To the Editor:
(Open letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau)
I wish to congratulate you on your recently tabled budget, A sensible document for the times. You have made a credible start in addressing the shameful living conditions of so many of First Nations peoples.
Not so much for another of our shames, child poverty, but something in a somewhat round about way.
The tax cuts for the higher edge of middle class earners is a bit of flim-flam and probably not necessary.
There are other aspects of the budget I find positive, but won't enumerate them all.
I am sure you are concerned that the deficit is quite a bit larger than initially projected, and it is that aspect of the budget I wish to help you with.
You are far too young to have known that in 1938 the federal government had legislation in place for exactly this sort of contingency. The Bank of Canada was able to provide essentially interest free loans available to not only the Federal government, but these loans could also be available to provinces and municipalities. These loans were made use of to get out of the Great Depression and to finance Canada's contribution to the world War ll effort. Continuing through the 60's these loans made it possible to establish the post war prosperity and Canada's greatly admired Social Safety net.
In the mid '70s the wheels fell off the wagon, and first Bank of Canada rates were raised, and finally government loans were made from private banks instead of from the Bank of Canada.
What may be a surprise to you is that the regulations permitting interest free Bank of Canada loans are still in place. I appreciate that interest rates from the private banks are low at this time, however even these low rates will add a substantial sum that could instead be used to provide more financing for green energy or whatever.
Please do the sensible thing and re-implement tax free loans from the Bank of Canada.
For those of you who may be interested in more detail regarding this information, check out www.comer.org/projects/index.htm.
Creston