No time for austerity, NDP tells Flaherty

The Toronto Star:

Ottawa — The Conservatives have signalled that the 2012 budget, expected in the last week of March, will mark an abrupt switch by Ottawa from extensive economic pump-priming to an era of pronounced belt-tightening and cutbacks.

But the NDP, which held a pre-budget consultation with Flaherty on Thursday, says the Conservatives are making a mistake to withdraw stimulus from the economy when growth is stalled and 1.4 million Canadians are without work.

“I’m certainly hoping the government is going to think twice about bringing in a type of austerity budget that will compound the economic problems that we’re going through, lead to further job loss and make it even more difficult for Canadian families,” NDP finance critic Peter Julian said after meeting with Flaherty.

“For families that are dealing with record levels of debt to go through a government-provoked worsening of the economic situation would not be a smart or responsible move.”

The Harper government has announced plans to cap federal government health-care cash transfers to the provinces after 2016, scale back Old Age Security for future retirees and bring about the largest cuts in federal government spending in recent times — probably between $4 billion and $8 billion a year.

Instead, Julian and NDP trade critic Robert Chisholm offered Flaherty a “practical and affordable” job-creation proposal based on support for small businesses and tax breaks for companies that hire more workers.

The NDP would also like to see a reversal of corporate income tax cuts, a reduction in spending on the Prime Minister’s Office and a rejection of the controversial F-35 fighter jet contract, with the purchase of new military planes put out to contract again.

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