Letters to the editor

The budget would have passed last week if it had been confined to taxation and fiscal policy, and Canadians would not be asking why are there 70 non-budget items in this bill.

To promote this Trojan budget, cabinet ministers fanned out across Canada with a zombie-like chant, "It's about jobs." I am not buying it.

Canada's unemployment is at 7.3%, lower than its 36-year average of 8.5%, and equal to the Euro anchor and powerhouse Germany.

The federal government has already hinted at the beneficiaries of our new low-employment strategy by foreshadowing the use of foreign workers in the resource industry.

Their gain is our loss at the hands of unbridled, hyper resource development.

If “it’s about jobs” doesn't ring true, then who does benefit from the changes? In my opinion, it’s the foreign shareholders in the oilsands, like the Chinese government and Royal Dutch Shell.

How is this budget about jobs when the government’s own watchdogs are cut?

By reducing the powers of the Auditor General and the cutting of civilian oversight of CSIS, the Canadian spy agency, our democracy loses more than a few jobs. More cost overruns and liberty violations could be the norm.

To my MP, I say limit the the budget to fiscal and taxation items and "KISS" off the rest.

Michael Wilson