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Campbell to Harper: Show Me the Money

Federal millions must be 'money on the ground where people can use it.'

Matthew Pearson 27 Jan 2009TheTyee.ca

Matthew Pearson is reporting on the federal budget from Ottawa for The Tyee.

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Harper and Campbell: BC bailed out?

B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell was in Ottawa yesterday for the long-awaited unveiling of the federal budget and his message to the Conservative government was clear: show me the money.

"If we don't get that money on the ground where people can use it, it's going to have been a nice speech, but we're not going to do what we need to in the economy," Campbell told The Tyee.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's fourth budget is the first in a dozen years to post a deficit -- $64 billion over two years. The big-ticket items are permanent income tax relief worth $3.2 billion annually, a pot of $7 billion for infrastructure projects and a promise that all the measures the Conservatives propose will create 190,000 jobs over the next two years.

Of special interest to British Columbians, the budget includes $400 million for upgrades to housing on First Nations reserves, $170 million for the forestry sector and the expediting of Vancouver's Evergreen transit line. A good chunk of $175 million earmarked for Coast Guard ship building and repairs will go to B.C. shipyards, as well.

Wait and see: MP Davies

Much of what the federal government laid out today requires matching funds from provincial or municipal governments. Campbell said that wouldn't be a problem for B.C.

"This is a call to partnership and I think we're ready to step up to that call," he said.

Libby Davies, the NDP house leader and longtime Vancouver East MP, isn't so sure.

"They've got money in there for social housing, but it's all contingent on provincial funds and we have no assurance Gordon Campbell is going to do any of that," she said.

While the Liberals have said they will wait until today to announce their intentions, Davies confirmed the NDP plan to vote against the budget. The Bloc Quebecois are also expected to vote against it.

"You got to go beyond the words on the page," she said. "I think the real test here is, 'Do we believe this guy anymore?' You look at the budget and there's stuff in there on social housing, there's stuff in there on infrastructure, and seniors and people with disabilities and aboriginal people, but I really think it comes down to a question of confidence."

Potential payouts for BC

Among the initiatives in Budget 2009 are:

The Tyee's political news blog The Hook will continue to report on federal budget reaction and analysis.

Today in Ottawa, Premier Campbell hinted that his government will be strained to balance the provincial budget, as is required by a law passed by his BC Liberals.

"I can tell you that every government is facing dramatically shifting economic projections, falling revenues," Campbell told CBC Newsworld. "And if you protect services and those revenues fall too much, there's a whole lot of choices you have to make and they're very difficult."

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