Unnesasary Cuts

GST cut taking bite out of government bottom line but it did not take a big bite.

However, the budget surplus for the first six months of the current fiscal year was still more than $5 billion more than during the first half of last year, a year when the government eventually chalked up a hefty, and politically embarrassing, $13.2-billion surplus.

So why the cuts to programs like Status of Women, Court Challenge etc. Which resulted in hardships for social avocacy agencies while making little in savings, which the Tories claimed as their excuse for cutting the programs.

Liberal finance critic John McCallum pointed out that spending on all federal departments and agencies, not including Defence, has risen 8.6% in the first six months of the fiscal year."It strikes me that's a big spending increase for a government that's cutting programs for the vulnerable and at the same time arguing it's a tough, low-spending government," McCallum said.

Of course it was ideologically driven. Instead of funding womens advocacy for feminism this is what the Tories fund; Down the way in the Beauce region of the province, Industry Minister Maxime Bernier doled out a government grant of $23,820 "to promote female entrepreneurship" (think about that one),

And while doling out money to Quebec to buy votes the Tories are still using the working class to build up the surplus to pay for their war efforts. Liberal, Tory same old Story.

Tories walk Grit path

Harper government treats EI as a cash cow

The Employment Insurance Commission this week announced a small cut to EI premiums effective Jan. 1, 2007.

You'll save a whole seven cents per $100 of insurable earnings come the new year. That means someone earning $30,000 a year will save about $1.75 a month.

If you're an employer, the premiums you pay for your workers will fall 10 cents per $100 of insurable earnings.

Wow.

What the EIC doesn't tell you, however, is that despite the small premium cut the massive EI surplus -- pegged at $48 billion last year -- is projected to grow by another $1.5 billion this year, even though the federal government claims EI is now operated on a break-even basis.

According to Human Resources Development Canada's own 2005-2006 estimates, the EI surplus is expected to grow to $49.5 billion in 2006.

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