OTTAWA — The federal Liberals released their 2023-24 budget on Tuesday.
Here are some quotes about the spending plan from the finance minister, opposition leaders and the head of the Assembly of First Nations.
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Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland:
"We are reducing government spending while taking great care not to reduce the services and direct support that Canadians rely on."
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"By exercising fiscal restraint, we're ensuring that we can continue to invest in Canadians and in the Canadian economy for years to come, just as we have done since 2015."
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"I am ready to take on anyone in this room or outside this room who wants to challenge the idea that we needed to make a targeted and temporary investment in affordability for Canadians. It's something we needed to do; there are vulnerable people in Canada who need that support."
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"I am so proud to announce the creation of a new Canadian Dental Care Plan. By the end of this year, by the end of 2023, we will begin rolling out a dental care plan for what will eventually cover up to 9 million uninsured Canadians."
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"This will mean no Canadian ever again will need to choose between taking care of their teeth and paying the bills at the end of the month."
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"(I)t is because of us, the people of Canada, and the big and important things we will do in the months and years to come, that I have never been more optimistic about the future of our great country than I am today."
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Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre:
"Today she rolls out a bonanza of $43 billion of new inflation, debt and taxes that will be on the backs of everyday hardworking Canadians."
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"Conservatives are proud to announce we will be voting against this inflationary spending."
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NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh:
"I'm really proud that we were able to force this government to expand dental care, that's gonna save money for families that's going to mean that they can take care of their teeth. It's the biggest expansion of our health-care system in a generation."
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"This government hasn't responded to the urgency of the housing crisis, and they haven't put in place changes to EI, given that we're up against a recession."
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"There's a number of things that still need to be done by the end of this year. We still need to see anti-scab legislation, we still need to see pharmacare legislation, and we're gonna make sure this government delivers those things as well."
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Assembly of First Nations National Chief RoseAnne Archibald:
"I'm really concerned that the federal government has now issued two budgets while I've been national chief and have done very little to advance economic reconciliation with First Nations."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 28, 2023.
The Canadian Press
