Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland introduced the proposed 2024 federal budget Tuesday.
In hopes of building nearly 3.9 million new homes across Canada by 2031, the government plans to allow builders larger tax write-offs by increasing the capital cost allowance rate for apartments from four to 10 per cent.
First-time home buyers acquiring new build dwellings will now be able to spread their mortgages over a thirty-year repayment period.
Federal lands, including National Defence properties will be made available for housing- some on a lease basis.
$250 million spread over over two years will be applied to address the “urgent issue” of homeless encampments.
New taxation is expected to defray some of the additional voter-friendly highlights included therein.
“High-worth individuals”, corporations and trusts will pay more in capital gains taxes. The inclusion rate increases to 66 per cent, up from 50 per cent, on capital gains above $250,000 for individuals, and on all capital gains for corporations and trusts.
The change is expected to yield an additional $19.4 billion over four years.
You’ll pay $4 more on a carton of cigarettes and vape supplies jump by 12 per cent for a paltry $1.7 billion revenue boost over five years.
A lot of student debt is being forgiven- but only for chosen professions like health and education workers, teachers and social workers and hygienists and pharmacists. Those figures amount to $253.8 million over four years, plus $84.3 million a year thereafter.
Early childhood educators are also seeing their loans forgiven to a lesser extent: $48 million over four years and $15.8 million thereafter.
You’ll have a better chance of keeping your vehicle in the carport– as the government plans to amend the Criminal Code to create new offences for auto theft involving violence or linked to organized crime, and electronic devices used to help steal cars will now be regulated.
An Online Harms Act will be administered by an ombudsperson for digital safety.
Hatred will be whitewashed with $273.6 million over six years for outreach, victim support, counter-radicalization and law enforcement.
You’ll be able to keep your mosque, synagogue or temple more secure with $32 million over six years and $11 million a year thereafter for the Security Infrastructure Program- funding physical security.
A Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and the Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia will each split $7.3 million over six years.
Climate Change may be creating chaos, but it’s also attracting big cash.
More than $900 million will be spent over six years for greener homes and energy efficiency programs.
A national flood insurance program will be implemented by 2025, with $15 million in seed money going to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.
Several new parks and wildlife preserves will be created in British Columbia, Prince Edward Island and Windsor, Ontario.
There’s spending attached to the new National Pharmacare plan to assuage the NDP.
The first programs to cover contraceptives and diabetes medication and supplies are expected to cost $1.5 billion over five years.
The Opioid Crisis is being injected with $150 million over three years for an Emergency Treatment Fund.
Those on Disability are getting an extra $6.1 billion over six years and $1.4 billion a year thereafter.
Youth Mental Health will see a $500-million fund established to help community health organizations treat them.
An extra $630 million will be put towards access to mental-health services for Indigenous Peoples.
The budget includes up to $5 billion in “sector-agnostic” loan guarantees for Indigenous resource projects; close to $1.2 billion on primary and secondary education and infrastructure on the Reservation, and $918 million for housing and infrastructure within First Nations’ territories.
The government is also developing an alert system for missing Indigenous women, girls and gender-diverse people.
For Business, there’s a 10 per cent tax credit for buildings used in the electric-vehicle supply chain over the next 10 years; a 15 per cent tax credit over the same period for eligible investments relating to clean electricity, and a tax credit retroactive to 2019 worth $2.5 billion on fuel charge proceeds.
NATO won’t be happy- but we’re getting closer; the Liberal government plans to boost military spending to 1.76 per cent of GDP by 2030.
The budget earmarks $1.6 billion over five years for lethal and non-lethal military aid for Ukraine.
There’s $350 million over two years to respond to large-scale humanitarian crises.
If you have Foreign credentials, they are that much closer to being recognized– especially for construction workers and those in health care- with $77.1 million specifically dedicated to the latter.
Want to claim asylum? No Problem– the budget includes $1.1 billion over three years to extend housing assistance program for claimants, plus $274 million over five years for immigration and refugee legal aid.
It also includes $743.5 million over five years to strengthen the asylum system itself, and streamline both the claims and removal processes.
Ottawa wants Canada to become more Artificially intelligent, and is setting aside $2.4 billion to build capacity in computing capabilities and technical infrastructure.
If you’re a worker who gets displaced by AI, you could share in $50 million over five years.
A School food program will benefit from $1 billion over five years, and child-care centres will be getting more than $1 billion in low-cost loans, and grants to facilitate expansion.
Strangely, the Public Service will not being expanding to administer the extra spending; the government estimates the federal workforce will shrink by about 5,000 full-time employees due largely to “natural attrition” over the next four years- in an effort to cut costs.
Summarized by Rick Stow from files supplied by The Canadian Press.