Declaring the Conservative government’s budget “a grab bag which does nothing,” Stephane Dion announced his Liberal Party’s bold plan to oppose it: they will abstain on the vote. That means that Harper’s government will survive despite the votes against the budget by the NDP and the Bloc.

“The winners [in this budget] are the banks, the big polluters and the well-off. Meanwhile, hard-working Canadians lose out,” said Thomas Mulcair of the NDP.

A number of extra-parliamentary organizations also responded with some genuine alternatives to the Harper budget.

Somewhat below the mainstream media’s radar, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) presented its 2008 Alternative Federal Budget (AFB). It argued, “The Stephen Harper government needs to give up its tax cut addiction and invest in solutions to pressing problems facing Canadians.”

“Our budget tackles climate change and confronts the financial insecurity many Canadians struggle with. It will make it easier for Canadians to get to work each day and give better opportunities to our children. In other words, we address things this government chooses to ignore,” said CCPA Senior Economist Marc Lee.

“The Conservatives’ answer to everything is a tax cut, but that ideological mindset has led this minority government to squander a huge fiscal surplus. We need to take back those tax cuts and put them to work for all Canadians. Canada is facing big problems âe” and they require big solutions.”

Budget ’08: unbalanced and unfair

The labour movement spoke out about what it sees as the misplaced priorities of the Conservative budget. Canadian Labour Congress President Ken Georgetti called it “unbalanced and unfair,” and pointed to the dire situation of workers in the manufacturing sector.

“It is irresponsible for a government, whatever its political stripes, to ignore the fate of the 350,000 workers who lost good manufacturing and forestry jobs over the past five years,” said Georgetti.

Georgetti also noted that this pro-corporate budget was nothing new, but continues a period of neo-liberal attacks on working people dating back to earlier Liberal governments.

“For over a decade we saw these budgets that gave away money to business and failed to bring benefits to working people. Four days ago, Statistics Canada released a study showing that over the last ten years Canadians who work for wages are getting poorer and their jobs are less secure. Meanwhile, the already rich have been getting richer. When will these budgets focus on the needs and aspirations of ordinary working families?” asked Georgetti.

Ken Neumann, the United Steelworkers‘ (USW) National Director for Canada, picked up on a similar theme.

“In the coming fiscal year the federal government will devote $6 to corporate tax cuts for each additional dollar invested in programs for ordinary Canadians,” said Neumann. “The budget extends the accelerated capital cost allowance for manufacturing on a ‘declining’ basis rather than continuing it at a straight-line rate.”

“Although the manufacturing crisis has dramatically worsened over the last year, the targeted tax incentive in Tuesday’s budget is worth less than the one in last year’s budget. Through 2013 the government’s no-strings-attached corporate tax cut will cost 20 times as much as both the ’07 and ’08 incentives combined.”

Buzz Hargrove, President of the Canadian Auto Workers, described new funding for the auto industry as “grossly inadequate.”

“The announcement of $250 million over five years for the auto industry is a baby step in the right direction, but much more is needed,” said Hargrove.

Pre-election goodies

Harper’s budget is not without its goodies for disadvantaged groups. Writing in the Toronto Star, Thomas Walkom chalked this up to crass pre-election maneuvering by the Conservatives: “[the budget] satisfies both the short-term tactical needs of the governing Conservatives and their long-term ideological goals.”

The country’s largest student organization, for its part, applauded the government’s decision to finally introduce a national system of grants.

“The government has taken a positive step towards improving access to post-secondary education,” said Amanda Aziz, National Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students. “By implementing a national system of grants, the government has responded to a long standing call by students and their families.”

Meanwhile, new funding was announced for public transit, which some analysts think could be part of the Conservatives’ strategy to make electoral gains in cities. But Paul Moist, national president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), lambasted this as inadequate and criticized the privatization agenda of the government.

“The budget allocated only $500 million in new money for public transit,” Moist said. “Flaherty has abandoned government public responsibility in favour of private sector profits through P3s. The federal government is moving forward with its privatization agenda by establishing the PPP Canada Inc. office and selling off more public assets. CUPE will oppose public private partnerships in communities across Canada.”

Nothing for climate change

“This budget does absolutely nothing for climate change,” said Emilie Moorhouse of the Sierra Club of Canada.

“I look at this Conservative budget”, said Green Party deputy leader Adriane Carr, “and I see a big group of ostriches with their heads stuck in the tar sands.”

She added the Conservatives were investing in the wrong kind of alternative energy, “This budget puts $300 million in new nuclear technology. Given the long-term health, environmental and international security problems related to nuclear energy, our government should invest instead in Canada’s vast solar, wind, tidal and geothermal resources.”

A number of environmental activists criticized the budget, arguing that the few announced measures on this file were mere “greenwashing.”

“The government has missed the boat on climate change once again,” said Stephen Hazell, the executive director of the Sierra Club. “What we have are a number of industry subsidies masquerading as environmental investments and it just doesn’t work.”