Ottawa – On Tuesday March 28, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, released Budget 2023—A Made-in-Canada Plan: Strong Middle Class, Affordable Economy, Healthy Future.
Budgets can be very dry reading but they are important.
Highlights:
Through the new Grocery Rebate, Budget 2023 targets inflation relief for 11 million Canadians and families who need it most, with up to an extra $467 for eligible couples with children; an extra $234 for single Canadians without children; and an extra $225 for seniors, on average. The government also takes action to crack down on hidden junk fees and predatory lending, lower credit card transaction fees for small businesses, and help Canadians keep more money in their pockets.
To strengthen Canada’s universal public health care system, Budget 2023 expects to deliver $198.3 billion to reduce backlogs, expand access to family health services, and ensure provinces and territories can provide the high quality and timely health care Canadians expect and deserve.
In Budget 2023, the federal government is moving forward with a transformative investment to provide dental care to Canadians who need it: the new Canadian Dental Care Plan.
Budget 2023 proposes to provide $13 billion over five years, starting in 2023-24, and $4.4 billion ongoing, to Health Canada to implement the new Canadian Dental Care Plan. The plan will provide dental coverage for uninsured Canadians with annual family income of less than $90,000, with no co-pays for those with family incomes under $70,000. The plan would begin providing coverage by the end of 2023 and will be administered by Health Canada, with support from a third-party benefits administrator.
In addition to cost, other factors may also prevent Canadians from accessing the dental care they need, such as living in a remote community, or requiring specialized care due to a disability.
Budget 2023 proposes to provide $250 million over three years, starting in 2025-26, and $75 million ongoing, to Health Canada to establish an Oral Health Access Fund. The fund will complement the Canadian Dental Care Plan by investing in targeted measures to address oral health gaps among vulnerable populations and reduce barriers to accessing care, including in rural and remote communities.
Access to Abortion and Other Sexual and Reproductive Health Care Services
Budget 2023 proposes to provide $36 million over three years, starting in 2024-25, to Health Canada to renew the Sexual and Reproductive Health Fund. This fund supports community-based organizations that help make access to abortion, as well as other sexual and reproductive health care information and services, more accessible.
Fighting Crime and Saving Lives: Combatting the Opioid Crisis
Budget 2023 proposes to provide a total of $359.2 million over five years, starting in 2023-24, with $5.7 million ongoing and $1.3 million in remaining amortization, to support a renewed Canadian Drugs and Substances Strategy, which would guide the government’s work to save lives and protect the health and safety of Canadians. This includes funding for community supports, prevention programs, supervised consumption sites, and action to tackle drug trafficking.
Implementing the 988 Suicide Prevention Line
Budget 2023 proposes to provide $158.4 million over three years, starting in 2023-24, to the Public Health Agency of Canada to support the implementation and operation of 988. As of November 30, 2023, Canadians will be able to call or text 988 at any time to access quality, effective, and immediate suicide prevention and mental health crisis support.
REACTION
Montreal – The Montreal Economic Institute is worried about the federal budget’s chronic deficits and its lack of measures to address Canada’s lagging productivity.
“The Trudeau government long justified its deficits by saying that it could run them because interest rates were low,” says Renaud Brossard, senior director of communications at the MEI. “Interest rates having since shot up, the logical response from the government should have been to stop piling up debt at a record pace.
“Unfortunately, it’s Canadians who will get stuck with the bill for these excesses, with increasingly costly interest payments on the federal debt.”
The federal government projects that it will run a deficit of $40.1billion this year. No date was put forward for a return to a balanced budget.
When the Trudeau government took power, the amount devoted to debt service was $25.6billion. The government projects that it will cost $43.9 billion this year—an expense of $1,489 per taxpayer.
The government projects that it will spend $50.3 billion on debt service in 2028-2029.
