Open Letter: Budget 2017

Dear residents of Cloverdale - Langley City,

Yesterday, the Government of Canada tabled Budget 2017, “Building a Strong Middle Class.” Budget 2017 is the next step in our Government’s ambitious plan to make smart investments that will create jobs, grow our economy, and provide more opportunities for the middle class and those working hard to join it. Budget 2017 puts Canada’s skilled, talented, and creative people at the heart of a more innovative future economy – one that will create middle class jobs today and tomorrow.

Following in the footsteps of Budget 2016, this year’s federal budget offers immediate assistance to those who need it most and helps ensure that everyone has a real and fair chance of success. With these smart investments and a commitment to fairness, the Government ensuring that Canada’s best days lie ahead.

With its strong focus on innovation, skills, partnerships and fairness, Budget 2017 takes the next steps in securing a more prosperous future for all Canadians and will directly benefit people living in Cloverdale-Langley City.

Some key measures for British Columbians are:

• Making ambitious investments in public transit projects that will shorten commutes, decrease air pollution, and allow Canadians to spend more time with their families – through an investment of $20.1 billion, over 11 years, in partnership with the provinces and territories.
• A major transfer of $6.7 billion in 2017-18, an increase of $194.9 million from the previous year. Of this, British Columbia will receive:
  • $4.9 billion through the Canada Health Transfer, an increase of $142.3 million from the previous year
  • $1.8 billion through the Canada Social Transfer, an increase of $52.7 million from the previous year.
• Providing more – and better – home care and mental health supports for Canadians who need it – through an investment of 11 billion, over ten years. More specifically, the Government will provide British Columbia with an additional $1.4 billion in the next decade, of which:
  • $785.7 million will be dedicated to better home care – including addressing critical home care infrastructure requirements
  • $654.7 million will be allocated in support of mental health initiatives.
• $100 million to combat Canada’s opioid crisis, including urgently needed support of $10 million to the Government of British Columbia in February 2017, to address its opioid-related public health emergency.
• As part of a new National Housing Strategy, the Government will invest more than $11.2 billion in a range of initiatives designed to build, renew and repair Canada’s stock of affordable housing and help to ensure that Canadians have adequate and affordable housing that meets their needs.
• Budget 2017 proposes to invest an additional $7 billion over 10 years, starting in 2018–19, to support and create more high-quality, affordable child care spaces across the country. Over the next three years, these investments could increase the number of affordable child care spaces for low- and modest-income families by supporting up to 40,000 new subsidized child care spaces.
• Establishing a National Strategy to Address Gender-Based Violence that will help the government make informed decisions to advance the goals of gender equality, fairness, and stronger workforce participation – through an investment of $100.9 million over five years, beginning in 2017-18, and $20.7 million per year thereafter.
• Supporting a Community Heroes benefit that will give the much-needed help to families of public safety officers who have fallen in the line of duty – through an investment that will be announced in 2018-19 - $80M over 5 years starting in 2018/19.
• Strong support for business-led innovation “superclusters” – in key sectors such as digital and clean tech – that have the greatest potential to accelerate economic growth, through an investment of up to $950 million over five years, starting in 2017–18.
• Making Parental Leave more accessible by extending eligibility to allow parents to choose up to 18 months of benefits at a reduced rate.

Budget 2017 is a continuation of our Government’s commitment to Canadians from coast to coast to coast.

By investing in the economy today, we will create a stronger economy for decades to come, and benefit Canadians today, and well into the future.

I invite your questions and look forward to your feedback and ideas on how we can work together and use the opportunities created by Budget 2017 to build a stronger future for Cloverdale - Langley City.  

Sincerely,

John Aldag
Member of Parliament for Cloverdale-Langley City