Federal budget gets good reviews in N.L., with 'bold' child-care plan welcomed

The federal government's first budget in two years is getting good reviews in Newfoundland and Labrador including from the province'sfinance minister, business and labour leaders, as well as a child-care advocate.

The budget, tabled Monday in Ottawa, promises $30 billion for child care over five years, allocatesbillions to extend pandemic-related wage and rent subsidies, includes moneyfor jobs, pensioners, home retrofits, and creates a federal $15 minimum wage.

"It's a tremendously progressive budget," Finance Minister Siobhan Coady told reporters outside the House of Assembly on Monday.

On the child care front, the federal Liberalspromised to halvechild-care fees by 2022and by 2025lower them further to $10 a day, per child.

Gillian Pearson, the founder of Parents for Affordable Childcare NL and a former provincial Progressive Conservative candidate, saidthe program will be "transformative all across the country."

"It's pretty incredible to see the federal government recognize the importance of early childhood education and the big investment that's required in order to really bring it to fruition," Pearson said Monday evening.

She calledit a "double dividend" that will not only be good for children, but will also help women reintegrateinto the workforce, as a similar system, in place in Quebec for decades, has done.

"One of the most telling outcomes from Quebec's system is that they have the highest women's workforce participation rate across all of the OECD[Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development] countries, and that's essentially attributed to their long-standing affordable child-care system," she said.

Still, she's "cautiously optimistic" about the program and will be watching its rollout.

"While this has to really be applauded in terms of the bold and the big investment, this is not the first time that we've come here," Pearson said.

"This budget has to survive another election. We really need to make sure that this is not just announced but also implemented."

Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour president Mary Shortall will also be looking for more details on the federal child-care program.

"It includes clear targets for fee reduction, it includes a target for when to get to $10 a day and it actually seems to make a deeper commitment than before, so that's a huge win for a lot of people," said Shortall.

The provincial Liberals implemented a $25-a-day child-care policy at regulated facilities in January. Coady said it's not clear what the federalbudgetwill mean for the number of child-care spaces in Newfoundland and Labrador, or the province's ledger.

She saidthat will be analyzed over the next few daysbut applauded the movenevertheless.

"Continuing to lower the cost of child care is important for our population growth. It's important for the economy and helping to have more women in the economy as well, so Ithink it's a good, prudent investment," Coady said.

$15 minimum wage

Coady saidthat while Newfoundland and Labradorhas an independent process to review its minimum wage, the budget's inclusionof a federal $15 minimum wage willmean revisiting it provincially.

"Now that the federal government is making this move, we will certainly do another review on this," she said.

Shortall saidthatfederal increase will land in the pockets of some workers in Newfoundland and Labrador.

"It sends a clear message, too, I think, when the federal government takes a leadership role in an issue like a $15 minimum wage that our provincial government should listen to as well," said Shortall, who was nevertheless disappointed by the lack of a pharmacare plan or wealth tax.

Energy, deficits and disappointments

The St. John's Board of Trade said it waspleased to see COVID-19 wage and rent subsidies extended.

"They have been critical to small business survival," CEO AnnMarie Boudreauwrote in a statement.

"The new Canadian Recovery Hiring Program will be helpful in getting businesses back on their feet and nods to our eventual return to business as usual."

However, the board is concerned with the country's ballooning debt. The budget notes a deficit of$354.2 billion last year and forecastsa $154.7-billion deficit next year.

"We are pleased there is a plan to reduce spending to more sustainable levels as the impacts of COVID-19 subside and our economy recovers," said Boudreau.

The federal budget earmarks $17.6 billion for a green recovery, and Coady is interested in how that cashwill affect Newfoundland and Labrador's energy resources and potential plans for an Atlantic Loop electric grid.

"You're seeing the federal government saying green energy is very, very important, and of course the Churchill River does supply a tremendous amount of green energy opportunity," she said.

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