Budget mum on NAFTA as Trump plots new tariffs and lumber dispute continues
The Trudeau government pledged $191-million over five years in this year’s budget to help “support softwood lumber jobs,” including litigation over tariffs introduced by the United States, but largely steered clear of any potentially controversial provisions on continental trade in the annual spending blueprint, according to trade expert Dan Ciuriak. Mr. Ciuriak, a fellow-in-residence at […]
Ports and airports anxiously awaiting trade corridors announcement, as 2018 construction projects put on pause
With only a few months away from the summer construction season, money from a multi-billion-dollar fund to improve trade corridors hasn’t flowed out the door yet, say industry groups representing applicants for federal grants to improve their ports, airports, and roads. The National Trade Corridors Fund (NTCF) is a $2-billion chunk of a total of […]
Liberals are right to leave the deficit fixation behind
OTTAWA—It was Paul Martin, in full Mr. Dithers mode, who some 20 years ago explicitly adopted the idea of a contingency fund in budget fiscal plans—spawning confusion about how the government was actually constructing its budget forever after. For the coming 2018-19 fiscal year, for example, Finance Minister Bill Morneau is predicting an $18.1-billion budget […]
Trudeau needs to target two key demographics for victory: women and youth
OTTAWA—The Colour Purple was a novel chronicling the life of poor, black American women in the 1930s. It took on a new meaning with the creation of the Red Hat Society back in 1998. Created in California, the society has a membership of 70,000 women around the world. Most are older, although the original minimum […]
Budget contains new ‘reconciled’ expenses for first time, good step for fiscal accountability, says Page
The 2018 federal budget broke new ground in fiscal reporting by including a projection of what departments would spend in the upcoming fiscal year, a move former parliamentary spending watchdog Kevin Page calls a “positive first step” towards improving the estimates process. The nine-column chart, tucked into the back pages of the expansive spending blueprint, attempts […]
Liberals take big risk in pursuing identity politics
TORONTO—The Ukrainians had their Orange Revolution. Americans argue about Red and Blue States. Now, the Trudeau government has given us the Pink Budget. With the Pink Budget, what’s at issue is the opportunity for greater participation and advancement of women in the workplace and what can be done to ensure their participation in a fair […]
Popcorn, prosecco, and 200 guests swarm Métropolitain for post-budget shindig
No, there weren’t any scandalous stories nor any bar fights. But there was a lot of laughing, hugging, drinking, and mingling during Earnscliffe Strategy Group’s popular after-budget party last Tuesday night at the political hangout, Métropolitain, a few blocks east of the Hill. Shortly after Finance Minister Bill Morneau tabled the federal government’s $338-billion spending […]
Budget 2018 not an election-year spending plan, but Liberals ‘pre-staging’ some issues: stakeholders
The Trudeau government’s third federal budget is not an election-year spending plan crafted with an eye towards the campaign trail, though certain elements could hint at what issues the Liberals will run on in the 2019 vote, say stakeholders. Nearly 200 representatives from the private and non-profit sectors gathered in the Reading Room in Centre […]
Highlights of the 2018 budget
Finance Minister Bill Morneau tabled the 2018 budget in the House of Commons on Tuesday afternoon. The spending blueprint projected about $6-billion in new spending and an $18.1-billion deficit for the 2018-19 fiscal year. Here are some of the highlights: $1.7-billion over five years for the three federal granting councils and research institutes to be […]
Liberals set their pre-election machine in motion with generous, progressive-themed budget
OTTAWA—The Liberals began laying the groundwork for next year’s re-election campaign with a wide-ranging budget package built around billions of dollars of new funding and initiatives designed to polish their progressive credentials. As expected, Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s third budget focused on advancing reconciliation with Indigenous people, expanding Canada’s scientific prowess, helping families, doing more […]
