Layton's budget advice for Flaherty: 'Try harder'

Debate on the Conservative government's recycled budget got underway Tuesday morning with the oppositionparties criticizing it andproposing changes.

Opposition Leader Jack Laytonopened the first day of debate on the budget delivered Monday by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty by saying the government missed a "golden opportunity" to work with the other parties and to show Canadians that they are in Ottawa to work for them.

The revised budget tabled Monday contains all of the samemeasuresin the March document which was never voted on because the spring election was triggered first plus two new commitments: The government is now setting aside $2.2 billion for a compensation deal for Quebec's HST harmonization, and is phasing out the per-vote subsidy for political parties.

Layton applauded the government for dedicating the money to Quebec and for two other budget initiatives:the Helmets to Hardhats program to help military veterans and the extension of the ecoEnergy home retrofit program. That's where Layton'saffection for the budget ended. He went on to list the areas where the NDP believes it is deficient, including health care, job creation and help for seniors and cities.

"This budget will not get more doctors into practice," Layton said during his speech. "It's an issue that should have been tackled."

Layton said the budget's commitment to increase the Guaranteed Income Supplement for seniors doesn't go far enough to lift seniors out of poverty and he repeated hisopposition to corporatetax cuts.

He said the budget fails to help Canadian familiesand that he wants to work with the government to improve it.

"I choose to remain optimistic, Mr. Speaker, about what this House can accomplish," Layton said. "So in good faith, Mr. Speaker, Ill reach across the aisle to say: 'You just need to try harder.'"

NDP calls for more on job creation, seniors

Layton proposed an amendment that said the government's budget should not be approved by Parliament unless it adds more measures "to correct the government's poor record of fiscal management" and does more to address job creation, the physician shortage, retirement security and to assist poor seniors.

Liberal Leader Bob Rae also denounced Flaherty's budget, saying it's divisive because it offers benefits only to some Canadians and not the ones who need help the most.

"It is not a budget for everyone, it is not a budget that brings Canadians together, it is not a budget for one Canada," Rae said during his opening remarks. "It does far more for those who are better off than for those who are not."

The interim Liberal leader also cast doubt on the government's pledge to eliminate the deficit by 2014-2015 and its plan to do it by making cuts to program spending that will amount to $4 billion a year in savings by the time the cuts are implemented.

"The finance minister is asserting a very false certainty in his deficit projections," he said.

The Liberals proposed a subamendmentthat called for the budget to be rejected because "it does nothing" to improve conditions for aboriginal Canadians, to foster long-term prosperity for Canadians, to build more affordable housing, to take leadership on health care and "leaves Canadians in the dark as to which programs and services will be cut in order to meet the Government's deficit projections."

Flaherty was not in the House of Commons for Tuesday's debate, leaving the duty of responding to the opposition to his parliamentary secretary, Shelly Glover.

The budget debate and the proposed amendments will have little effect on the government's plan to push the budget through the House of Commons before Parliament breaks for the summer.

The Conservatives have a majority in the House of Commons and the Senate, which means there's little the NDP and Liberals can do to prevent its passage.