Economy and economic indicators
(Vancouver) Next week’s provincial budget should assume BC will be in a recession in 2009 and perhaps longer – and include an aggressive stimulus plan capable of reducing the length and severity of the downturn. That’s the central recommendation in BC Budget Reality Check 2009: Planning for a Recession, released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
For Stephen Harper, the only thing that matters about the 2009 budget is that it meets the political imperatives he imposed on himself with his disastrous December fudgit-budget.
On that front, he and we are in the hands of Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff.
But for Canadians, the only thing that really matters is how effective the budget will be as a response to the biggest economic crisis to hit this country in more than 75 years.
The budget’s potential effectiveness depends on the answers to three key questions:
OTTAWA -- Today’s federal budget leaves hundreds of thousands of vulnerable Canadians hanging on a very short rope and won’t provide the immediate stimulus our economy needs, says the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).
The budget fails to expand Employment Insurance (EI) to ensure laid-off Canadians are eligible for benefits and its infrastructure promises require the provinces and municipalities to match funding -- a condition that will stall many projects.
OTTAWA— The January 27 federal budget will be one of the most important in Canada’s history and should meet five key tests, says the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).
“What’s in this budget matters, more than ever,” says CCPA Senior Economist Marc Lee. “Canadians expect a budget that will stave off the worst of the current recession, keep and create jobs, and lay the groundwork for a fairer, greener, and more sustainable economy.”
The five tests for next week’s federal budget: