Shoring up supports for people and communities in a turbulent trade climate
The fall budget should aim to reduce the cost of essentials, modernize EI, and create place-based transition tools.
The feds have the tools they need to reshape the country. Will they use them?
The transition required in the months ahead will be disruptive, requiring an unprecedented level of leadership. Without such leadership, it will fail.
Cuts to Indigenous Services Canada sparking concerns of return to ‘Band-Aid solutions,’ and ‘mistakes of the past’
Métis National Council president Victoria Pruden says Indigenous governments are ready to oversee the delivery of some services themselves—‘a win-win’ for a department that could reduce ‘administrative bloat.’
Time is ripe to revamp federal budgeting processes
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne’s post-election announcement that no federal budget would be tabled this spring, and would instead be delivered in the fall, set tongues wagging this past May. Criticisms came from all corners of the House, but subsequent opposition attempts to force Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government to table a spring spending plan came […]
Carney’s budget expected to be ‘consequential,’ as Canada faces unprecedented challenges from a volatile Trump, say politicos
Perrin Beatty, former president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, says the government needs to give a clear indication to businesses what its plans are, and expects there will be some pretty tough news, as Canada’s fights a trade war with the U.S.
A strong economy depends on a strong social sector
We must invest in the social infrastructure that supports essential community services that return value to the economy and to communities.
House Finance Committee faces pre-budget time crunch ahead of fall tabling
The amount of influence the House Finance Committee can have on a government budget is debatable, say observers, who note the fall schedule could provide an opportunity to adjust the process.
Plan tackling gender-based violence needs funding renewed, say advocates amid concerns over budget cuts
With the issue at ‘epidemic levels’ in Canada, advocates are worried about the national plan’s future with funding sunsetting by 2027.
Buckle up, federal public service cuts expected to be deep
Prime Minister Mark Carney promised to save $25-billion and to boost military spending significantly, but he and his government better make sure the cuts don’t affect vital services to Canadians, including at the Canada Revenue Agency, Employment and Social Development Canada, and Citizenship and Immigration. That would create another other mess for the country, and no one wants that. The government is also setting itself up for another showdown with the public service unions.
Fixing feds’ fiscal plumbing takes more than tinkering
HR teams have grown into sprawling bureaucracies, often mirrored by similar functions hidden within other branches. These duplications add cost, complexity, and confusion.
