Monday's federal budget is a big disappointment -especially if you are a citizen of the province of B.C.
Yes, the Conservatives did unveil more than $10 billion in goodies, including a child-tax benefit, a tax benefit for low-income families, $1.5 billion for environmental projects that aim to cut air pollution and greenhouse gas and $612 million in health care funding with the hopes of cutting hospital wait times by the end of the fiscal year.
But several areas, critical to the stability and growth of this province, were seemingly all but forgotten.
The Pacific Gateway project has been short changed. The Conservatives said when they took power that they would honour the Liberal five-year funding commitment of $591 million, but with the money allocated Monday, the Tories are $44 million short of this promise through 2011.
The pine beetle infestation, which is a growing concern in B.C.'s forests, was given only limited funding - missing the mark on a promised $600 million when the Conservatives took office.
What about more funding for child care or the impending closures of child care spaces on the Sunshine Coast? The Gibsons Child Care and Referral and Resource Centre is in serious jeopardy of closing. The provincial government isn't doing much and now it looks like the Tories aren't doing too much to improve the situation either.
Even more insulting was the apparent lack of recognition of B.C. in finance minister Jim Flaherty's speech.
Flaherty boasted about the rugged shores of Newfoundland and the Rocky Mountains as being some of the most beautiful places on earth. We can agree with him on that statement, but what about beautiful B.C. Why stop at the Rocky Mountains? Doesn't all of Canada deserve the same amount of respect and recognition?
There appears to be a lot of money and programs for voters in Quebec, who will receive more than $10 billion in increased transfer payments in the next seven years. It's no wonder the Bloq Quebecois are fully endorsing the budget.
Both the Liberals and NDP are still mulling things over, but chances are they won't be throwing their support to this budget any time soon. Could this budget be about winning over voters in Quebec if an election is called early?
We were hoping for so much more - instead we got a lot less.
