Canada will start paying its way in NATO very soon, and that’s a very good thing
TORONTO—What Donald wants, Donald gets. Well, not really. He wanted a Muslim ban. Didn’t get it. Wanted Obamacare killed, and something else instead. Didn’t get that. Wanted—promised!—ISIS defeated in 30 days. Didn’t get, or do, that. But getting more money out of Canada for NATO? He’s going to get that. Now, if you were to […]
Budget promises to probe departmental spending, assets for ‘waste’ and inefficiency
Public service managers, take note: Scott Brison might be auditing your work this year. The government will take a magnifying lens to the spending habits of at least three federal departments before the next budget, “with the aim to eliminate poorly targeted and inefficient programs, wasteful spending, and ineffective and obsolete government initiatives,” according to […]
New spending cooled in Liberals’ 2017 budget, with federal deficit projected at $28.5-billion
The Liberal government’s second federal budget, released in Ottawa on March 22, 2017, includes $5.7-billion in net new spending announcements, a drastic decrease from the $50.2-billion announced in its inaugural 2016 federal budget, and projects the federal deficit is on track to remain well above the $10-billion cap the Liberals promised before coming into office. […]
Snazzy shoes: what Canada’s finance ministers wore on their feet on budget day
OTTAWA—No one knows the origins of why Canada’s federal finance minister buys a new pair of shoes to deliver the budget every year, but it’s believed the tradition started in 1960 when Progressive Conservative finance minister Donald Fleming bought a new pair of shoes for the occasion. Ever since, finance ministers have either bought a new […]
We are missing the boat on public diplomacy
The prime minister and his team, with a little help from former prime minister Brian Mulroney, have mounted a smart and, so far, successful campaign with United States President Donald Trump and his associates to sustain civil dialogue and the flow of bilateral trade. Yet, as we are reminded daily, we live at a time […]
Bigger workload, shorter timelines a growing ‘burden,’ says PCO
New priorities created by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his ministers have put the public service’s hub of support for the cabinet under growing strain, according to its annual report. An “increased workload and shorter timelines means an increasingly heavy burden on existing resources and expertise,” says a section of the Privy Council Office’s (PCO) […]
Few signs of life for Canada’s dead money
OTTAWA—It’s been five years since Mark Carney kicked up a storm with his suggestion that for the sake of the economy Canada’s corporations should start spending some of the huge piles of “dead money” they were hoarding. “The level of caution could be viewed as excessive,” Carney, then head of the central bank, said of […]
As Trump’s defence spending plans put pressure on Canada to boost its own, Russia slashes
OTTAWA—You can call Donald Trump many things, but after his first few months in power it appears that he intends to keep his election campaign promises. In delivering his first budget last week, Trump sought to boost discretionary defence spending by a whopping US$54-billion, which amounts to roughly a 10 per cent increase to the […]
Opposition MPs plan House offensive for Trudeau government’s ‘critically important’ budget
Budget day is coming, and opposition parties are ready to pounce. The Conservatives will be on guard for signs of fiscal irresponsibility and new taxes from the Liberal government, while the NDP will be assessing whether the government’s spending plans matches its rhetoric. On Wednesday, March 22, the 2017 federal budget and subsequent budget implementation […]
Federal budget expected to include key elements for clean technology
For those working in the clean-tech sector, all eyes are on this week’s federal budget. Some want to see a dedication of dollars to further research and development, while others predict the government will merge its interest in green technology with its desire to move more Canadians into the middle class. “The green economy isn’t […]
