OTTAWA,
ON, April 16, 2024 /CNW/ - Budget 2024 is a
disappointment for members of the National Union of Public and
General Employees (NUPGE) and other Canadians who are worried about
the condition of our public health care system.
"Budget 2024 doesn't even start to do the
foundational work needed to fix our health care system."
NUPGE which represents over 425,000 workers, more than a third
of them in health care, has argued that what is needed are
increases in the Canada Health Transfer to bring it closer to
covering 35% of provincial/territorial health costs, and making
those funding increases conditional on adhering to the Canada
Health Act. The union also wants the federal government to
urgently bring provinces and territories together to develop a
national health human resources strategy.
"Budget 2024 doesn't even start to do the foundational work
needed to fix our health care system," said Bert Blundon, President of NUPGE. "Instead,
there are small scale measures and a rehashing of previous
announcements, such as the funding announced in 2023 that are
positive but below what is required."
In discussing steps forward, Blundon said what our health system
needs is a comprehensive plan, based on data for areas where we
have shortages in the system, and a focus on retention, and on
respecting the Canada Health Act. "What Budget 2024
delivered was a couple of Band-Aids, and we're way passed that
stage, both for NUPGE members working in the health care system,
and for the public struggling to find the health care they and
their family need." The union welcomed funding to help launch
pharmacare but indicated that it falls far short of what is needed.
NUPGE will be watching closely and continue to push to make sure
the program receives the funding it needs to meet the needs of
Canadians.
On the tax front, Blundon said he welcomes the increase
in the inclusion rate for capital gains above $250,000 a year in Budget 2024 as "a first
significant step this government has taken toward making the tax
system fairer." Currently capital gains income is taxed at only 1/2
the rate of earned income. Budget 2024 would increase this to 2/3
of the rate for capital gains of over $250,000 a year, a measure that will only affect
the wealthiest 0.13% of Canadians.
NUPGE's view is that the changes to capital gains in Budget 2024
are still only a small step compared to what the federal government
could be doing. "If the federal government had implemented the
proposal from Canadians for Tax Fairness to tax capital gains at
75% of the rate of earned income, the increase in revenue would be
more than double the projected revenue from changes to capital
gains in Budget 2024," Blundon said. "So, this is a step forward,
but when health care and other public services are under-funded, we
can no longer afford to tax capital gains at a lower rate than
earned income."
The union will be looking closely at the proposals in Budget
2024 to increase pension plan investment in Canada, and assessing what this means for
workers and all Canadians.
SOURCE National Union of Public and General Employees