BEZAN TELLS TALE OF TWO BUDGETS:

Contrasts Federal Conservative and Manitoba NDP

Ottawa, ON – In the House of Commons, James Bezan, Member of Parliament for Selkirk-Interlake, drew a sharp contrast between the province and the federal government in his speech on the Economic Action Plan of 2012.  In everything from Lake Winnipeg to personal income taxes, MP Bezan demonstrated the disregard by the provincial NDP towards Manitobans compared to the sound fiscal record of the federal Conservatives.  

MP Bezan condemned the Manitoba NDP over their lack of commitment to protect a vital body of water in Manitoba, “Unfortunately the Manitoba NDP provincial budget is completely mute on any new initiatives to protect Lake Winnipeg.”    

Bezan then illustrated the first-rate work the federal government has done to fill the void left by the provincial NDP at Lake Winnipeg.  

“We have been investing for the past four years through the Lake Winnipeg Basin Initiative,” said MP Bezan.   “It was a $14 million project over four years that invested heavily through Environment Canada into the scientific community.”  Economic Action Plan 2012 renewed the federal government commitment to protecting Lake Winnipeg. 

In terms of flood mitigation, MP Bezan laid out the vast discrepancies between the provincial NDP and the federal government, commending the Conservative government for once again, stepping in where the province has failed.  “We are increasing funding for permanent flood mitigation efforts by $99 million over the next three years,” said MP Bezan.    

According to Bezan, the province on the other hand, has left Manitoban flood victims behind.  “Manitoba's budget is an admission of mismanagement; it had to hire more adjusters. It is a year after the fact and those adjusters have still not finalized claims. People are still waiting for their money. Municipalities have still not been paid for the damage that was done and the roads that were replaced and the dikes that were built.”

MP Bezan allocated a significant portion of his speech comparing the Manitoba NDP’s poor record on taxation in their latest budget with the federal Conservatives consistent low tax agenda, and the effect this has had on Manitobans.  

“The taxpayers in Manitoba are enjoying a savings in federal income tax of $1,736, which is down 22.5%. However, they are paying $743 more in provincial income tax. That is up almost 20%. Instead of enjoying a tax savings of $2,578 - thanks to the NDP in Manitoba, they are only enjoying a $993 reduction in personal income taxes.”  

The federal Conservative government’s 2% GST reduction has passed on savings to Canadians but MP Bezan specifically pointed the finger at the Manitoba NDP government for the implementation of a 2.5 cent per litre gas tax increase in the Manitoba 2012 budget which wiped out those savings, “This is highway robbery because everybody has to drive…It is unfairly hurting seniors and those living on fixed incomes and it is a direct attack on rural Manitobans because they have to drive the farthest.”

Touching on federal transfers, MP Bezan corrected the misinformation being perpetrated by the Manitoba NDP about how much money the federal government really invests into Manitoba through equalization and transfer payments.  “Since the Conservatives came to power, we have increased our overall contributions to the province of Manitoba by $648 million…The problem is that Manitoba does not have a revenue problem…It has a spending problem,” concluded Bezan.

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Video can be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soZexHD8wLk&list=UU-J1uUzfT3BRS7SUdAJgciQ&index=1&feature=plcp