Ottawa, ON – The latest federal budget, as one analyst stated, offers lots of vision but few numbers. It poses two questions: 1) what can our Canadian Machinist members expect but, more importantly, 2) is when can they expect it?
The Liberals emphasized skills training, infrastructure and child care. Under social infrastructure, the Liberals have pledged $11 billion but the figure is a hollow one as it’s spread over 11 years. So there’s not a lot of new money here because, all of that is covered by funding already announced last year.
Still, if the Liberals would add the caveat of “buy Canadian” to that money – it would mean it would be spent here and that would benefit many of our members who work in industries related to infrastructure. “I’m still waiting for the other shoe to drop,” said a cautious IAM Canadian GVP Stan Pickthall. “This government has played it very close to the vest because it still doesn’t know what our largest trading partner – the United States – plans to do with its pending budget. That uncertainty is worrisome because of the potential impact on our Canadian members.”
The budget contained more than 60 pages on skills development, which promises Canada will have one of the most skilled, talented, creative and diverse workforces in the world. The problem is one of implementation – when will this happen?, who will qualify? and how accessible will these programs be? “It’s all very well to dream about improving skills development but I believe Canadian workers are tired of promises, said Pickthall. “They want action immediately so they can provide a secure future for their families. Give Canadian workers the skills training today, not ten years from now and make sure these programs are in place for their children.”
Affordable child care – long advocated by the NDP – was addressed in this budget suggesting as many as 40,000 child care spaces could be created in the next three years. The key word is “could”. For lower income earning workers this would significantly improve the quality of life but the question is when.
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