equity have been long overdue, Quach, as Deputy Critic for Gender Equality, lamented that there was no current or anticipated funding in the Liberal budget for implementing legislative measures on pay equity. Furthermore, she harshly criticized the Liberals for not dealing with the present housing crisis, as well as their failure to allocate the necessary funds for promoting agricultural producers who have been the currency of free trade agreements. According to Quach, the Liberals also failed to respond to the urgency of climate change by deferring most of the funding for this issue until after the next election, while continuing to maintain subsidies for oil and gas industries. "As far as youth is concerned, no new effort is being made to help out young people. I deplore the fact that the Federal Government continues to make hundreds of millions of dollars on the backs of students with these high interest loans," pointed out the NDP Youth Critic. "Hundreds of thousands of young people in Quebec and Canada continue to be under pressure because of student debt and the ever increasing number of precarious jobs. The Government's response remains: get used to the situation, it's not going to change." The NDP proposed that the Government use this year's budge to abolish tax loop-holes for the super-rich and deal with off shore tax havens and to then invest the billions from clawed back revenue in a proper pharmacare program in order to reduce the cost of medication for all Canadians. "The Liberals like to make nice speeches, but when it comes time to stand up to the rich and well-connected they don't have the courage to act and make a real difference in people's lives," concluded Quach.