Federal Budget 2019

[Sheba]

Who are the winners and losers in the 2019 federal budget?

Finance Minister Bill Morneau unveiled the Liberal government’s final budget before the fall election on Tuesday.

It offers up a mixed bag of both benefits and potential consequences for Canadian stakeholders across a wide range of backgrounds.

Housing was a major focus of the budget with new measures proposed that the government argues will make it easier for millennials and first-time buyers to purchase a home.

While economists and critics differ on whether those measures will do what Morneau says they will, there are also a number of other ways the budget proposals will help — or potentially hurt — other Canadians.

Here are some of the winners and losers.

WINNERS

People with student loans

People with rare diseases

People looking to reduce their carbon footprint

Media and people who pay for it

LOSERS

People with employer stock options or big earnings

People hoping to buy edible cannabis products

Federal budget boost for municipalities

There's a $2.2 billion surprise in the federal budget for Canadian municipalities facing a long list of infrastructure needs and Mayor Jim Watson says it will mean a lot to Ottawa.

The government is taking that money from its gas tax revenue and sending it directly to local governments, to be used for everything from roadwork and public transit to environmental and cultural infrastructure projects.

The federal government already gives $2.2 billion to municipalities from its gas tax revenues — Tuesday's budget doubles that amount.

...

The funding will come all at once and doesn't first have to go through provinces or territories.

"This is kind of a means for the federal government and municipalities to have a more direct relationship," said Sahir Khan, executive vice-president of the Institute for Fiscal Studies at the University of Ottawa.

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) had asked for the federal budget to give them the tools to address local priorities.

The federation's president Vicki-May Hamm said in an emailed statement that the gas-tax funding would be important.

"For communities of all sizes, growing this transfer means better roads, bridges, transit, recreation centres and more. This is about empowering local governments to do what they do best," she said.

[misher]

https://theprovince.com/pmn/news-pmn...0-2c2d713c202b

Feds cut heavy-icebreaker order from Vancouver shipyard

No decision has been announced on where the Diefenbaker will be built but some believe Seaspan’s bitter rival in Quebec, Davie Shipbuilding, will get the contract.
OTTAWA — The federal government has quietly taken construction of the coast guard’s next heavy icebreaker away from Vancouver shipyard Seaspan, the latest in a string of upheavals in Canada’s multibillion-dollar shipbuilding strategy.

The government says no decision has been made on where the vessel will be built, but the move has nonetheless left Seaspan Shipbuilding’s bitter rival in Quebec salivating after years of intense lobbying for the project.

Seaspan was tapped in 2011 to build the icebreaker, called the CCGS John G. Diefenbaker, as part of a larger order that also included four science vessels for the coast guard and two navy supply ships.

But Fisheries Minister Jonathan Wilkinson’s office says the icebreaker has been removed from the Vancouver shipyard’s order book and replaced with 16 smaller vessels the government announced it was buying last month.

The government “made the decision to substitute the one polar icebreaker with a long run of 16 multipurpose vessels,” Wilkinson’s spokeswoman Jocelyn Lubczuk said in an email.

“Given the importance of icebreaking capacity, the government is exploring other options to ensure the (icebreaker) is built in the most efficient manner, but no decisions have been taken.”

Specifically, said Lubczuk, the government is still weighing where the vessel will be built, though she insisted Ottawa is committed to the ship. Its $1.3-billion budget is currently under review as well.

Obviously the polls showing increased CPC support in Quebec are scaring the Libs.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by misher

Obviously the polls showing increased CPC support in Quebec are scaring the Libs.

Weird, but we got all of the 16 new ships? What's the value difference of that trade?

[misher]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Weird, but we got all of the 16 new ships? What's the value difference of that trade?

I assume each ship isn't more than $100 mil. I also assume we may have gotten some of those 16 anyway.

[WestCoastEcho]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Weird, but we got all of the 16 new ships? What's the value difference of that trade?

Seaspan probably doesn't care too much because the 16 new ships will take longer to build, which would keep them busy for longer.

And I don't think Seaspan is a bitter rival of Davie Shipbuilding; the real target if Davie's ire is Irving Shipbuilding, as the two shipyards are bitter rivals on the East Coast. By the very nature of how the federal government spreads out contracting, to ensure that all of the regions are treated fairly, Seaspan invariably will always get work as it is the only large shipyard company on the West Coast.

In contrast, both Irving and Davie have to slug it out for any share of federal government work going to the East Coast, and there's no love lost between Irving and Davie there.

[SFUVancouver]

It would have been cool to see a big vessel like an icebreaker be built on the North Shore, but 16 ships is likely better in the long run for the local economy and Seaspan.

I don't understand how Davie has a leg to stand on in all of this. Didn't they either fail to bid or were excluded from the ship procurement RFP because they were bankrupt (at the time)?

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by SFUVancouver

It would have been cool to see a big vessel like an icebreaker be built on the North Shore, but 16 ships is likely better in the long run for the local economy and Seaspan.

I don't understand how Davie has a leg to stand on in all of this. Didn't they either fail to bid or were excluded from the ship procurement RFP because they were bankrupt (at the time)?

Because Quebec....

[WestCoastEcho]

Originally Posted by SFUVancouver

It would have been cool to see a big vessel like an icebreaker be built on the North Shore, but 16 ships is likely better in the long run for the local economy and Seaspan.

I don't understand how Davie has a leg to stand on in all of this. Didn't they either fail to bid or were excluded from the ship procurement RFP because they were bankrupt (at the time)?

Well, the RCN's new Protecteur class AOR's will be built in the North Shore, and those two ships are massive compared to the planned icebreaker.

And on why Davie was excluded from the NSS; they were bankrupt and under reorganization at the time. But with the amount of new ships needed between both the RCN and the Coast Guard, there's room for a third shipyard in the process, otherwise both the RCN and the Coast Guard will rust out before their ships can be replaced.

[LeftCoaster]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Weird, but we got all of the 16 new ships? What's the value difference of that trade?

It's still seems to be a big positive for Vancouver

The new order is $15.7 billion, of which 16 out of 18 will be constructed in Vancouver.

The previous order, which included the icebreaker and 6 other ships was $8 billion.

[WestCoastEcho]

Originally Posted by LeftCoaster

It's still seems to be a big positive for Vancouver

The new order is $15.7 billion, of which 16 out of 18 will be constructed in Vancouver.

The previous order, which included the icebreaker and 6 other ships was $8 billion.

Should also see some cost savings, as a long production run of 16 identical ships should allow Seaspan to get some efficiencies going compared to a bunch of bespoke ships which makes it impossible for any yard to get efficient at it.

[rofina]

Originally Posted by LeftCoaster

It's still seems to be a big positive for Vancouver

The new order is $15.7 billion, of which 16 out of 18 will be constructed in Vancouver.

The previous order, which included the icebreaker and 6 other ships was $8 billion.

Its amazing.

Someone entering the trades today could probably retire on this contract alone, provided future governments don't alter or cancel the purchase.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by rofina

Its amazing.

Someone entering the trades today could probably retire on this contract alone, provided future governments don't alter or cancel the purchase.

How long is this contract going to last? Huge value is one thing, but it could all be done in 10-15 years. Nothing to sneeze at of course.