OTTAWA—The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, one of the independent forecasters commissioned by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance, announced today that is once again forecasting surpluses much higher than the official government figures.
Government finance
A new study released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says it is time there was a serious public debate in Saskatchewan about resource royalties.
The report shows that resource royalties in Saskatchewan are among the lowest in the world. The report also documents trends around the world which show that governments in most other jurisdictions are increasing royalty rates and control over resource industries.
What do same-sex marriage and the federal budget have in common? We can’t figure it out either, but both issues are being sucked into the vortex of high parliamentary drama.
Political parties (even renegade individuals within political parties) are exploiting both issues to indulge their political grandstanding. Threats are being conveyed that the government may be brought down over either issue.
The Hamm government releases its provincial budget today. The finance minister has already told us that it will be balanced. But this is not a particularly difficult task given increasing federal transfers and own-source revenue. The real challenge for the minister is how well he addresses the social and infrastructure deficits that have accumulated over the past decade.