Federal budget in brief
Posted Mar 22, 2011 04:17:20 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Road from sea to sea to sea
Three generations after work started on the Trans-Canada Highway, the end is in sight.
The federal budget has allocated $150 million over five years to help build an all-weather road from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk in the Northwest Territories.
The project, a joint venture with the territory, the private sector and local communities, would extend the Dempster Highway to the shores of the Beaufort Sea.
It would be the final link in a highway system from coast to coast to coast.
___
Culture kids join jocks at tax trough
Budding artists may soon be on an equal footing with budding hockey players _ at least when it comes to tax breaks.
The federal budget introduces a new 15 per cent Children’s Arts Tax Credit for arts, culture, recreation and developmental activities which would save parents up to $75 a year per child.
It would cover Scouts, Girl Guides, music camps, art lessons, drama courses and the like.
It builds on the child fitness tax credit which was introduced in 2007 and mainly covered organized sports such as hockey and soccer.
The new credit is forecast to cost the government $25 million this year and $100 million a year in subsequent years.
___
Feds fire up volunteer firefighters
The Conservative government is hoping to fire up volunteers _ specifically firefighters.
The federal budget offers a tax credit that would knock $450 off their tax bill. It would apply to any volunteer who puts in at least 200 hours a year.
The government estimates there are about 85,000 volunteer firefighters across the country.
The tax break would cost the government $5 million this year and $15 million in subsequent years.
___
Feds pony up cash for Stampede, Grey Cup Two iconic Canadian events hit their 100th birthdays in 2012 and the government plans to kick in a pile of cash to help with the party.
The Grey Cup and the Calgary Stampede celebrate their centennials next year and the federal budget includes $10 million for the milestones.
The Canadian Tourism Commission would get $5 million to market the Stampede while another $5 million would be earmarked for Grey Cup commemorations and festivals across the country.
___
Cash for pigs and plums
The government plans to spend $17 million over five years to help fruit farmers fight plum pox.
Plum pox virus hits plum, peach, apricot and nectarines orchards. It harms the fruit, reduces yields and cut the life of trees.
The budget also sets aside $24 million over the next two years for improving the health of hogs.
___
Tougher rules for amateur sports groups Amateur sports associations might be about to get tougher refereeing from the tax man.
A couple of sports groups lost their charitable status last year for issuing questionable receipts. Now, with measures announced in the federal budget, such organizations would face the same oversight as regular charities.
Charitable groups can be penalized for overpaying staff or fundraisers, and amateur sports groups could soon be covered under the same rules and face the same penalties.
They would also be subject to the same transparency requirements as charities.
___
Come-on credit cheques to be banned
Those unsolicited cheques mailed out by some credit card companies to lure new card-holders are in the government’s sights.
The federal budget proposes to ban the come-ons as a way of helping people manage debt.
___
Free gun licences … again
The haven’t managed to get rid of the gun registry, but the Tories have made gun-licence fees disappear.
The federal budget says the government plans to extend the current licence fee waiver until May 2012.
The Tories have always opposed the long-gun registry for rifles and shotguns, blasting it as a waste of money. However, they are foregoing $21 million a year by extending the waiver.
A private member’s bill in the House of Commons fell just short of killing the registry last fall.
___
The $27-million question: How’s the weather?
It’s been said Canada is a country with too few people and too much weather. The federal budget is kicking in some money to help better predict what that weather will be. It earmarks $27 million over two years to improve forecasting.
