FULTON SUSPICIOUS
OF BUDGET GOODIES

Tuesday's federal budget has received low marks from Skeena MP Jim Fulton. During a
press conference in Terrace Wednesday afternoon Fulton said he saw little if anything for
Northwestern B.C. or for northern resource-based economies in general.

"Now that the smoke has blown away," says Fulton, "it’s pretty clear that for a family
living in Terrace or Prince Rupert or Smithers... It means about a buck a month less tax."

Fulton urged caution regarding changes in the Child Tax Credit and Family Allowance.
"I would encourage people to wait until the white paper is in fact done," warns Fulton, "The
targeting language that one finds in the budget papers do
not make it clear as to exactly what the definition of

"To wipe out those sorts of working families will be."

“agencies for the tiny amount of money
that was saved, I think, was a stupid

Fulton has a similar warning about using RRSP
savings as a down payment on a home. It’s tempting, he
admits, and it might work out well for many, but there is

cand reactionary move by a a potential danger as well. Mortgage rates are low at the
“government that doesn’t like to be moment, but at some point they will most certainly rise.

And when you sell that home, will the appreciation replace

- eriticized." -

the loss in RRSP interest? "I think there are some dangers
in it," says Fulton.

He also expressed doubt about the benefits in the budget for manufacturers and
corporations, a sector of the economy in which Fulton believes over 300,000 jobs have been lost
in the past year. He said only time will tell if the budget offers any serious benefits.

Missing in the budget, says Fulton, is the necessary level of funding for things like job

, training, job creation and regional development.

_ Fulton also lists cuts in funding to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation as a
blow to the north. "It certainly appears that the federal government wants to offload CMHC,

particularly social and co-op housing, to the provinces.” He describes this as “regrettable”,
~ saying this type of funding is needed for the stability of northern resource-based communities.

~ Fulton thinks the “cancellation and elimination” of more than 40 Canadian agencies is a

ee, mixed blessing. In. some instances the cuts are "reasonable", he says, In others, "extremely
unwise". In the latter category he names the Science Council of Canada and the Law Reform

Commission, which are "arms length” from government and manned primarily by volunteers,

“To wipe out those sorts of agencies," says Fulton, "for the tiny amount of money that was
saved, I think was a stupid and reactionary move by a government that doesn’t like to be
criticized." He elaborates on that statement by saying that several of the arms-length agencies
that have been cut "have tended to be quite noisy about some of the dumber things this

- government has done."

And then there's the federal deficit. Fulton says this is the eighth Conservative budget in
a.row to promise a "substantial reduction" in the deficit. But when it comes to putting promise

_into practice they somehow move reduction of the deficit ahead a few years.

‘We asked Fulton to elaborate. How did promise and practice stack up in the current fiscal
year? And what is the promise for the coming year? It took Fulton several minutes to come up
with an answer of sorts, Thumbing through the Tory budget he found numerous tables and

Terrace Review — February 28, 1992