Flaherty’s feds forget fleets; Some cash goes to bridge work

OTTAWA — If you were thinking that yesterday’s federal budget might have held any special goodies for truckers; like say, a cut in diesel-fuel excise tax, think again.

Even though diesel prices are rising once again and Prime Minister Stephen Harper promised in 2008 to reduce the four-percent tax by 50 percent, it’s probably not going to happen.

"No one in the trucking industry is holding their breath," according to a post-budget statement from the CEO of the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) David Bradley.

In fact, last year the CTA suggested that the government not reduce the tax, but instead earmark the revenue that would otherwise have been eliminated towards programs to help spur investment in new equipment by the industry as suggested in the CTA’s enviroTruck initiative.

"It appears we are back to where we were in 1984 and 1985, where the excise tax on diesel fuel serves no policy purpose other than to pay down the deficit," says Bradley.

"Not that paying down the deficit should not be a priority," he continues, "it is.

"But is it fair that it be done on the back of the commercial transportation industry, relying upon an archaic and regressive form of tax on our members’ primary business input at the same time as the industry needs to re-tool and is being challenged to reduce its GHG emissions?"

Yesterday’s budget did include several initiatives aimed at modernizing Canada’s ageing infrastructure:

$10 million to support the legal, financial and technical work for the proposed new Windsor-Detroit bridge; $50.5 million for capital improvements to the Jacques Cartier and Champlain bridges in Montreal; $175 million for Marine Atlantic; and $28 million for ferry services in Atlantic Canada.

Also, $87 million will be invested over two years to help the Canada Border Services Agency improve its information systems and scanning equipment.

And even though Flaherty promised further stimulus spending of nearly $20 billion by fully implementing the so-called “Economic Action Plan,” he also said the budget introduces a new era of restraint, or at least a slowing in the rate of government spending, particularly in national defence, foreign aid and government administration.

Flaherty plans to reach a “near budget-balance” within five years.

There are no major tax increases or decreases in the budget.

The government will not reverse its previous commitments to reducing corporate income tax rates to the lowest in the G7 by 2012.

Some other sectors — including forestry, agriculture, small business, tourism, shipbuilding and culture — which were deemed to have been hard hit by the recession are in store for some modest support of $1.3 billion.

The Minister also announced further steps to reduce the paperwork burden on business, by establishing a commission of parliamentarians and private sector representatives to reduce red tape.