Liberals should listen to IMF: scrap promise to further cut small business tax rate
TORONTO—The International Monetary Fund gave the federal Liberals some good advice when it argued last year that it was okay to run budget deficits to finance needed infrastructure. With interest rates so low, almost free money, and with the expected productivity gains from improved infrastructure, deficit financing for infrastructure could more than pay for itself. […]
Politics This Morning: Budget 2016 deficit could be smaller than predicted, says PBO
The Liberals say in its recent budget that the use of private sector economic forecasts adds “an element of independence in the government’s fiscal forecast,” but it’s exactly the opposite when the government fails to take into account historical averages, says the Parliamentary Budget Officer in a new report. In its report, released yesterday, the […]
Politics This Morning: PBO to release report to help MPs understand budget
The Parliamentary Budget Officer will release a report today titled “Budget 2016: Key Issues for Parliamentarians,” in order to help MPs and Senators understand the budget during their debates. “To assist parliamentarians in their budgetary deliberations, this report identifies key issues arising from Budget 2016: 1) the presentation of the fiscal plan; 2) the government’s […]
Federal public service unions not satisfied with Trudeau government’s first budget
The unions representing federal public servants say there were some welcome investments and gestures in the Trudeau government’s first budget released two weeks ago laying out how it will spend $290-billion this year, yet they also found it fell short on several fronts. The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), which represents about 140,000 federal employees, […]
“What were the biggest surprises or most interesting spending items included in the 2016 budget for you?”
Kate Purchase Liberal strategist “It should be no surprise that 2016 budget did exactly what we promised it would. “We promised to invest in Canadian families and give immediate help to the middle class. After the election, as one of our first actions, we cut taxes for middle class Canadians. Roughly nine million people now […]
Politics This Morning: Morneau to sell 2016 budget in Europe
Following a trip to New York Wednesday, Finance Minister Bill Morneau will be in Paris today to meet with French business and financial leaders and attend a high-level G20 seminar on the International Financial Architecture. Mr. Morneau will be promoting the government’s recent budget and Canada as a place to invest before heading to London, […]
Stakeholders pat Liberals on back for expansive federal budget
When Finance Minster Bill Morneau took to the floor of the House of Commons to bring down the new Liberal government’s first federal budget last Tuesday at 4 p.m. EST, a group of more than 200 advocates of various interests had already been going over details of the document in a lockup that started an hour-and-a-half […]
Liberals pack Sir John A., others flock to the Métropolitain for budget night
New traditions were formed last Tuesday evening. Red is the new black and post-budget soirées have a new home, or two. Just a few hours after Finance Minister Bill Morneau tabled the 2016 budget in the House, Liberal MPs and Hill staffers who weren’t on the media circuit made their way into the Sir John A. […]
Budget reflects Trudeau’s view of Canadian federalism, big government spending
OTTAWA—Last Tuesday, Finance Minister Morneau presented the Trudeau government’s first budget, but it was less of a budget and more of statement regarding Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s view of Canadian federalism and the place of the federal government within the federation. Canadians are now in for at least four years of big government or, at […]
“What campaign commitment do you think is most important for the Liberal government to act on next? Why?” by Laura Ryckewaert
Kate Purchase Liberal strategist “Last fall, we promised to cut taxes for middle-class Canadians by asking the wealthiest to pay a little more. During the first week of our mandate, we did just that. “It was the right choice for Canadians and a smart choice for the Canadian economy. Real progress demands an economic plan […]
