“Budget fails Scarborough!” says Karygiannis
OTTAWA – The Honourable Jim Karygiannis, Member of Parliament for Scarborough-Agincourt, has called the Harper/Flaherty Budget a failure for the people of Scarborough.
“The people of Scarborough-Agincourt care about the environment and taxes.” said Mr. Karygiannis. “This Budget does nothing to address these two issues.”
Prior to the 2006 election, the Liberal government was engaged in talks with the Province of Ontario and the City of Toronto with respect to the expansion of the public transit system in Scarborough.
“They talk about cutting pollution. If they want to see pollution, Flaherty should stand at the corner of Kennedy and Sheppard during rush hour. Expansion of public transit will cut pollution and they have done nothing.” Mr. Karygiannis further commented. “There is nothing for the expansion of the public transit system in Scarborough. What happened to the expansion of the Sheppard Subway Line? What happened to up-grading and expanding the Scarborough Rapid Transit?”
In Budget 2006, the Harper government raised the lowest income tax rate from 15% to 15.5%. This measure ensured that low and middle-income Canadians paid more in income tax.
“This tax increase should have been reversed in this Budget. Harper and Flaherty have turned their backs on hard-working Canadians.” Mr. Karygiannis stated. “Big oil companies still have their subsidies – low and middle-income Canadians are paying for them. The Harper/Flaherty duo is looking out for their rich friends – they don’t understand the pressures that Canadian families are facing.”
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