OTTAWA—In the lead-up to the 2005 federal budget, debates about the potential uses for the fiscal dividend—debt repayment, tax cuts, or social reinvestment—have intensified. However, if the federal government intends to meet its campaign promises and work towards a prosperous, productive, and equitable Canada, the only valid option is to reinvest the surplus in the social programs Canadians cherish above debt repayment and tax cuts.
Government finance
(Vancouver) The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says the priority for this year’s provincial budget should be reinvestment in people and communities. “The government is set to finish the year with a record surplus of over $2 billion, and a projected surplus in 2005/06 of $1.4 billion,” says Seth Klein, Director of the CCPA’s BC Office. “Our number one priority should be to undo the damage from deep spending cuts. We should not lock them in place with further tax cuts or make payments on the provincial debt.”
TORONTO—Ontario Finance Minister Greg Sorbara has a lot more flexibility in his upcoming budget than he’s letting on. That’s the conclusion of a new study released by the Ontario Alternative Budget project of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives in conjunction with the pre-budget hearings of Ontario’s Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs.
When the Premier of Alberta announced a few months ago that his province was now “debt-free,” the national media gave the story up-beat coverage. It was as if the Alberta government had given up the demon debt for all time. But the announcement—and the way it was presented in the media—fail the credibility test, for a number of reasons.
The Ministry of Finance’s second quarter update on the 2004/05 BC Budget deserves to be put in a museum as a wonderful example of the fine art of government spin. In case you have not seen the commercials on TV, the Ministry’s press release begins with four glowing paragraphs about the BC economy. According to Finance Minister Gary Collins, “BC is on the move.”
Canadians can be excused if they thought the healthcare “crisis” was over, what with the Romanow Report telling us it’s as sustainable as we want it to be, and the federal government pouring billions of dollars into public health care.
They can be excused if they are getting a little testy and confused with political leaders and pundits, high on ideology and short on facts, who still insist the sky is falling and health care is unsustainable—in spite of all the evidence to the contrary.
There's only one real message in Ernie Eves' faux budget, released to an intimate group of friends in Brampton today. These guys only know how to do one thing -- cut taxes.
They cut taxes when they're running a deficit. They cut taxes when they're not running a deficit. They cut taxes when the economy is strong. They cut taxes when the economy is weak. And they cut taxes, regardless of the state of the public services that it is their responsibility to deliver.