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Rick Bergmann
Who: Rick Bergmann
Situation: Steinbach-area hog producer whose industry has been devastated by low market prices and restrictive U.S. trade practices
Cpl. Glen Kirkland
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What he was looking for in the budget: Improvements to farm income insurance programs and direct grants to put the hog industry "on a level playing field" with other sectors that have received federal bailouts over the years. "Without gas, we walk. Without food, we die. We need to keep agriculture viable."
Views on the actual budget: "It's certainly unfortunate that they would have no funds whatsoever to enhance the bleak position that so many hog farms are in right now... Naturally, we recognize that when a government is in a deficit situation, they've got tough decisions to make. That said, we've gone through such a low time and we produce so many... (economic) spinoffs." The least Ottawa could have done was to acknowledge the industry's predicament, he said.
Who: Peter Vander Linden
Situation: Longtime owner of Prairie Battery on Border Street
What he was looking for in the budget: Increased capital gains tax exemptions for those selling businesses, checks on fees levied by banks and lower income taxes. "To keep the economy firing, if people have more disposable income, they'll spend more money."
Views on the actual budget: "It's pretty much a nothing budget," he said with a laugh. "What can they do? We're in such a (financial) pickle right now." He gave a thumbs-up to holding the line on employment insurance premiums, increased funding to elite athletes and raising the basic personal income tax exemption. "Any tax relief is good for everybody."
Who: Cathy Moar
Situation: Administrative assistant with Citizenship and Immigration Canada
What she was looking for in the budget: Pay equity in the federal civil service and a commitment to introduce a national daycare program. "I know people who use daycare still and they're close to me and they're having a difficult time finding... good daycare, subsidized daycare. It's just not available."
Views on the actual budget: She said she is disappointed the budget was silent on increased funding to daycare. Raising the basic personal income tax exemption to $10,382 for 2010 will be of more help to her grown children than to herself as a middle-income earner. "They (the feds) did say something about closing loopholes regarding tax shelters. I'm happy about that," she said.
Who: Cpl. Glen Kirkland
Situation: Member of Second Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. He was wounded in Afghanistan and is now studying psychology and political science at Brandon University
What he was looking for in the budget: A return to full disability pensions for wounded vets instead of the $250,000 lump-sum payment they receive now. "It turns out that if you're a fully disabled veteran, over a lifetime you get a million dollars less (under the new system)."
Views on the actual budget: He's disappointed that about $1.5 billion in planned increases in military funding over the next several years have been cut. "It's disheartening, because our military is underfunded. But the Canadian military does such a good job with what it has... that it's easy to take from them." He said the scaling back in funding increases "probably has a lot to do" with the planned pullout of Canadian troops from Afghanistan.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition March 5, 2010 A7
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