The Manitoba Legislature will resume its session on March 6 and the NDP have indicated that they will bring forward the provincial budget on that day. It marks one of the earliest budgets in recent memory and is the result of pressure by Manitoba Progressive Conservatives to ensure that the Legislature is in session for more days per year.
As it always is, the budget will be important to Manitoba’s future. The last two NDP budgets have featured record tax increases that have made Manitoba less competitive with other provinces and which have hurt Manitoba families. The PST increase seemed like a particular betrayal considering the NDP specifically promised not to increase this tax and refused to follow the law and allow a referendum.
Despite the massive tax increases the NDP are still running annual deficits in the hundreds of millions of dollars with no indication if they will be able to balance the budget any time soon. And this is why the March 6 budget is so important. Manitobans cannot afford to pay any more in taxes and the NDP needs to balance the province’s books. What that means is that the NDP will have to live within its means and find efficiency from within.
Think that is impossible? It may be for the NDP but it’s not for other governments. Just recently the federal Conservative government brought forward their budget and it ensures that the federal budget will be balanced next year and possibly even this year. And the federal Conservative government has achieved this without tax increases and without reducing transfer payments to the provinces.
Given their past record it seems unlikely that the NDP will be able to bring forward a budget that achieves efficiency and balance and not raise taxes. But it’s what Manitobans need to see on budget day.
