Not surprisingly, party politics have a lot to do with the way local politicians reacted to the budget brought down last week by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty.

Dufferin-Caledon MP David Tilson praised it, while local candidates representing the other parties had little trouble containing their enthusiasm.

The government is hailing the budget as building on Canada’s economic recovery with action to create jobs and growth and sustain the country’s economic advantages, while including a plan to return to balanced budgets.

“We present today a jobs and growth budget,” Mr. Flaherty said last Thursday in the house of Commons. “In this budget, we are completing our Economic Action Plan to create jobs now. We are taking additional measures to protect existing jobs and create new jobs. We are also looking ahead to secure our long-term economic growth.”

“It’s a budget that’s focused on jobs,” Mr. Tilson observed. “At the same time, there’s long-term measures of restraint for recovery.”

The budget confirms $19 billion in federal stimulus spending in the second year of Canada’s Economic Action Plan to create and protect jobs. This new stimulus will be complemented by $6 billion from the provinces, territories, municipalities and other partners. The new stimulus for 2010-11 includes $3.2 billion in personal income tax relief; more than $4 billion in additional benefits, training opportunities and Employment Insurance premium relief to help unemployed Canadians; $7.7 billion in infrastructure stimulus to create jobs; $1.9 billion to create the economy of tomorrow; and $2.2 billion to support industries and communities.

Mr. Tilson said the budget had three objectives, the first of which was continuing the Economic Action Plan. It also addresses job creation, as the economy has not yet recovered from the recession.

“We’re not out of it yet,” he remarked. “We have to be careful, because our economy is so tied in with the United States.”

Mr. Tilson said the budget invests in a limited number of new, targeted initiatives to build jobs and growth. The measures include more than $100 million to protect jobs by extending the maximum length for work-sharing agreements; $108 million to support young workers through internships and skills development; more than $600 million to help develop and attract talented people, to strengthen Canada’s capacity for research and development; and making Canada a tariff-free zone for manufacturers, by eliminating all remaining tariffs on machinery, equipment and goods imported for further manufacturing.

“That’s important,” he said. “I’m sure the Industrial Park in Bolton, all the people will be interested in that one.”

He also pointed to plans to establish a Red Tape Reduction Commission to reduce paperwork for businesses.

“That costs small businesses, big businesses money,” he observed.

The third objective he pointed to is returning to balanced budgets, meaning the government has to follow through with an exit strategy from the stimulus plan as the economy picks up.

Mr. Tilson stressed Dufferin-Caledon has benefited from the action plan to the tune of $35 million. But they have been temporary measures, as part of a plan that’s going to be winding down.

He said there are already some tangible signs that the government is ready to show restraint. “For example, my salary has been frozen,” he observed, adding that about $17.6 billion in savings is proposed over the next five years.

Mr. Tilson also pointed out taxes are not being raised, and major transfer payments are not being cut. He added previous Liberal governments have raised taxes while cutting transfers that benefit health, education and seniors.

“We’ve weathered the global recession better than just about all other industrialized countries,” he said, adding that the Canadian labour market is doing a lot better than the Americans’.

As president of the Canada-Europe Parliamentary Association, he was in contact with a number of European leaders. “We’re widely acknowledged as having the soundest banking system in the world,” he said.

The riding’s Liberal and Green Party candidates were concerned that the budget is too dependent on gross domestic product (GDP) growth which the Tories project will be seven per cent annually for the next five years.

Both Liberal Bill Prout and the Green Party’s Ard Van Leeuwen chided the Harper government for claiming not to be raising taxes, but doing what could be seen as the same thing by increasing employment insurance premiums for business by $25 billion

Mr. Prout described the budget as being “built on a rosy projection.”

“There’s nothing in it that will stimulate growth or protect the vulnerable in Canadian society down the road,” he added.

He said the government should put more emphasis on pension reform. If a company goes bankrupt, for example, regulations should be in place to ensure its pension plan is subject to a general securities agreement, where those who contributed would among the first to be paid.

Mr. Van Leeuwen, who also serves as the Green Party finance critic, commented that the budget cuts corporate taxes to 15 per cent, with the idea that the lost tax revenues will be recovered by five years of uninterrupted growth.

“They’re expecting corporate revenues to rise over a five-year projected period,” he said. “That’s very optimistic on their part.”

Mr. Van Leeuwen also criticized the budget’s $19-billion stimulus spending plan, pointing out that just eight per cent of the money is being allocated for green projects.

That’s the reason Ontario is buying wind-farm and solar technology from

South Korean company) Samsung.”

“This is not making the Canadian economy stronger,” he added. “This budget guarantees we’re going to fall further behind than we already are.”

While Mr. Van Leeuwen praised the budget for its aims to push for a single national securities regulator, place more emphasis on prosecuting white collar crime and close some loopholes, he was unimpressed for the most part.

“During the six weeks of prorogation, (the Tories) were supposed to be recalibrating,” he observed. “Yet this is pretty well a stay-the-course budget.” Said Mr. Prout: “It’s stand-pat budget designed to put us all in a holding pattern.”

Dufferin-Caledon MPP Sylvia Jones said she found a number of positive items in the budget, including the fact there will be no cuts in transfers to the provinces for health and education. “I think that sends the economic message to the province that the feds respect what we’re doing,” she commented.

Ms. Jones was also encouraged that Mr. Flaherty has a plan to deal with both the deficit and debt. “I would hate to see that ignored,” she said.

If there was a negative point in the budget for Ms. Jones, it was that the renovation tax credit is not to be renewed.

“I think that program was doing an excellent job of ensuring that people were not looking at the underground economy,” she observed, adding it helped create jobs, too.