Liberals embark on spending-cycle shakeup with this year’s early budget
The Liberals’ third budget, tabled this week, came a month earlier than their previous two financial plans to give Treasury Board President Scott Brison “a win” in his push to realign the federal spending cycle, says an opposition MP. This is the first fiscal year in which the government is testing out a new way of […]
From the ashes of Phoenix, there’s hope for something better
On the heels of the second anniversary of the launch of the bug-addled Phoenix pay system, the Liberal government delivered its third budget on Feb. 27, announcing that it finally plans to scrap the payroll program. The government’s looking to spend $16-million over two years, starting this year, to develop a new pay system, “one […]
Liberals earmark $73-million for joint facility for Library and Archives Canada and new main branch of Ottawa Public Library
The Trudeau government is pledging $73.3-million over the next six years for the construction and operation of a new joint facility to house the offices of Library and Archives Canada and the main branch of the Ottawa Public Library. The allocation was announced in the 2018 federal budget released on Tuesday, and comes after years […]
Budget 2018 comes with $6-billion in new spending and projected $18 billion deficit
Despite strong economic growth and surging employment numbers, the Trudeau government is calling for $6.3-billion in new spending in the 2018 budget and projecting an $18.1-billion deficit for the upcoming fiscal year. The Liberals’ third federal budget since assuming power in 2015 was tabled in the House of Commons on Tuesday afternoon, and follows the […]
Heart disease funding needed for when prevention isn’t enough
February is Heart Health Month in North America, and the government of Canada is, as always, engaging in campaigns centred on keeping the hearts of Canadians healthy through preventative measures. In a public message issued earlier this month, for instance, Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor highlighted recent federal investments into anti-smoking programs and healthy eating […]
FCM calls for Ottawa to ensure money earmarked for new trade and transportation corridor fund is spent on local priorities in rural and northern communities
Canada’s national association of municipalities is calling on the federal government to ensure funding earmarked for trade and transportation corridors is spent on locally identified priorities in rural and northern communities, including “airport, marine and road projects that promote economic development.” The recommendation is one of dozens included in the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ pre-budget […]
Métropolitain’s the place to be Tuesday night after Morneau releases federal budget
Tuesday is the federal budget day, which is the most important day on the Hill, but it also means there will be after-parties lined up in downtown Ottawa. Like last year, HOH has learned there will be a big shindig hosted at one of Ottawa’s favourite watering holes, the Métropolitain Brasserie, and is being sponsored by the […]
Military activities, veterans’ support, Phoenix fix big-ticket items in $4B new spending ask
The Department of National Defence and other departments providing services to active and retired members of the Armed Forces are taking up a sizeable chunk of the $4-billion in extra spending the Liberals have put forward for parliamentary approval in the fiscal year’s last round of spending estimates. The third set of spending estimates, known […]
Industry self-regulation doesn’t work
A recent article from The Tyee suggested the previous Liberal government in British Columbia was relying too much on industry self-regulation in terms of protecting the environment and public safety. The problem of funded-by-industry oversight is not contained to environmental issues in B.C. It extends to other aspects of governance, including oversight of our banking […]
Feds’ tax change will hurt Canadian farms and fisheries
The mutual insurance sector started with farmers in the 1800s pooling their small savings together in order to have a large pot to cover the few disasters suffered by someone in the group. This is the beginnings of so-called farm mutuals, and later on mutual insurers, which held the belief that the small contributions of […]
