6 things people on P.E.I. should know about the 2022 federal budget

The Liberal government's 2022 federal budget was tabled on Thursday. Here are some of the highlights that may interest residents of P.E.I.

Support for the potato industry

The budget proposes to provide a total of $16 million over two years, on a cash basis, starting in 2022-23 to the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, through the Jobs and Growth Fund, to support long-term investments and assist in stabilizing the Prince Edward Island potato sector and supply chain.

It also proposes to provide $12 million over two years, starting in 2022-23, for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to accelerate an investigation into the latest detection of potato wart to help prevent its spread and to allow for full trade to resume with the United States as soon as possible.

Increase in health transfers

In 2022-23, the Canada Health Transfer will provide provinces and territories with $45.2 billion in support — an increase of 4.8 per cent over the 2021-22 baseline. Thanks to Canada's strong economic recovery, the Canada Health Transfer is projected to provide provinces and territories with $12 billion more in funding over the next five years than what was expected prior to the pandemic.

Attracting doctors and nurses to rural communities

The federal government provides student loan forgiveness to doctors and nurses who work in underserved rural or remote communities.

To help bring more health-care workers to the communities that need them most, the budget proposes to provide $26.2 million over four years, starting in 2023-24, and $7 million ongoing to increase the maximum amount of forgivable Canada student loans by 50 per cent. This will mean up to $30,000 in loan forgiveness for nurses and up to $60,000 in loan forgiveness for doctors working in underserved rural or remote communities.

In addition, the federal government will expand the current list of eligible professionals under the program, with details to be announced in the coming year. The government is also undertaking a review to ensure that the definition of rural communities under the program does not leave out certain communities in need.

National dental care program

Moving on a commitment in its confidence and supply agreement with the NDP, the government is promising $5.3 billion over five years and $1.7 billion each year thereafter for a national dental care program. It will begin this year with children under 12 years old and expand to cover Canadians under 18 years old, seniors and people with disabilities in 2023. The program, which is to be fully implemented by 2025, is limited to families with incomes of less than $90,000 a year. For those with an income of less than $70,000, no co-payments will be required.

Help and protection for homebuyers and renters

The budget promises to introduce tax-free savings accounts that would give first-time homebuyers the chance to save up to $40,000. Contributions would be tax-deductible, and withdrawals to buy a first home would not be taxed. The program is expected to provide $725 million in support over five years.

It also proposes new measures that will ban foreign investment in residential real estate, crack down on illegal activity in the housing market and make sure that property flippers and speculators are paying their fair share of tax.

Specifically, any person who sells a property they have held for less than 12 months would be considered to be flipping it and would be subject to full taxation on their profits as business income. Exemptions would apply for Canadians who sell their home due to certain life circumstances, such as a death, disability, the birth of a child, a new job or a divorce.

Building on reconciliation

The budget promises to spend an additional $11 billion over six years to support Indigenous children, families and communities, including $4 billion for housing and another $4 billion over seven years to help ensure access for First Nations children to health, social and educational services.

Almost $400 million over two years will go to improve infrastructure on reserves, including $247 million for water and wastewater infrastructure. To address a key commitment on reconciliation, the budget sets aside $210 million to help communities document, locate and memorialize burial sites at former residential schools.