What the Steelworkers think of the federal budget

NEWS RELEASE

UNITED STEELWORKERS OF AMERICA

********************* First Conservative budget fails working families

TORONTO - United Steelworkers' National Director Ken Neumann said late Tuesday that Canadian working families have been collectively short-changed by the first Conservative budget

"Rolling back the first halting steps toward a national child care program and replacing it with a few bucks for babysitting hurts more families than it benefits," said Neumann [shown]. "$100 a month is half what the finance minister paid for his new budget-day shoes.

"It is especially galling when it comes at a time of comfortable surpluses that should be used to build a solid, supportive public policy, not a quick payout and tax breaks."

Neumann said the budget also does nothing to address the crisis in Canada's manufacturing sector, which has lost more than 300,000 jobs since August 2004.

"These losses are largely due to the high Canadian dollar, soaring energy prices and the total absence of a strategic response from the government.

"The $400-million supposedly earmarked for encouraging forest industry competitiveness and fighting the mountain pine beetle is a drop in the bucket to an industry that is already in crisis. In fact it is not new money and was long ago committed by the Liberal government in a previous budget projection."

Neumann also slammed Finance Minister Jim Flaherty for not taking action in the budget to improve protection for workers' pensions at a time when more Canadians are concerned about the security of their retirement income.

"This budget does nothing to alleviate our collective uncertainty," he said. Neumann said it is not enough to benefit corporations through government initiatives and tax breaks, without demanding corporate accountability.

"New laws are needed to ensure that companies making profits in Canada also invest in Canada in such areas as plant and equipment, worker training, environmental control and research and development.

"This budget whittles away at commitments to the environment and as such is heading Canada in the wrong direction for the future."

******************** Harper gives tax breaks for bus passes, kids' sports