Government finance

OTTAWA--Paul Martin's sterling reputation as the deficit hero may not be entirely justified, according to a study released today by the Alternative Federal Budget (AFB) project, coordinated by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Paul Martin, the Deficit, and the Debt: Taking Another Look, by economist Jim Stanford, is the first of ten papers examining the Paul Martin record since he brought down his first budget. The entire series will be released by the AFB in the run-up to next year's speech from the throne and the federal budget.

OTTAWA--On the eve of the Speech from the Throne, Canada finds itself at an historic moment: will Paul Martin as Prime Minister be any different than Paul Martin as Finance Minister--The Man Who Killed Big Government? Paul Martin's Permanent Revolution, by economist and CCPA Research Fellow Armine Yalnizyan, details how Paul Martin's reign as the federal Finance Minister brought about lasting change by shrinking the scope and role of government, neutering funding mechanisms, and deeply cutting spending, even for programs the government was committed to providing.

OTTAWA--Every year since the elimination of the federal budget deficit in 1997, the government's record of forecasting its own surplus has been abysmal--and this year is no different, according to a study released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Crying Wolf Again? A Pre-Budget Assessment of Federal Finances, an Alternative Federal Budget technical paper by CCPA economist Ellen Russell, foresees a budget surplus of $8.3 billion for 2003/04, dwarfing the $2.3 billion forecast by the Martin government.

ST. JOHN'S--While Newfoundland and Labrador must face a number of important issues of financial management in the next few years, provincial finances are not spiraling out of control, and they do not present an overwhelming crisis that justifies significant cuts to public services or the imposition of financial hardship on the government's employees.