| April 22, 2015 Dear OMSSA Members; Federal Finance Minister, Joe Oliver, delivered his first budget yesterday in the House of Commons. Strong Leadership boasts a $1.4 billion surplus and emphasizes spending in the areas of security, providing tax breaks and targeted investments in infrastructure and public transit. For OMSSA members, the budget did not deliver on predictable, sustainable funding for social and affordable housing or a plan to make child care more accessible and affordable for families. The federal budget does recommit to its current investments of $253 million per year to extend the Investment in Affordable Housing to March 31, 2019 and a new initiative of $150 million over four years, starting in 2016-17, to allow cooperative and non-profit social housing providers to prepay long-term, non-renewable mortgages held with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation without penalty. Highlights for OMSSA members:
- Spending for child benefits are projected to increase including, as announced by the Government on October 30, 2014, the enhanced Universal Child Care Benefit that will provide an increased benefit of $160 per month for children under the age of 6, and a new benefit of $60 per month for children aged 6 through 17, effective January 1, 2015.
- Investing $53.8 million over two years to extend the current Employment Insurance Working While on Claim pilot project to August 2016.
- Pursuing negotiations with provinces and territories on the $1.95-billion-per-year Labour Market Development Agreements to reorient training towards labour market demand.
- Extending Employment Insurance Compassionate Care Benefits from six weeks to six months to better support Canadians caring for gravely ill family members.
- Reducing the minimum withdrawal factors for Registered Retirement Income Funds to permit seniors to preserve more of their retirement savings.
- Introducing a new Home Accessibility Tax Credit for seniors and persons with disabilities to help with the costs of ensuring their homes remain safe, secure and accessible.
- Renewing the mandate of the Mental Health Commission of Canada for another 10 years, beginning in 2017-18.
- Extending the temporary measure that allows a qualifying family member to become the plan holder of a Registered Disability Savings Plan.
- Allocating $2.0 million in 2015-16 to support stakeholder consultations on a Canadian Autism Partnership.
- Providing $200 million over five years, starting in 2015-16, to improve First Nations education.
- Providing $12 million over three years to Indspire to provide post-secondary scholarships and bursaries for First Nations and Inuit students.
- New funding of $750 million over two years, starting in 2017-18, and $1 billion per year ongoing thereafter for a new Public Transit Fund.
- Implement a social finance accelerator initiative to help promising social finance proposals become investment ready, attract private investment and turn social entrepreneurs' proposals into action.
- A projected $27 billion increase in health care transfers to provinces and territories.
- $46 million research granting councils will receive each year to distribute, beginning in 2016-17.
As indicated, the budget commits funding in a number of areas to defense and security including:
- $11b over 10 years to National Defense;
- $292.6m over five years for intelligence and law enforcement;
- $60.4m over three years for Parliament Hill security;
- $27m over five years for court security; and
- $12.5m to support the Security Intelligence Review Committee.
As OMSSA members are aware, Canadians will go to the polls for a federal election in October leaving the Strong Leadership budget commitments contingent on the outcome. Further analysis and implications of the federal budget will be provided to OMSSA members as it emerges.
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