
Liberal Caucus
Response to the Budget 2020
Even as the hardship of these times weigh upon us all, I believe in the capacity of Islanders to shoulder a great burden …
As a province, we have lived through difficulties before – and even after the terrible costs of war, economic depression and illness, we have always emerged with strength, maturity and, in time, good cheer …
We will move through this time as well, Mr. Speaker – and with history as our guide, we will learn to adapt, grow and excel …
And I want to pay special tribute to every Islander who has worked so hard to protect our collective good through individual sacrifice …
Striking the balance between the desires of an individual with the needs of a community is the truest test of a people – and as Islanders, I believe we have acted in a most responsible, sedate and clear-eyed way …
The Recent Past:
Unlike many parts of the world, Prince Edward Island retains enormous reservoirs of faith in our institutions and leadership …
We look toward governments, experts and local leaders with respect – and as a result, our social cohesion withstands even great tests and struggles …
In part, I believe this resilience is founded on the intimacy of our province, and the true respect and deference we both offer and expect from one another …
In that way, our smallness is the wellspring of our success …
Over the last several weeks, the members of the Liberal caucus have consistently urged the province toward a clear, articulate plan to deal with the ravages caused by COVID-19 …
And, in our role as opposition politicians – and as citizens – we will remain concerned …
And as I will address later, we are extremely concerned with some of the projections in this budget …
We are concerned that government is sugar-coating some of the realities we may face, in an effort to hide its lack of real planning for the challenges we now face ….
Areas of Pressing Concern:
In health care, Islanders understood the need to flatten the curve – to take the steps necessary to avoid the terrible danger of over-burdening our health care system …
All of us fully understood that challenge – and again, it is to our province’s credit that we listened to the warnings and avoided the dangers that may have overwhelmed us …
There is a lesson from this: Our task now must be to build a plan that copes with the threat of a second wave, while simultaneously ensuring that access to surgeries, primary care and treatments is unimpeded …
In education, we have pressed government to describe its plan for students and families – and most especially in the context of a potential second wave …
Mr. Speaker … we simply cannot allow a generation of young Islanders to lose too much time … in a world that will place new and extraordinary demands on their knowledge and their talents …
Economically, the members of the Third Party are deeply worried about the prospects in store for small business and the thousands of Islanders who keep our province moving …
And our first issue must be this: How do we protect, sustain and improve the capacity of Islanders to succeed in this changed world?
In that context, I want to draw attention to the role of ‘essential workers’ …
In many ways, the lockdown phase of the pandemic was a massive reminder of the role played by so many individual Islanders …
Truckers … grocery store employees … long-term care professionals …
In every case, we truly learned the meaning of the word ‘essential’ …
And I continue to believe – as do all members of the Liberal caucus – that we need to speak about fair pay for hard work … and that a re-evaluation of the way we distribute our collective wealth is required …
A New Understanding:
And if government takes full advantage of the opportunity to renew our approaches, there are other areas that require a deep examination …
Over the years, several generations of politicians have made commitments to better internet access …
During my time in government, we pledged better service – but as everyone in here knows, we did not deliver as much as we tried …
We need to move beyond bland assurances of ‘hope’ …
Over the past couple of months, we have seen just how essential internet access is …
It’s needed to keep in touch with family members … it is a prerequisite to learning … and our small businesses clearly need the best possible access to the internet …
For all those reasons, we need to move beyond target dates that shift with political timetables or the passing complaints of the day, and move toward real action …
Similarly, I believe we also need a rapid understanding of the opportunities government can provide to students and families in the post-secondary field …
Too often now, I am hearing from people who may want to take a gap year … or who may be content with the long wait toward recovery …
I think – as community leaders – we need to underline this reality to all Islanders: The coming months can be used …
Distance learning for university is an opportunity …
Skills development through Holland College … may be a real option …
Getting a GED – or learning how to type … or develop bookkeeping skills … all these solutions are out there, waiting to be taken …
All of this is available – and this coming year may be a time for thousands of Islanders to seek educational and skills improvement …
But – government needs to get on the case …
Government must engage with its educational partners – and with Islanders – to put in place the kind of vigorous, imaginative educational agenda that will truly help individuals to move forward …
The Opportunity:
In other words, Mr. Speaker, we can use this time to our advantage …
As a result of the pandemic, most jurisdictions are beginning from a level playing field …
New advantages will emerge – and those places that are best capable of responding to a changed world will best succeed …
In many ways, that was the effort made by the former Liberal government…
We were not a flashy government – but we did our best to keep the government running well … and we worked hard to build an economy that truly encouraged prosperity growth for everyone …
We also recognized the dangers that always circle our world – and that is the main reason we ran successive budgetary surpluses that totaled more than $130 million …
We did that, Mr. Speaker … to provide a cushion … a safeguard … against a rainy day …
Well, Mr. Speaker … today it is rainy … and looking back, I am very proud of the fact that we did all we could to prepare for that humbling and difficult reality …
The Budget:
And today, we see government’s response to these difficulties …
We recognize the trials and tribulations of the last several months – and we are just s aware of the grim dangers that surround us still …
And … we are very, very concerned that today’s budget does not truly reflect the realities of our economy …
In recent days, the Minister of Tourism has offered bleak forecasts about revenue losses this year …
And yet – unbelievably – government is forecasting an increase in retail sales tax revenue …
In this part of the House, we are absolutely mystified by a belief that sales taxes this year will rise – and frankly, that point alone raises serious questions about credibility …
Similarly – at a time when thousands of Islanders are depending on federal income programs – an expectation that income tax revenues will rise is exceedingly optimistic …
And – there appears to have been little effort by government to control any aspect of its spending in light of this crisis …
In fact, budgets for every single government department have risen …
Now – we understand – perfectly – the need for continuity of services during a difficult time …
But raising the budgets for every department?
We are extremely concerned, Mr. Speaker – that instead of a re-invention of many government programs, we have simply seen a government that spends more … and predicts infusions of cash that may not be realistic …
It is one thing to be optimistic, Mr. Speaker …
It is another matter to engage in exaggeration and
lack of caution …
Perhaps, in the days and weeks to come, we will see an economic boom …
Perhaps government will see its HST revenues rise … and income tax … and business tax … and property tax …
Perhaps this magical world will come true …
Perhaps it makes sense – to substantially increase the budgets of every single department … while Islanders look anxiously to the news every day, waiting to find out if federal income support programs will continue …
Perhaps, Mr. Speaker – the caution we have advised is too pessimistic …
Perhaps we just need a little jolt of budgetary optimism to move our economy forward – and past the worst crisis this planet has seen since the Second World War …
Perhaps …
Parliamentary democracy finds its best outcomes after a stern and serious discussion – because the issues faced by citizens deserve sobriety and difficult questions geared toward the promotion of new solutions …
And – after a first review of the budget documents, we are not seeing a government that is truly willing to deal with many of the issues we face in frank and open way …
Mr. Speaker, Islanders need a plan for our future, we need a vision and a realistic understanding of the situation we are in to ensure our future – Islanders’ future – is protected.