Dear Editor,

The federal government's 452-page omnibus budget bill contains too much for adequate consideration by Parliament, because it is really more than budget-implementation legislation. Only some portions of it are about public finance, about such matters as income tax, sales tax, and federal-provincial fiscal arrangements.

When Paul Martin was prime minister in 2005, his budget bill was 120 pages long, a record at the time. Then Opposition Leader Stephen Harper quite properly asked, "How can members represent their constituents on these various areas when they are forced to vote on a block of such legislation?"

How indeed?

How is this omnibus "budget" bill any different from the one that Prime Minister Harper questioned in 2005? It was wrong then, and it is wrong now.

He needs to go back to the drawing board and come back with a proper budget bill. The rest can be dealt with later, in an appropriate forum.

Canadians are watching, and we are not amused.

Cheryl Baron, Maple Ridge