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Opposition says budget leaves too many Canadians behind

New Democratic Party leader Thomas Mulcair speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa April 1, 2015. REUTERS/Chris Wattie

The Conservative government is patting itself on the back for living up to its promise of balancing this year’s federal budget, but opposition parties say this year’s fiscal document does nothing for Canadians who need help the most.

“A promise made, a promise kept, Mr. Speaker, this budget is written in black ink,” Joe Oliver said when he delivered his first budget speech as finance minister in the House of Commons Tuesday afternoon.

The budget, coming in at over 500 pages, marks the first Conservative government surplus in eight years, at $1.4 billion projected this year, and includes many measures that were already expected or already announced.

The budget is viewed by many as an obvious road to the 2015 election, with a focus on putting money back into the pockets of consumers and a drop in direct program expenditures.

After the document was tabled in the House at 4 p.m. Tuesday, NDP leader Tom Mulcair responded to questions from reporters on Parliament Hill. He said the budget will “help the wealthiest few at the expense of everyone else.”

He decried the government’s plan to double the limit for the Tax Free Savings Account to $10,000 a year and income splitting measures that the government, on the flip side, lauds.

“He’s pushing ahead, stubbornly, with his income splitting plan,” Mulcair said. “He wants to increase the Tax Free Savings Account, [that’s] very nice if you have 60,000 bucks in your back pocket. That doesn’t help the average middle class family very much. This is the story of Stephen Harper.”

Mulcair said there is increasing inequality in Canadian society.

“Instead of helping the wealthiest… we should’ve been helping the middle class, helping all Canadians.”

Many on Mulcair’s team took to Twitter to share their concerns about measures in the budget, and measures that didn’t show up.

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It isn’t just the opposition leader and his party who are concerned with the move to cut taxes through TFSAs and income splitting policies for parents. Liberal leader Justin Trudeau, too, lambasted the government’s plans, telling reporters that a Liberal government would reverse the plan to double TFSA limit.

Liberal MPs also aired their worries via 140 characters.

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And, as would be expected, Tory MPs gave the 2015 document two thumbs up.

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This year’s budget wasn’t all bad news for opposition members, however. A few on the NDP team were able to celebrate for some of the measures included in the hundreds and hundreds of pages tabled today in the House of Commons.

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