Main
Menu - Help
Securing our Social Foundations
Building on Solid Foundations
Canadians believe that all individuals should have the chance to succeed,
achieve their potential and participate fully in the promise of Canadian
society.
Recent new federal commitments of more than $75 billion in support of
the 10-Year Plan to Strengthen Health Care and the new framework for
Equalization and Territorial Formula Financing (see box) provide
predictable and growing federal funding for social programs that reflect
these values.
These investments also establish a solid base for the Government’s
commitment to strengthen and secure Canada’s social foundations.
Budget 2005—Delivering on Commitments
Budget 2005 delivers on this commitment through significant investments in:
1 Health care
2 Early learning and child care
3 Support for seniors
4 Aboriginal communities
5 A fairer tax system, including measures to help people with
disabilities and caregivers
6 Heritage and sport
7 Strengthening Canada’s justice framework
Fall 2004—Major Investments in Support of
Health and Social Priorities
In September 2004, First Ministers signed a 10-Year Plan to
Strengthen Health Care. The Prime Minister committed $41.3 billion
over 10 years in support of the plan, fully meeting the financial
recommendations of the Royal Commission on the Future of Health Care in
Canada (the Romanow Report).
An additional $700 million over five years for Aboriginal health
programs and $150 million for health care services in the North was
also announced.
In October, the Government of Canada also launched a new framework for
Equalization and Territorial Formula Financing that will add an additional
$33 billion in federal support over the next 10 years.
These initiatives provide additional financial support to provinces and
territories to ensure that all Canadians have access to reasonably
comparable public services at reasonably comparable rates of taxation no
matter where they live.
Legislation implementing these commitments has already been tabled in
the House of Commons. |
1 Health Care
Budget 2005 builds on the investments outlined above with $805 million
over five years in new direct federal health funding:
- $75 million over five years to accelerate and expand the assessment
and integration of internationally educated health care professionals.
- $15 million over four years for wait times initiatives that will
build on and complement provincial and territorial initiatives.
- $110 million over five years to improve the data collection and
reporting of health performance information.
- $300 million over five years for an integrated strategy to encourage
healthy living, and prevent and control chronic disease.
- $34 million over five years to enhance Canada’s pandemic influenza
preparedness.
- $170 million over five years to help ensure the safety and
effectiveness of drugs and other therapeutic products.
- $10.7 million in 2004–05 for the Hepatitis C Prevention, Support
and Research Program.
- $90 million over five years for Health Canada to accelerate work to
identify and research toxic substances under the Canadian Environmental
Protection Act.
2 Early Learning and Child Care
High-quality child care and early learning opportunities are essential to
support children’s physical, emotional, social, linguistic and intellectual
development, and to set them on a path of lifelong achievement.
The Government of Canada’s commitment to a new Early Learning and Child
Care initiative recognizes the important role that early learning and child
care play in expanding opportunity and building a more productive economy.
Budget 2005 follows through on this commitment with new investments of
$5 billion over five years to help build the foundations of an Early
Learning and Child Care initiative across the country.
3 Seniors
Budget 2005 delivers on the Government’s commitment to meet the evolving
needs of seniors by:
- Increasing Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) benefits for low-income
seniors by $2.7 billion over five years: monthly benefits will rise by
$36 for singles and $58 for couples by January 2007 (see examples
below).
- More than doubling the funding for the New Horizons for Seniors program,
which will be increased from $10 million to $25 million a year to
promote voluntary sector activities by and in support of seniors.
Examples—Guaranteed Income Supplement
Increase
Gerald is a widowed senior who currently receives maximum GIS benefits
of $560 per month, in addition to his Old Age Security (OAS) pension, for
total monthly benefits of $1,032. By 2007, his monthly benefits will rise
to at least $1,068.1
Serge and Nadine are married seniors who currently receive combined GIS
benefits of $730 and total GIS and OAS benefits of $1,674 per month. As a
result of the 2005 budget changes, their total monthly benefits will rise
to at least $1,7321 by 2007, assuming no change in their other
income.
