http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...-even-in-jim-flahertys-budget/article1951926/
Stephen Harper and his Conservatives are leaving nothing to the imagination as to whose support they want to keep their government alive -- the NDP’s.
Politically savvy and delivered on the eve of a possible election campaign, this year’s budget also reinforces the Tory base with many new retail-politics measures.
<!-- brick location -->Given that, here’s how the budget breaks down politically for the Conservatives.
WIN
The Conservatives will argue the New Democrats are clear winners. In the media lock-up Tuesday, Tory spinners were asking reporters how the NDP could possibly vote this budget down.
That’s because Jack Layton gets a few of his demands, including $400 million for the ecoEnergy Retrofit program and some help for rural doctors and nurses. The government will give health practitioners in rural and remote areas a break on repaying their student loans.
But the Tories cannot ignore their base. So to rural Canada goes a handful of new measures, including the Volunteer Firefighters Tax Credit. It helps Mr. Harper solidify the rural vote; volunteer firefighters have been lobbying for this for at least a decade.
And to suburban Canada goes the Children’s Arts Tax credit -- a measure designed, like the government’s previous fitness credit, to show the Tories understand the needs of young families in the Canadian ‘burbs. Will it be good enough to win votes in the 905?
LOSE
Michael Ignatieff’s Liberals come up empty. There is little in this document that will make them think twice about supporting it. Their key demand was for the government to reverse the $6-billion corporate tax cut: On that there is silence.
More than that, the Tories have stolen from the Ignatieff platform --closely aping their $1-billion homecare program aimed at helping middle class Canadians look after ailing family members.
The Conservatives announced a Family Caregiver Tax Credit to provide financial relief for caregivers looking after ill or infirm relatives, including spouses, common-law partners and minor children. This will also appeal to ethnic voters, many of whom live in a multi-generational households.
Gilles Duceppe and the Bloc Quebecois are the biggest losers, however. The Quebec package in this budget is extremely thin.
The Bloc leader had asked for a lot -- about $6-billion worth of measures. He got nothing -- not even a mention of a potential $2.2-billion for the HST.
DRAW
The NDP wanted help for seniors and so did the Liberals. And so the Tories are increasing the Guaranteed Income Supplement: $600 for single seniors and $840 for couples.
Everyone also wins with the small business measures. The Conservatives are proposing a temporary Hiring Credit for Small Business. It is a one-time measure of up to $1,000, which a small firm can use against an increase to its 2011 employment insurance premiums over those paid in 2010.
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