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th ei fp .c a Th e IF P -H al to n H ill s | T hu rs da y, M ar ch 25 ,2 02 1 | 14 Get the Toronto Star weekend home delivery for just $399* AWEEK FOR12 MONTHS YOU'LL GET: • Saturday and Sunday home delivery • Starweek Magazine print edition • Complimentary 7-day ePaper edition • Complimentary 7-day access to thestar.com website *Plus HST. This introductory offer is not available to existing Toronto Star subscribers. Save 46% off the newsstand rate for Saturday and Sunday delivery. This offer includes Starweek Magazine. The New York Times International Weekly or Book Review sections are not included. This offer is for a 12-month term and includes complimentary access to thestar.com and the Toronto Star ePaper edition. Complimentary access is available to Toronto Star home-delivery subscribers with an active account in good standing. If you choose to cancel your print account, or your subscription is in arrears, your access to thestar.com and the ePaper edition will be discontinued. 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SAVE 46 % OFFTHE NEWSSTAND RATE SUBSCRIBE ONLINE: thestar.com/2daysave OR CALL: 416-367-4500 and quote code 2DAYSAVE for weekend home delivery for 12 months Cut out paying more Your only destination for more coupons, more flyers, more savings. #SavingWithSave Save $1.00 on any Nature's Bounty product save.ca/coupons Scan to get coupons There's been no federal budget for two years -- the longest gap in Canadian his- tory. Annual budgets were de- livered through the difficult days of the World Wars, the Great Depression and the Great Recession of 2009. Canada is the only G7 country not to have deliv- ered a budget in two years. Every province managed to table budgets through this period, even when faced with the same pan- demic. While Parliament has still approved spending, the lack of a budget means no broad plan to guide the spending of hundreds of bil- lions of dollars in response to the pandemic. The lack of a budget is more astonishing, consider- ing the deficit is projected to be a record-shattering $382 billion -- more than six times the 2009 deficit in re- sponse to the Great Reces- sion. The Canadian economy was in trouble before the pandemic. Our productivi- ty, the only long-term deter- minant of prosperity, had been lagging for years. Per capita GDP was flat, if not declining, in the quar- ters before the pandemic. Canadian households have some of the highest debt lev- els in the world. The pandemic has only made things worse. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predict that Canada will have a deeper recession and a slower re- covery than our economic peers. And Canada's economic recovery will be slower than our peers, in part, due to the slow procurement of vac- cines compared to many other countries. In that context, it's even more important that the government lay out its eco- nomic plan to restore our lives and our communities. Conservatives have been calling on the government to deliver a budget to sup- port those hard hit in the hospitality, charity, airline and small business sectors. And it should also in- crease the Canada Child Benefit to help low-income families, particularly wom- en. March 19, 2019 is the last time Canada had a budget. It's long past time for the Liberal government to re- spect the public purse and table a budget to restore our future. Michael Chong is the MP for Wellington-Halton Hills, and the shadow minister of democratic institutions for the official opposition. He can be reached atm- chael.chong.a3@parl.gc.ca. OPINION WHERE'S THE FEDERAL BUDGET? CANADA NEEDS A BROAD PLAN TO GUIDE SPENDING, WRITES MICHAEL CHONG MICHAEL CHONG Column We care about your hearing! Professional Arts Building 99 Sinclair Ave., Suite 210, Georgetown 905-873-6642 Serving the community of Halton Hills and surrounding areas since 1992 The Georgetown Dear people of Halton Hills; During these uncertain times, rest assured we remain open to serve you. We have adjusted services according to the guidance by Health Canada. Please call for an appointment. We are not accepting walk ins at this time. We handle every call on an individual basis to best handle each person's needs. Social distancing in clinic with one appointment per time slot in waiting room. If necessary, I offer mailbox drops as well! Take care, be safe and know this will pass. . . . Lend MeYour Ears Business (not quite) as usual.. By Cory Soal R.H.A.D.