Little for poor in budget
Prince George Citizen
February 27, 2008

OTTAWA -- The Conservative government put its money where its votes are with a federal budget that does comparatively little for more than three million Canadians struggling on the social fringe.

Broad-based tax cuts that will drain $60 billion from once-bursting federal coffers over the next five years mean slim pickings for those most in need, critics say.

"This budget said: 'We have no money to do anything' and then did nothing on child care, on housing, on poverty," says Armine Yalnizyan, a senior economist with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

"It's true that one does not expect the Conservatives to be aware of the issues of poverty. "But what kind of responsible leadership is this when you're rewarding people who already have a lot, and doing nothing for the people who are really struggling to stay afloat in the best of economic times?"…