1 GIS and OAS benefits also increase in line with the inflation
rate, as measured by the Consumer Price Index. |
4 Strengthening Aboriginal Communities
The Government of Canada is committed to a renewed partnership with
Aboriginal people. While awaiting the completion of the Canada–Aboriginal
Peoples Roundtable process, Budget 2005 provides $735 million in new
investments aimed at ensuring that the country’s prosperity is shared by
Canada’s Aboriginal people and communities. This is in addition to the
$700 million over five years for Aboriginal health programs announced in
September 2004. Budget 2005 measures include:
- $295 million over five years for housing construction and renovation
on reserves.
- $100 million over the next five years to enhance early learning and
child care opportunities for First Nations children and families living on
reserves.
- An additional $120 million over five years for special education for
First Nations children living on reserves.
- $125 million over five years to support the work of First Nations
child and family service agencies.
- $40 million so that the Aboriginal Healing Foundation can continue,
for another two years, to support community-based healing projects that
address the legacy of physical and sexual abuse in the Indian residential
school system.
5 Tax Changes to Improve Fairness
A fair tax system recognizes the special circumstances of certain taxpayers
and helps remove barriers to their full participation in the economy and
society.
Budget 2005 makes the tax system fairer by acting on the recommendations of
the Technical Advisory Committee on Tax Measures for Persons with Disabilities.
Proposed measures include:
- Extending eligibility for the disability tax credit (DTC) to individuals
who face multiple restrictions that together have a substantial impact on
their everyday lives.
- Extending the DTC to more individuals requiring extensive life-sustaining
therapy on an ongoing basis.
- Increasing the maximum annual Child Disability Benefit to $2,000 per
child.
- Expanding the list of expenses eligible for the disability supports
deduction and the medical expense tax credit.
In addition, this budget proposes to double, to $10,000, the maximum amount
of medical and disability-related expenses that caregivers can claim on behalf
of their dependants.
Budget 2005 also proposes to introduce a new tax credit to recognize
specified adoption expenses (including adoption agency and legal fees), up to a
maximum of $10,000.
6 Supporting Canada’s Heritage
Budget 2005 makes additional investments in the following areas:
Support for Culture and History
- $172 million per year in new funding to provide stability for the
Tomorrow Starts Today arts and culture initiative for another five years.
- $25 million over five years to enhance the Multiculturalism Program.
- $50 million over five years to the Celebrate Canada program for
community-based events and activities that offer Canadians the opportunity to
share their pride in their country.
- $46 million over the next five years to continue implementation of a
national register of historic places, conservation standards and a
certification process in respect of restoration expenditures.
- $30 million over five years for future commemorative activities so
that the contributions of Canada’s veterans will never be forgotten.
- $15 million over the next two years to support Vancouver’s hosting
of the 2006 World Urban Forum.
- $56 million over the next five years for the implementation of "A
Canada for All: Canada’s Action Plan against Racism."
- $25 million over the next three years for commemorative and
educational initiatives to highlight the contribution that ethnocultural
groups have made to Canadian society and help build a better understanding
among all Canadians.
Sport
Funding for Sport Canada will effectively double from $70 million to
$140 million as a result of new investments announced in Budget 2005:
- $65 million annually in support of Canada’s elite athletes—including
funding to respond to the recommendations of the Own the Podium report.
- $5 million per year over the next five years for sport participation
initiatives.
The budget also provides an additional $87 million in funding for the
Vancouver–Whistler Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
7 The Justice Framework
Budget 2005 contains measures aimed at protecting Canadians from crime and
increasing their confidence in the justice system. These include:
- $90 million over the next three years to enhance the National Crime
Prevention Strategy.
- $25 million over the next five years to renew the Victims of Crime
Initiative.
- $15.6 million per year to support efforts to ensure that war
criminals do not find safe haven in Canada.
Increasing the Basic Personal Amount
Budget 2005 increases the basic personal amount, i.e. the amount that
Canadians can earn tax free, to $10,000 by 2009. This will benefit all
Canadians, but especially those with low and modest incomes. In fact, this
measure will remove 860,000 low-income taxpayers from the tax rolls,
including 240,000 seniors. |
How Can I Get More Information
on Budget 2005?
Information is available on the Internet at www.fin.gc.ca or by phoning:
You can also obtain copies of this brochure and other budget documents from
the:
Distribution Centre
Department of Finance Canada
Room P-135, West Tower
300 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0G5
Phone: (613) 995-2855
Fax: (613) 996-0518
E-mail: services-distribution@fin.gc.ca
|