Three ways federal politics touched Canadians this week, the Budget 2017 edition
OTTAWA — It’s been dubbed the innovation-and-skills budget, the feminist budget, the do-nothing budget, the do-it-later budget, the wait-and-see budget.
Whether or not you think the 278-page emperor has no clothes, Budget 2017 is notable for its sprinkling of federal money across dozens and dozens of small initiatives. And it actually singles out “sprinkling” as a nefarious tax practice that involves individuals setting up private corporations to spread out their income among family members in order to bring down their personal tax rates.
The Conservatives spent much of their public time this week countering with a completely alternative narrative, focusing their fire on the Liberals’ proposed changes to how the House of Commons should work. An end to Friday sittings, the Tories say, would make the government less accountable.
Amidst the sprinkling, the filibustering and the lobbying that filled the air on Parliament Hill this week, the budget did contain concrete measures that affect our livelihoods.