February 17, 2010

“The Place” – Seniors Centre
February 17, 2010 – 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Attendance – approx. 25 constituents
Meeting Format:

The format of the meeting invites participants to address their comments and concerns about the upcoming Budget 2010.  The meeting begins with opening comments from the M.P. to set the context of the forum.  Speakers are allowed to speak more than once, though preference will be provided to participants who have not yet spoken.   The M.P. will Chair the meeting.  There is no time limit for each speaker per sé, however the Chair will intervene to restrict time so that all interested participants will have an opportunity to bring their comments and questions forward. 

The Chair and his staff representative will keep notes on the verbal presentations.  Written submissions are welcomed individually or in support of oral presentations.

Participants were invited to list their name upon arrival with the staff representative to that they may receive a copy of the report to the Minister of Finance that will be completed once all the town hall consultations are completed.

The Chair may ask questions for clarity, provide answers to questions, and make statements of explanation as needed.

Though the meeting was specific to the coming 2010 Budget, participants were welcome to pose other questions not necessarily related to the Budget.

Budget 2010 Context:

• We are half way through a Two-Year economic action plan (EAP)
• The 2010 budget is not expected to be as expansive as 2009
• The economic action plan encompasses three themes:
• Investments in infrastructure, stimulus investments
• Tax relief for Canadians – e.g. Home Renovation Tax Credit
• Support for unemployed workers, those displaced by the economic down turn
• Budget discussions for 2010 could consider:
• The current EAP; are there components that could finish earlier than planned; are there parts that should be extended
• The need to look ahead to reducing the budget deficit and return Canada’s budget framework to balance and eventually surplus
• The need to strengthen Canada’s economy into the future

Note from the Member of Parliament, Bruce Stanton:

What follows are the comments and in some cases the consensus of opinion, summarized for clarity and brevity, of the participants at this consultation.  I want to thank them all for their candid and thoughtful comments, suggestions and questions.   Here is what I heard at the meeting:

Home Renovation Tax Credit:

• Has worked well for the area of Simcoe North. If possible continue this program. Creates spending and jobs. The extension could allow folks who did not have the funds during the first year of the program to save up and renovate in the second year of the program.
• It was pointed out that the loss in revenue for the government of $1,350 would still benefit the country given that folks have these funds in their pockets available to spend benefitting the economy.

RSPs

• Young people are currently able to remove funds from their RRSPs to use as a down payment for a new home. It was suggested that for folks up to the age of 50 years old this would be a nice perk for them to be able to remove funds from their RRSPs for a renovation on their home. A 50 year old would have the time available to re pay these funds before the age of 71 and this could be limited to a one time fund removal.

International Aid

• Concern was expressed about the amount of foreign spending by the government.  The suggestion was made that given the difficult economic situation it would be smart to roll back on giving to foreign countries examples such as Afghanistan and Haiti were specifically mentioned.

Canada Pension Plan

• It was suggested that the Canada Pension Plan should be completely revamped.  Currently pensions are not guaranteed for employees unless they are government employees, police, fire etc.  Having a more secure pension plan available to private sector workers would decrease the inequality between private and public sector pension plans.  It was expressed that government pension plans are preferred as they are more secure and people generally trust government more than they trust private banks and institutions.
• Currently the CPP allocation for “death benefit” is $2,500 and has not been increased in years. Given the increase in costs it was suggested that this be increased.
• It was suggested that perhaps a good solution to the issues with CPP would be a voluntary supplementary pay in Canada Pension Plan which would allow for workers who are employed for long periods of time to put away extra funds in a secure environment.

Senate Reform

• Several people commented on the government’s need to continue to reform the Senate, expressing support for the chamber to become elected, more accountable or be abolished altogether.

Charitable Donation Tax Credit

• It was suggested that the charitable donation tax credit be increased from 17% to 20% to encourage folks to donate to registered charities.

Transfers to Provinces

• It was mentioned by many participants that the Federal government monitor the transfers given to the provinces to ensure spending is done responsibly. Currently the CEO of WSIB makes over $800 000 a year??

Employment for Youth

• Concern was expressed about the lack of jobs for youth in the area of Simcoe North.  It was recognized that re-training programs have been helpful in this riding and hopes were expressed that with the improvement of the economy further jobs will become available to youth.

Bi-centennial Celebration of the war of 1812

• A representative was present at the consultation to offer a proposal about the Celebration of the war of 1812 and expressed their hopes that the Federal government would jump on board with some funding.
• Some participants noted that this type of exuberant spending on a ‘celebration’ is exactly the type of spending they would hope the government will pull back on to allow for paying down of the country’s debt

Comments:
In the final report, or for any commentary that goes on the web, check consistency of punctuation, grammar, spelling, form e.g. “re pay” should be “repay”; “800 000” should be “$800,000”.  Some point form notes end with period, some without.
Two spaces between sentences in a paragraph, not one.