Make it possible to roll over a farm to the next generation without penalty - over and above the existing capital gains exemption. Review the issue of cost recovery and fees. This issue showed up in various presentations, but most importantly in the agriculture presentations where it has been a very large factor in increasing cost for our farmers. Reductions to federal transfers have made it impossible to reduce the education portion of property tax - a huge burden on farmers. Canadians need to feel they can trust the budget figures that the Finance Minister gives them.
Recent signs give cause for worry.
Second, we learn that he plans to confiscate most of next year's multi-billion dollar EI surplus to finance other programs, even though the legislation expressly prohibits him from doing so. And finally, for the third year in a row the Auditor General of Canada has refused to sign off on Canada's books because he believes the Finance Minister's accounting trick of pre-booking future spending gives a false and misleading account of our true financial state. The Official Opposition believes that, in reporting the government's finances, the government must follow the standard public accounting principles agreed upon by the Auditor General of Canada. Canadians continue to be very concerned about the high level of debt carried by this country. The Official Opposition recommends that the government demonstrate their true commitment to improving productivity through debt reduction by introducing balanced budget legislation and creating a legislated schedule for debt reduction with clear, manageable annual targets for significant debt retirement.