Transferring powers back to the provinces, at least those who have asked for it, would be a good way to create employment. The funny thing about it is that agreements were signed, but not with the provinces had made a request.
If agreements were signed regarding manpower training, I would expect the applicable budgets to be transferred back at the same
time. This way, government would really be brought closer to the people, with the provincial government being in charge instead of the federal government. Synergy could be gained from these budgets.
I would like to see these budgets used to bring people together. Projects, not 10 or 20 week projects, would be designed to address a common problem specific to a group of people living in a certain area. With the available budgets, and the help of the private sector maybe, social infrastructure programs could be developed. The participants would be working together for at least three years to give them time to achieve something.
As I said, this is a lazy budget. I wish I had more time to share more constructive ideas. In the election campaign, the Liberals will boast about successfully bringing the deficit down, but they will be very careful not to mention whom they have to thank for that. There are the provinces, whose postsecondary education and social assistance budgets were cut back, and the unemployed, at the expense of whom the President of the Treasury Board and the Minister of Finance were able to build up a reserve fund of $12.3 billion.
There is still time, on the eve of the election, for the Liberals to give themselves a chance of winning a few seats in Quebec. Put something on the table, resolve the manpower training issue and give us the necessary budgets for job creation.