While opposition Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff derided last week’s federal budget brought down by the Conservative government a being full of “gimmicks” that ignores issues faced by ordinary Canadians, local Member of Parliament John Weston touted it as one that shows fiscal responsibility and global economic leadership.

“It shows a government that’s listening closely to Canadians,” Weston said last Thursday (March 4), a few hours after Finance Minister Jim Flaherty delivered his budget in the House of Commons.

“As I skimmed this very large document, over 400 pages, and listened to the speech, I saw an emphasis on job protection. There are still a lot of Canadians out of work and our recovery needs to be supported.

“I’m focusing on Canada as a leader in the world in terms of job protection, the economy and fiscal restraint.”

Weston, the Conservative Party MP for West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country, said the minority Tories’ efforts to facilitate economic recovery from the recent global recession continue. Flaherty’s budget seeks to ensure that infrastructure projects funded last year through the Economic Action Plan are completed, and focussing on job creation and a commitment to return to a balanced budget within five years is good for all Canadians, Weston said.

“We’re continuing with economic stimulus, but at the same time we’re continuing down the road of economic restraint by wrapping up all new infrastructure projects by Sept. 1, 2011. We’re also restraining new spending and overhead costs,” he said, specifically mentioning a three-year freeze on the salaries of MPs, ministers and senators.

Said Chuck Strahl, the MP for the riding that includes the Pemberton Valley, “The short-term stimulus we are providing the economy is affordable and will allow us to return to balanced budgets without tax increases or cuts to health care, education and pensioners.

“Our winter athletes demonstrated that Canadians can be the best in the world. The plan we announced today will ensure Canadians stand atop the global economic podium,” Strahl said.

Asked about specific projects that would benefit his riding, Weston mentioned $88 million provided to ensure the completion of upgrades to small craft harbours across Canada — 242 of them in all — by this fall. Last year, a total of $112 million was spent to get those projects underway.

Eight such projects at small craft harbours — from Lund, north of Powell River, to Gibsons in the south — were undertaken last year at a cost of $3.8 million. The work includes upgrades to electrical systems, floats and general harbour infrastructure.

Weston said he “can’t imagine” that the government would ignore funding for both high-performance and participatory sports programs after having just witnessed the successes of Canadian athletes at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, and it didn’t. The budget includes $44 million over two years for high-performance sport — $10 million for the identification and development of elite athletes and $34 million for programs that support training and competition for elite athletes in winter and summer sports. That represents a $17 million increase to the Own the Podium program.

Own the Podium officials said the federal government’s commitment to the program now totals $69 million a year.

“It is clear that Canada wants to support our athletes in their pursuit (of) excellence and this replacement funding will help Own the Podium deliver on that desire,” Roger Jackson, OTP chief executive officer, said in a statement.

Weston, who over the past year has sponsored an initiative that seeks to encourage his colleagues in the House of Commons to model healthy, active lifestyles, said that in addition to being good for Canadians as a whole, funding for sports programs at all levels is good for the riding’s economy.

“We’ve come up with new initiatives to extend the benefits of the Games, including participatory programs, and money for continued development of and support for elite athletes. I’m very encouraged by that initiative, which encourages people to come and use our incredible facilities,” he said.

Critics, though, charged that the government was ignoring health of a different kind — the environmental one. Tim Weis, director of the Alberta-based Pembina Institute, said the budget “offers virtually nothing to create clean energy jobs of live up to climate change commitments.”

Weis noted that the budget spends 14 times less, per capita, in renewable energy programs than does President Barack Obama’s proposal in the United States. “As governments worldwide are making major investments in clean energy, Canada continues to fall even further behind,” Weis said.

According to the Sierra Club of Canada, the budget let the Eco-energy program, which provided incentives to renewable energy projects, lapse, while providing subsidies to oil, gas and coal-burning utilities to explore “unproven” carbon capture and storage to reduce their impacts.

“It is hard to accept that our government thinks it can disguise inaction on climate change with nice-sounding words,” John Bennett, Sierra Club of Canada executive director, said in a statement.

Said Weston of the Pembina Institute’s remarks, “I don’t think that’s a fair comment, because firstly there was a tremendous commitment to environmental initiatives in the first year of the economic stimulus plan.”

He added that the budget commits $100 million to support innovative clean energy generation in Canada’s forestry sector, $16 million over two years to continue efforts to protect the Great Lakes and $8 million to support community-based environmental monitoring.

“One of our most effective ministers, Jim Prentice, is still at the helm on the environment,” Weston said. “We will (mirror) some of Obama’s initiatives on climate change and cleaning up the environment in the U.S. The government is very sensitive to environmental initiatives.”