Since an image of honesty is an important asset for any government, it would be a mistake to pretend in the budget speech that the government has no choice but to cut program spending.
Government finance
Program spending is not the cause of Nova Scotia's deficit problems, and cuts to spending are not the solution according to the inaugural publication of the Nova Scotia Branch of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. "A Better Way: Putting the Nova Scotia Deficit in Perspective" analyzes the size and causes of the deficit, and demonstrates that while the government's focus has been on the $767 million "fiscal crisis," the actual recurring amount is a more manageable $300 million problem
Canadians may remember Paul Martin’s pledge upon becoming Finance Minister that he would eliminate the government’s deficit, “come hell or high water. He fulfilled that promise mainly by slashing support for health care and other social programs, giving Canadians in the process painful doses of both hell and high water.
Ottawa--Canadians remember Paul Martin as the man who slew the deficit dragon "come hell or high water. " He fulfilled that promise by making the largest non-military public program cuts in Canadian history.
TORONTO--The McGuinty Liberals campaigned on promises to reinvest in public services, balance the budget, and to not raise taxes. With the Liberals' first provincial budget set to be released on Tuesday, the question is no longer how it will deliver on their promises but in what manner and to what extent it will fall short.
OTTAWA - Canada is hoarding unprecedented economic wealth while human insecurity - at home and abroad - deepens, says a new international report.
Squandering Canada's Surplus, a report to Social Watch, an international citizens' watchdog group, is critical of Canada's recent decision to reduce the country's debt-to-GDP ratio to 25 per cent in 10 quick years.
"Aggressive debt reduction as a political priority is a dubious way to spend Canada's unprecedented fiscal surplus," says the report's author, economist Armine Yalnizyan.